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Key facts
| Type | Weekly Classes |
|---|---|
| Location | Oxford |
| Address | Ewert House Ewert Place Summertown Oxford |
| Dates | Mon 1 Oct to Mon 3 Dec 2012 Day: Monday Time of meeting: 2.00-4.00pm Number of meetings: 10 |
| Subject area(s) | History |
| CATS points | 10 |
| Fees | From £165.00 |
| Application status | Course withdrawn |
| Course code | O12P651HIW |
| Course contact | If you have any questions about this course, please email ppweekly@conted.ox.ac.uk. |
Overview
If you’re looking for a course with breadth, richness and controversy, you can hardly do better than the French Revolution. Key documents in English translation, enlivened by visual source material, will be available for exploring the astonishing fluctuations of the Revolution.Description
The French Revolution is one of the great turning points in the modern history, not just of Europe but also of the wider world. This is no narrow topic but a subject of wide scope, embracing political unrest, dramatic social and religious change, civil war, international conflict, with strong manifestations in art and culture. Now this course offers you the opportunity to explore all these aspects of the French Revolution by class discussion of key documents in English translation (you don’t need to know French) and a large selection of projected visual material. The course follows the Revolution from the first signs of growing opposition to the traditional regime to the attempt to establish a liberal constitutional monarchy, culminating in the famous Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, a manifesto that stirred controversy on attitudes to women, Blacks and Jews. Next, the religious revolution is considered and the resulting abortive attempt of the King to flee France. Declaration of the Republic, declaration of war, the awful months of the Terror, the reaction to the Terror and recovery, culminating in Napoleon’s rise to power are all examined, along with the diversity of historians’ exploration of these cataclysmic developments.Programme details
Week 1: ORIENTATION: How to Approach the French RevolutionWeek 2: How to interpret a primary source (document) of the French Revolution
Week 3: The Liberal Constitutional Phase of the Revolution (Autumn 1788 - June 1791)
Week 4: Civil Rights for all?
Week 5: Two crucial turning points: Civil Constitution of the Clergy (July 1790) and the Kings Flight (June 1791)
Week 6: The terror (March 1793 - July 1794)
Week 7: Interpreting the Revolution: Changing trends
Week 8: Art and politics in the French Revolution.
Week 9: Thermidorean Convention (July 1794 - October 1795) and the Directory (November 1795 - November
1799)
Week 10: Napoleon`s rise to power. Legacy of the Revolutions
Background Reading:
Doyle, W., The French Revolution: A very short introduction (OUP, 2001)
Schama, S., Citizens (Penguin, 1989)
Doyle, W., Origins of the French Revolution (3rd edition, OUP, 1999)
Roberts, J. M., The French Revolution (OUP, 1978)
Forrest, A., The French Revolution (Blackwell, 1995)
Jones, Colin, The Great Nation: France from Louis XIV to Napoleon (Penguin, 2002)
Staff
Prof David Goodman
Role: Tutor
David Goodman has, for many years, taught undergraduate courses in the humanities for the Arts Faculty of the Open University. His research has been...more
Course aims
Course Aim:To provide an introductory survey of the French Revolution, in all of its phases and to show how historians` interpretations have changed.
Course Objectives:
1. To clarify the outstanding political, social and cultural developments of the French Revolution.
2. To enable examination of evidence relating to these developments by critical use of key documents in translation and visual source-material.
3. Subject to critical scrutiny the diverse and changing interpretations of the French Revolution by historians past and present.
Assessment methods
It is proposed to assess students formally by grading and commenting on individual written assignments. For this purpose a worksheet, handed out at the first session, will require a choice of exercises on source material, designed to demonstrate the students learning achievements.Students will be invited to select 3 short questions on extracts from documents and a visual source, calling for interpretations, each around 300 words, to be handed in during the course.
OR
Present a choice of topics for the discussion in an essay of 1000 words.
Teaching methods
1. An introductory presentation by the tutor of some 25-30 minutes.2. Class study and discussion of translated extracts from primary sources (hand-outs for each member of the class) complemented by an engaging selection of visual source-material, shown on screen by overhead projector to reinforce and broaden this classroom experience.
3. Students will be set a series of weekly exercises to develop their understanding and skills
Teaching outcomes
By the end of this course students will be expected to:1. Recognise the different phases of the French Revolution and be able to summarise the main developments in each.
2. Be able to ask appropriate questions of a primary source (document extract in English translation or visual evidence) on the French Revolution and to use the source in argument.
3. Identify and characterise the different types of explanation of the French Revolution that have been put forward by historians, along with some appreciation of their strengths and weaknesses.
Apply for this course
Sorry, this course is not currently accepting applications. If you have any questions about this course, please use the course enquiry form.