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UC Center Program Courses - Fall 2006
PCC 117.
The POLITICAL HISTORY OF MODERN France
Prof.
Pierre Girard
Office Hours
Wednesday 3-4pm
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Lecture
Mon 4:30-6:00pm
Wed 1:30-3:00pm
Section
Wed 9:00-10:00 |
This course is an introduction to the political history of modern France. It aims to examine the distinctive features of politics in contemporary France, tracing origins, investigating continuities and transformations. The course covers the period from the beginning of the nineteenth century until the present, and giving pride of place to the 2007 political campaign for the French presidency and the National Assembly. The first part of the course will focus on the internal aspects of French political life, while the second part will focus on international relations. Each week of the course will be organized around themes such as “The Intellectual in French Politics” or “The Movement of Universal Suffrage.” Each theme will be discussed in both historical and social contexts.
The interplay between the historical framework and the thematic units is intended to offer a textured view of French politics in the last two hundred years, and to offer perspectives to follow the political campaign of 2007. Indeed, from the beginning of the course students will follow and analyze the campaign as it unfolds, studying the themes and messages of various candidates and political parties. The course will also include excursions to relevant museums or sites (such as the National Assembly, the War museum, the First World War memorial in Peronne, and to the newspaper Le Monde). Students will also be encouraged to follow the unfolding political campaign in the press.
[History, France, French Civilization, Politics] 6.0 quarter credits.
COURSE MATERIALS
- D.L.L. Parry and Pierre Girard, France since 1800, Oxford 2003
- A course reader (hereby [CR])
Students will also be asked to collect articles and use web resources about political parties and political life in France.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Students are required to do all reading before the first weekly session and to attend all guest lectures and sites visits scheduled during the semester. Students are required to complete the weekly readings comprised of secondary sources (in English) found in the assigned books, the Course Reader, and directly on the web (with links from the syllabus), personal and groups inquiries, groups visits to political parties.
Grading
- Weekly Readings and Class Participation (30%)
- Writing Assignments, a research paper, 8 pages (20 %)
- Mid-term exam (20%)
- Final exam (30%)
COURSE SCHEDULE
PART I: Instability and Conflicts
Week 1. September 11-15
Political Instability
A General Introduction to French Modern History
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, “Introduction” in France since 1800, pp. 1-6
- Pamela Pilbeam, selection from “Revolution, Restoration(s) and Beyond: Changes and Continuities and the Enduring Legacies of 1789” in Martin Alexander’s French History since Napoleon, Arnold, 1999, pp. 31-36 [CR]
- Robert Tombs, selection from “Inventing Politics: from Bourbon Restoration to Republican Monarchy” in Martin Alexander’s French History since Napoleon, Arnold, 1999, pp. 59-74 [CR]
Week 2. September 18-22
A Factious History, Ruptures Rather than Compromises
Session 1: The 1871 Commune
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 69-70
- Charles Sowerwine, “The Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, 1870-1” in France since 1870: Culture, Politics and Society, Palgrave, 2001, pp.12-26 [CR]
Session 2: May 1968
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 232-233
- Maurice Larkin, selection from “Challenges and Response 1968-1974” in France since the Popular Front: Government and People 1936-1996, Oxford, 1997, pp.317-327 [CR]
- Tyler Stovall, selection from “The Student Uprising of May 1968” in France since the Second World War, Longman, 2002, pp.129-130 [CR]
- Nick Hewlett, selection from “The Historical Significance of May 1968” in Modern French Politics, Analysing Conflict and Consensus since 1945, Polity, 1998,
pp. 146-159 [CR]
Week3. September 25-29
The Republican Models
Session 1: The Foundation of the Third Republic
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 67-82
- Charles Sowerwine, selection from “The Triumph of the Republicans, 1871-85” in France since 1870: Culture, Politics and Society, Palgrave, 2001, pp. 27-35 [CR]
Session 2: The 1962 Crisis
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 202-211
- Maurice Larkin, selection from “La République des Citoyens” in France since the Popular Front: Government and People 1936-1996, Oxford, 1997, pp.291-294 [CR]
- Charles Sowerwine, selection from “De Gaulle’s Republic, 1958-68” in France since 1870, pp.309-317 [CR]
Week 4. October 2-6
The Right-Wing and the Left-Wing
Session 1: Between the two World Wars
Visit to the “Assemblée Nationale”
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 128-140, pp. 159-171
- Robert Tombs, selection from “Inventing Politics: from Bourbon Restoration to Republican Monarchy” in French History since Napoleon, pp. 75-77 [CR]
Session 2: 1981
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp.217-225
- Kay Lawson & Colette Ysmal, selection from “Do the Parties Matter?” in M.S. Lewis-Beck’s How France Votes, Chatham House, 2000, pp. 240-244 [CR]
- Charles Sowerwine, selections from “Pompidou and Giscard’s Republic, 1969-81” and “Mitterand’s Republic I: ‘Socialist France’? 1981-8” in France since 1870, pp.377-383 [CR]
