History of the French Revolution
Objectives
a) Acquire a critical view of the French Revolution, as a crucial event for understanding the modern and contemporary world.
b) Analyse the origins, and main periods of the French Revolution.
c) Analyse the main political, social and cultural transformations introduced by the French Revolution.
c) Understanding the history of the French Revolution in a comparative perspective in relation to other modern and contemporary revolutionary moments.
d) Know the different historiographical perspectives about the French Revolution and how they evolved between the end of the nineteenth century and the present time.
e) Be able to search, select and work documents and historiographical texts about the French Revolution.
f) Being able to produce a written work and make oral presentations about any of the subjects taught.
g) To acquire knowledge that enable to pursue a thorough study of the History of the Revolutions in modern and contemporary world.
General characterization
Code
711051150
Credits
6.0
Responsible teacher
Daniel Ribeiro Alves
Hours
Weekly - 4
Total - 168
Teaching language
Portuguese
Prerequisites
None
Bibliography
Andress, David (ed.), The Oxford handbook of the French Revolution, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015.
Biard, Michel; Bourdin, Philippe; Marzagalli, Silvia, Révolution, Consulat et Empire, 1789-1815, Paris, Belin Literature et Revues, 2009.
Doyle, William, The Oxford History of the French Revolution, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003.
Furet, François, La Révolution: de Turgot à Jules Ferry 1770-1880, Paris, Hachette, 1988.
Furet, François, The French Revolution: 1770-1814, Wiley-Blackwell, 1996.
Lyons, Martyn, France Under the Directory, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1975.
Martin, Jean-Clément, Nouvelle histoire de la Révolution française, Paris, Perrin, 2012.
McPhee, Peter, Liberty or death: the French Revolution, 1789-1799, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2016.
Tulard, Jean, Les Thermidoriens, Paris, Fayard, 2005.
Vovelle, Michel, A revolução francesa: 1789-1799, Lisboa, Edições 70, 2007.
Teaching method
Theoretical classes will be essentially expository, with the possibility of student intervention to clarify doubts or comments. Practical classes will be dedicated to the analysis, commentary and debate of historiographical texts, contemporary documents, films or Internet sites about the French Revolution, previously selected by the teacher and analyzed by the students.
Evaluation method
Students will be assessed through their participation in classes (15% of the final score), an individual written work (35%) and a written test without consultation (50%).
Subject matter
The Historiography of the French Revolution
Historiographical evolution about the Revolution
The classical vision, revisionism and post-revisionism
The origins of the French Revolution
Political and social structure of the Ancient Regime
Enlightenment, public opinion and political opposition
Wars, financial crisis and attempts at reform
The collapse of the monarchy (1787-1789)
The economic crisis
The States General and the National Assembly
The storming of the Bastille
Constitutional monarchy and revolutionary reforms
The “Great Fear” and the end of privileges
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
The construction of a new regime
Resistance, violence and betrayal
Radicalization and republicanism
The radicalization of the Revolution
The republic
Internal struggles and revolutionary wars
The Terror
Women and the revolution
Thermidor and the Directory: the end of the Revolution?
Thermidorian ambiguities
Coups and fluctuations in the Directory’s time
The growing importance of the military
Rise of Napoleon and the coup of Brumaire
Debate the French Revolution
The French Revolution in cinema