HST 319 - The French Revolution & Napoleon

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirement HU.
Meets Explore Core requirement (students beginning Fall 2024 and later): HS
The French Revolution is perhaps the most important and most studied event in European history. It has been identified as the cause of the modern era’s deepest troubles and greatest triumphs, the root of Europe’s best and worst ideals. This course examines the figures and events of the revolution, particularly its origins, radicalization, and defeat. It explores the relationships between social and political conflict and foreign and domestic policy. Finally, by studying Romantic Nationalist, Marxist, New Social, Revisionist, and more recent interpretations of the Revolution and Napoleon, students will understand historians’ differing interpretations of its most critical turning points and the meaning of historical interpretation.