19th Century Paris and the Invention of Modernity

3 Credits

This course considers the dramatic destruction and rebuilding of the city of Paris in the decades after 1850 and how changes in the built environment shaped social relations, political authority and cultural expression. Topics include the politics of city planning and architectural design; the history of the engineering profession, technology and the building trades; reactions to crime, disease and prostitution in the modern city; the 1848 Revolution, Paris Commune and political theory; the origins of photography, Impressionist painting and cinema.