ÌÇÐÄTV

Skip to main content Skip to navigation

FR350 The French Revolution

Module Code: FR350
Module Name: The French Revolution
Module Coordinator: Professor Kate Astbury
Term 1
Module Credits: 15

Module Description

This module aims to introduce students to the key events, people, and ideas of the French Revolution both in mainland France and in the Caribbean through contemporary sources. A range of material will be used, from the Déclarations des droits de l'homme, to short pamphlets and plays, to caricatures and Robespierre's speeches, to the words of the Marseillaise. By the end of the module, students will be able to assess both the impact of the French Revolution and the role of culture and of the writer in times of revolution, when censorship, rhetoric and propaganda all have a part to play. We will also explore the ongoing relevance of the Revolution for modern France. One week of the module will be spent in the Modern Records Centre on campus handling revolutionary plays and other contemporary documents. Students will have the opportunity to develop their research skills and their own interests in the assessment for the module.

The module will be co-taught by Kate Astbury and Pierre Botcherby and the teaching will be organised into lectures ans seminars. Everyone will have the opportunity to do a group presentation to practise oral presentation skills before their final individual assessment.

Illustrative reading list

Please use as your main reading list the one on Talis, accessible via the Library website

  • William Doyle, The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2001)
  • Louis-Sébastien Mercier, Adieux à l'année 1789 available on Gallica, the Bibliothèque Nationale's digital library: )
  • La déclaration des droits de l'homme available on the Assemblée nationale's website .
  • Olympe de Gouges, Déclarations des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne (Poche 2003 or available on Gallica, the Bibliothèque Nationale's digital library: )
  • 1791 and 1793 constitutions and the Déclarations des droits de l'homme in Les Constitutions de la France depuis 1789(Garnier-Flammarion) or available on Elysée website .
  • 3 Pamphlets against the monarchy:
  • Lettre secrette et curieuse de Marie-Antoinette (on Gallica)
  • Louis XVI et Marie-Antoinette, traités comme ils le méritent (on Gallica)
  • Républicains, guillotinez-moi ce jean-foutre de Louis VI et cette putain de Marie Antoinette (on Gallica)
  • Robespierre’s speeches Sur les principes de morale politique and Sur les rapports des idées religieuses et morales avec les principes républicains.
  • Saint-Just, Rapport sur la nécessité de déclarer le gouvernement révolutionnaire jusqu'à la paix (Oct 1793).
  • Sonthonax's proclamation abolishing slavery (1793) here:
  • ²Ñ²¹°ù鳦³ó²¹±ô, Le Jugement dernier des rois () or
  • A selection of Napoleon Bonaparte's pronouncements (to be provided in class)

You may like to look at the following web sites for background information:

Assessment Method:

2750-3000 word essay (80%)

10 minute presentation (20%)

Disclaimer
This information was correct at the date of publication. However, teaching staff (or their availability) and departmental facilities do sometimes vary, or become unavailable, for reasons beyond the University’s control. In exceptional cases, timetable slots may need to change to accommodate clashes. Where this happens, the University will ensure the minimum of disruption and will ensure that the expected standard of education is maintained.

Let us know you agree to cookies