In-Depth: Paris, Capitol of Modernity: A Digital 19th Century

3 units

The French assert that the world learned to be modern in 19th-century Paris. Even though this is not entirely true, the Paris we observe today owes a great deal to 19th-century interventions in the city's physical fabric. Our ideas about modernity are informed by the ways in which the French learned to observe and describe the radical changes in their capitol. This course will examine maps, guidebooks, urban descriptions, and fiction to see how Paris changed in the century that brought us urban modernity, including anonymity, city crowds, cycles of boom and bust, hugh-scale public works, energy and anomie. It will also introduce students to some of the tools for digital scholarship and the presentation of academic work to non-academic audiences. Students will collaborate in the creation of a textual database on Paris monuments, and learn to present their research on urban sites via ArcGIS's Story Maps. Prerequisite: French 308 or In-Perspective.