Liberalism Britain and France

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

The purpose of this course is to shed light on the history of liberalism through a comparison between Britain and France. Liberalism is a difficult question with many definitions and controversial points of view. Therefore, it's necessary to build a step by step history of liberal movements. Liberal ideas and their contradictions, both through the British political history and the French history. This method should provide to the students with a better understanding both of historical debates and today's issues regarding the notion of liberalism in context. Traditionally, Britain has been viewed as the country of a successful liberalism whereas France has been sometimes mocked as the country of a failed liberalism or an incomplete liberalism. Those cliches will be questioned during the sessions and put back in a more realistic perspective. Liberalism and anti-liberalism will be addressed on the same foot during most of the sessions. The course is also conceived at the crossroads of political history, intellectual history and political philosophy.