Early Modern French Cultural History

1.5 credits · Undergraduate

Uses the approach of cultural history to explore key themes in the history of early modern France. Topics include ritual and folktales, constructing and deconstructing the "Sun King", a massacre of cats in 1730s Paris and other microhistories, theatre and punishment, the impotence of Louis XVI, the politicization of the everyday, the symbolism of the guillotine and a gentle introduction to cultural theory.