French History and Culture to 1774

This civilization course presents the fabric/fabrication of the so-called national memory through its places of memory (lieux de memoire), as well as its places of non-memory (lieux de non-memoire), going from the Gauls to the Enlightenment. As the course tells the story of the rise and fall of the French monarchy, one is encouraged to envision it as a palimpsest and to become aware of the roles played by myths and legends. It helps see how French history has been manipulated by the collective memory, how retrospection often redefines, fabricates events and people depending on the needs of the moment. This course is taught in French.