Make-up for last Wednesday's lecture

The reading that would be the perfect substitute for last Wednesday's lecture is, unfortunately, still not on reserve. I'm not sure why this is the case, but I'll call the library and try to get to the bottom of it. Obviously it won't be ready for Monday, but I will want you to at least skim the material before the midterm.

In the meantime, we need to move forward with the syllabus and plunge into the origins lectures, so to make up for our canceled class, please read the following lectures:

1. "The Origins of the French Revolution" at The History Guide.
2. "The Ancien Regime and the Intellectual Challenges of the 17th and 18th Centuries"

These are both cursory lectures about the estate system and the monarchy in pre-Revolutionary France, but I hope they'll at least give you some bullet points to remember alongside the information in Popkin. If any of the topics remain unclear, the first chapter of any of the general textbooks I put on reserve will discuss the social and political structures of old regime France. If you didn't have any problems with the first chapter of Popkin, then you can just quickly skim these two lectures.

In addition, I would like you to read the first chapter of Gary Kates (ed.), The French Revolution: recent debates and new controversies. This is available on-line via NetLibrary. Because you need to sign in with your GMU ID to use NetLibrary, I cannot post a link to take you there directly. You can find this book by following these steps:

1. Go to the GMU Libraries website (accessible via the university's homepage).
2. Search the catalog using either the author's name or the title.
3. In either case, you'll see that the library has three copies of this title. Click on the entry that says "Electronic Resource (available through Internet/WWW).
4. At the bottom of the record, click on the hyperlink that says "Electronic book available to GMU students, faculty and staff."
5. Enter your GMU ID to continue to NetLibrary (if you're connecting remotely).
6. When the Kates book appears, click on "View this E-book."
7. The table of contents will be on the left-hand side of the screen. Click on chapter one (you may have to click on part one first to get a drop-down menu of individual chapters) and read from there.
   
8. NOTE: if several people are logged on to read this at the same time, you might get a message saying that all the library's e-copies are in use. You can either check back later or you can click on the link that allows you to be notified via e-mail when the book is ready.

I think it's important to read the Kates chapter before you read the Lucas and Van Kley articles, if possible. Again, you don't necessarily need to remember all the authors Kates mentioned, but it is important for you to recognize some of the historiographical trends in the study of the French Revolution. This is especially important before we start talking about the origins of the Revolution; as Kates and Lucas will make clear, there are many different interpretations of the origins question. You need to understand that going into your subsequent reading.

Readings for next week

Monday, 2/2:

1. Mason & Rizzo, pp. 32 - 48
2. Colin Lucas, "Nobles, Bourgeois and the Origins of the French Revolution," Past and Present, No. 60 (August 1973), pp. 84 - 126.
   

Wednesday, 2/4:

1. Mason & Rizzo, pp. 29 - 32
2. Dale Van Kley, "New Wine in Old Wineskins: Continuity and Rupture in the Pamphlet Debate of the French Prerevolution, 1787 - 1789," French Historical Studies, volume 17, number 2 (Autumn 1991), pp. 447 - 465.

Both of the articles can be found on JSTOR. You usually need to sign in with your GMU ID to read articles on JSTOR, so I'm not sure if the links above will work. If they don't take you directly to the article, then you'll need to navigate JSTOR on your own; it should be fairly straightforward, since you have all the bibliographic information above. Let me know if you're having problems with the database.

If you take careful notes, then you don't need to print these articles out. I will expect you to be able to answer questions about them in class, however (hint, hint). Make sure you understand each author's argument and note what sorts of evidence he uses to bolster his claims.

Specifically regarding the Lucas article: don't get too bogged down trying to remember all the different historians' names. Do pay attention, however, as Lucas maps out the various schools of thought concerning the social origins of the Revolution.

Class canceled, 1/28

Even though the university is opening at noon today, I have decided to cancel class, in order to spare the commuters and avoid the predictably high absence rate on a day like today.

However, according to department policy, I cannot cancel class without substituting some other exercise for the missing lecture. Please check the blog later today for that substitute exercise. (It will be a reading assignment of some sort.)

Be careful out on the roads (and sidewalks) today!

A request from your professor

Last week, I placed William Doyle's Oxford History of the French Revolution and Origins of the French Revolution on reserve. Unfortunately, it seems that someone checked them out before the reserves desk processed my request. I'm frankly a little surprised that the library does not issue an immediate recall when a professor has asked for a book to be put on reserve, but there you have it.

If you have checked out these books, I am asking you to be a good citizen and return them so that the class can share them. I would really appreciate it, as would your classmates.

Change to reading schedule

Please postpone reading the Necker document (Mason & Rizzo, pp. 29-32) until Wednesday, Feb. 4. In addition, the reading assignment for Wednesday (Mason & Rizzo, pp. 32-48) has been pushed back to Monday, Feb. 2.

Reading questions for Jan. 26

Charles Loyseau, A Treatise on Orders (1610)

1. What does Loyseau think about the privileges of nobility?
2. Loyseau discusses different professions in his sections on the nobility and the rankings within the Third Estate. What do these discussions suggest about the relationship between work and social standing in seventeenth-century France?
3. Why does Loyseau insist that the Third Estate is not synonymous with the bourgeoisie?

Lit de Justice to Register the Edict of November 1770

1. How does the Parlement de Paris describe its role in protecting monarchical power?
2. What does the language of this document suggest about the strength of the absolute monarchy in 1770?

Parlementary Remonstrance Against the Edict Suppressing Guilds and Communities of Arts and Trades (March 2-4, 1776)

1. What class assumptions are evident in this document?
2. How does the Parlement defend the existence and function of guilds?

Posting comments for participation

This is just a reminder that you need to post two comments per week to qualify for an 'A' in participation. (This can be two comments for the same day's reading; you don't need to respond to every post.)

Your comments should be roughly a paragraph in length. You may comment about your fellow students' comments only if you are bringing something new to the table -- don't simply agree/disagree and re-word a previous comment. You can be critical of someone's comment, but you must be respectful and civil in tone.

Please include at least your first name and last initial at the end of your comment to avoid confusion and ensure that you are receiving proper credit for your participation.

Finally, I moderate all comments, so don't freak out if your don't see your comment posted immediately. Do let me know, however, if your comment does not appear within 24 hours.

French Revolution website

The website "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution," which I mentioned on the syllabus can be found at http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/

If you click on "explore," you'll find topical essays written by Lynn Hunt and Jack Censer. You may find these essays useful supplements to the Popkin textbook.