Topic: From Enlightenment to Romanticism.  In this course we will
read masterpieces of French historical writing and trace the
evolution of the genre from the early eighteenth to the late
nineteenth century, particularly the shift from history as
literature (or philosophy) to history as social or political
science. Various types of historical writing will be represented:
from narrative historiography (Voltaire) to social and political
history/theory (Montesquieu, Constant, Tocqueville, Fustel de
Coulanges) to broad philosophies of history (Voltaire, Condorcet,
Michelet). We will also be able to compare different treatments of
two classic subjects for historians: Roman history (Montesquieu,
Michelet, Fustel de Coulanges) and the French Revolution (Constant,
Michelet, Tocqueville). Other historical topics covered in our
readings will include medieval history (Michelet) and
seventeenth/eighteenth-century European history (Voltaire). Lectures
and class discussions in English. Readings in French. Grade: an oral
presentation and a 15-page research paper.

Reading list:
Voltaire. Histoire de Charles XII; Le Siècle de
Louis XIV (part 2); and “La Philosophie de l’histoire”
(introduction to Essai sur les moeurs et l’esprit des nations)
Montesquieu. Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur
des romains et de leur décadence
Condorcet. Esquisse d’un tableau des progrès de l’esprit
humain
Benjamin Constant. De l’esprit de conquête et de
l’usurpation
Michelet. Introduction à l’histoire universelle; Histoire
de la Révolution Française (selections); and La Sorcière
Tocqueville. L’Ancien Régime et la Révolution
Fustel de Coulanges. La Cité antique