Week 5. October 9-13
School and “laïcité”
Session 1: The Jules Ferry’s school
Reading:
- Charles Sowerwine, selection from “The Triumph of the Republicans” in France since 1870, pp.35-39 [CR]
- Evelyn M. Acomb, “The Reform of Primary Education” in The French Laic Laws 1879-1889: The First Anti-Clerical Campaign of the Third Republic, Octagon, 1967,
pp. 163-182 [CR]
Session 2: The disestablishment of the Church
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 98-101
- Maurice Larkin, “The Catholic Church and Politics in 20th Century France ” in French History since Napoleon, pp. 147-155 [CR]
Week 6. October 16-20
Intellectuals in Politics
Session 1: The Dreyfus Affair
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp.92-98
- Vicky Caron, “The ‘Jewish Question’ from Dreyfus to Vichy ” in French History since Napoleon, pp. 172-202 Dreyfus to Vichy, p171 to p202 [CR]
- Sudhir Hazareesingh, selection from “The Political Roles of Intellectuals” in Political Traditions in Modern France, Oxford, 1996, pp. 33-40 [CR]
Session 2: Jean-Paul Sartre
Reading:
- M. Kelly, E. Fallaize & A. Ridehalgh, selection from “Crises of Modernization” in J. Forbes & M. Kelly’s French Cultural Studies: An Introduction, Oxford, 1996,
pp. 115-124 [CR]
- Robert Gildea, selection from “Cultural Revolutions” in France since 1945, Oxford, 1997, pp. 147-158 [CR]
- Tony Judt, selection from “Liberalism, There is the Enemy” in Past Imperfect: French Intellectuals 1944-1956, UC Press, 1992, pp. 243-245 [CR]
Week 7. October 23-27
The Universal Franchise
Session 1: 1848
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp.57-63
- J.A. & M.S. Schlesinger, selections from “The Stability of the French Party System: The Enduring Impact of the Two-Ballot Electoral Rules” in How France Votes,
pp. 130-132, p. X (map), p.5 & p. 7 (tables) [CR]
Session 2: The Late Vote for Women
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp.106-110
- Claire Duchen, selections from “Women in Public Life: the Political Arena” in Women’s Rights and Women’s Lives in France 1944-1968, Routledge, 2004,
pp. 33-40 & pp. 53-59 [CR]
- Charles Sowerwine, selections from “The Social and Cultural Bases of Republicanism” & “Challenges to the Republic: Constructing the Modern Left” in France since 1870, pp. 46-47 & pp. 78-80 [CR]
Mid-term Exam
MIDTERM BREAK
Week 8. November 6-10
Public Opinion and the Press
Session 1: The Birth of the Public Opinion
Reading:
- Eugen Weber, “Le Papier Qui Parle” in Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France 1870-1914, Stanford, 1976, pp. 467-470 [CR]
Session 2: The French Newspapers
Reading:
- John Ardagh, selection from “Culture and Intellectuals: Vigorous Performing Arts - But Where is the New Creativity?” in France in the New Century: Portrait of a Changing Society, Penguin, 2000, pp. 501-511 [CR]
PART II: France and the World
Week9. November 13-17
French Power: the German Obsession
Session 1: The Revenge
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 85-86, pp.113-115
- Martin S. Alexander & J. F. Keiger, selection from “Defending France: Foreign Policy and the Quest for Security, 1850-1990s in French History since Napoleon,
pp. 271-278 [CR]
Session 2: Vichy France
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp.174-181
- Maurice Larkin, selection from “The Occupation” in France since the Popular Front: Government and People 1936-1996, pp. 86-89 [CR]
- Charles Sowerwine, selection from “The Triumph of the Republicans” in France since 1870, pp. 204-212 [CR]
Excursion
- Friday, November 17: Museum of WWI
Week 10. November 20-24
French Power: the Empire
Session 1: The Conquest of Indochina
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 86-89
- Martin S. Alexander & J. F. Keiger, selection from “Defending France: Foreign Policy and the Quest for Security, 1850-1990s in French History since Napoleon,
pp. 284-289 [CR]
Session 2: Decolonization
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 197-200
- Martin Evans, selection from “From Colonialism to Post-Colonialism: the French Empire since Napoleon” in French History since Napoleon, pp. 408-412 [CR]
Week 11. November 27 - December 1
War in French History
Session 1: “Union Sacrée” and the Memory of WWI
Visit to the WWI Memorial in Peronne
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 140-144
- Sowerwine, selection from “Culture Between the Wars” in France since 1870,
pp. 167-170 [CR]
Session 2: The 1940 Defeat
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 171-174
- Larkin, selection from “The Road to Compiègne, 1936-1940” in France since the Popular Front, pp. 75-81 [CR]
- Sowerwine, selection from “The Fall of France, 1938-40” in France since 1870,
pp. 184-192 [CR]
Mendès France versus Poujade
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 191-193
Week 12. December 4-8
The French and Foreigners
Session 1: Construction of Europe
De Gaulle and the European Construction
Reading:
- Parry and Girard, pp. 237-241
- Stanley Henig, “The Six in Search of an Identity” in The Uniting of Europe: From Discord to Concord, Routledge, 1997, pp. 46-57 [CR]
Session 2: Anti-Americanism in France
The Cold War in France
Reading:
- Tyler Stovall, selection from “The Trente Glorieuses” in France since the Second World War, pp. 41-45 [CR]
- Sowerwine, selection from “The 1950s - Of Coke and Culture” in France since 1870, pp. 281-282 [CR]
Week 13. December 11-15
Review and Final Exam
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