Module HIST3071: Revolution and History

Department: History

HIST3071: Revolution and History

Prerequisites

• A pass mark in at least ONE level 2 module in History

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To understand the ways in which the legacy of the French Revolution has shaped French politics, society and culture since 1789.
• To think critically about the political uses of memory and the different categories of people and sources involved.
• To understand the difference between history and memory, and the relationship between individual and collective memory, and memory, truth and amnesia.
• To analyse ideas across historical times and geographical spaces.

Content

• The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games in July 2024 was filled with references to the French Revolution of 1789: from national symbols that were born in the revolutionary decade, such as the tricolour flag and the Marseillaise national anthem, to allusions to the barricades and the ‘liberty, equality, fraternity’ motto, to Olympe de Gouges, author of The Declaration of the Rights of Woman in 1791. While most symbols referred to a cohesive national narrative that was slowly built in the two centuries after the Revolution, one proved controversial: the scene of a beheaded Queen Marie-Antoinette singing the revolutionary song ‘Ah! Ça ira’, where she called for the murder of the aristocracy. The gist of the criticism, both on the right and on the left of the political spectrum, was the following: there was a good Revolution, revolving around The Declaration of the Rights of Man of 1789, and a bad Revolution, revolving around the Terror of 1792-4. The Olympic organisers should have focussed on the good Revolution, which was a source of national pride and universal inspiration, rather than on the horrors of the Terror, which still caused pain and national division in 2024.
• The troubled legacy of the Revolution has represented a major source of controversy and contention in France since 1789 and is the subject of this course. The module explores the ways in which the memory of the French Revolution has shaped French society, its political and popular cultures from the Revolution itself to the present day. While for a long time the dominant interpretation of the Revolution associated its legacy almost exclusively with the political left, this course prompts students to reflect on how the Revolution influenced and affected every political and social group in France.
• Through both primary and secondary sources, students will learn that the memory of the Revolution belonged to everyone. It was not only a top-down imposition from Paris to the rest of France and its empire; rather, it involved every member of society, including women and children, aristocrats, bourgeois, workers and peasants, politicians, intellectuals and historians, writers and artists, and the population of the colonies. To explore such diversity, students will analyse a wide range of primary sources, including political treatises, memoirs, newspaper articles, letters, speeches, paintings, monuments, caricatures, songs, TV interviews and footage, and films.
• By studying the symbols, the interpretations, the distortions and the political appropriations of the history of the French Revolution, students will learn that memory can mean very different things and can lead to more questions than answers. The Revolution has been recollected, interpreted, internalised, adopted, memorialised, commemorated and celebrated tirelessly since 1789, yet its legacy remains elusive. As a result, students will be prompted to wonder about broader questions too: What is the role of historical memory in shaping society? What is the importance of truth in the memorialisation of history? What role should historians play in the making of public memory? And, ultimately, what was the French Revolution?

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of the principal socio-political and cultural events and intellectual currents that have defined France and its colonial empire for the past 200 years.
• Knowledge of the place of the French Revolution in the development of French politics and culture since 1789.
• An understanding of the ways in which memory shapes society.
• An understanding of the different meanings of memory: remembrance, memorialisation, commemoration, celebration.
• The ability to analyse historical events in the longue durée and to understand their contemporary significance.

• The ability to analyse a variety of primary sources and to contextualise them.
• The ability to gather knowledge from a variety of historical actors.

• The ability to employ sophisticated reading skills to gather, sift, process, synthesise and critically evaluate information from a variety of sources (print, digital, material, aural, visual, audio-visual etc.).
• The ability to communicate ideas and information orally and in writing, devise and sustain coherent and cogent arguments.
• The ability to write and think under pressure, manage time and work to deadlines.
• The ability to make effective use of information and communications technology.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection.
• Seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals.
• Assessment: Examinations test students' ability to work under pressure under timed conditions, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning and develop key time management skills. The examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure. Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge.
• Summative essays remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

A written assignment of 1,000-2,000 words.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University