Course syllabus

The full course syllabus is now available for download here  The pdf version of the syllabus has not yet been altered to incorporate the policy adjustments made because of the move to online teaching, which will be in place from 12 August-2 October.  But you can read about those adjustments to tests, due dates, etc.  on the Live update page

Well-being always comes first We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

 

HISTORY 324: Old Regime and Revolution in France c.1750-1815

SEMESTER 2, 2020

15 points

 

Course Convenor: 

Dr Joseph Zizek

Phone: (09) 923-8852 or ext 88852 (on campus)

Room 735, Humanities Building

email: j.zizek@auckland.ac.nz

Office Hours: Mon 1:30-3:00pm, Tues 2-3pm, and by appointment

 

Lecture and Seminar Times

Each week, Hist 324 students are expected to attend one 2-hour lecture and one 50-minute seminar.  We expect Semester 2 classes to return to face-to-face teaching, and the current times and locations of your lectures and seminars are as follows:

Lecture:          

• Mon 10-12 Clock Tower 039 (105S-039)

Seminars:       

• Tu 11am Humanities, Room 217 (206-217)
• Wed 12pm  Commerce A, Room G10 (114-G10)
• Wed 1pm  Clocktower East, Room 110 (105E-110)

All times and venues are subject to change, so please confirm on SSO prior to the first scheduled class meeting.

All lectures will be recorded and made available to students via Canvas 'Recordings', with the option to download in multiple video and audio formats.  Barring exceptional circumstances, recordings will be made available within 24 hours of the relevant lecture.  Seminars are not recorded. 

Introduction and Objectives

            Two centuries after the collapse and destruction of what revolutionaries called the ‘Old Regime’, the French Revolution continues to be recognised as one of the founding events of modern history. Yet it remains a deeply enigmatic and controversial event. Revolutionaries seemingly invented (or re-invented) political liberty and civic equality, democratic suffrage and human rights; but they also invented (or re-invented) gender discrimination and political terror, ideological war and modern dictatorship. Given this rich blend of tragedy and farce, it is no surprise that the Revolution continues to feature in our discussions of politics, society, and culture as well as our understanding of the ‘modern’ world.

            This course offers an introduction to the French Revolution as both European crisis and world-historical event. A background in European or French history, while helpful, is not required. The weekly lectures offer basic historical orientation, while seminar readings, discussions, and coursework go beyond the lectures to explore major problems of interpretation. Topics for the semester include the origins of the Revolution, the collapse of the ‘absolute’ monarchy, the radical experiment of mass democracy, the global contexts of slavery and emancipation, and the Revolution’s modern legacies and disputed meanings. The course will explore various approaches—the ‘social history of ideas’, gender analysis, political culture, public opinion, universal rights theory—that have influenced the historiography of the French Revolution and are relevant to other fields of history.

            Hist 324 shares lecture time with the Stage II version of this course (Hist 224), but the assessment schedule, reading load, and participation expectations for Hist 324 are considerably more rigorous. This is because Stage III courses are designed to provide an in-depth exposure to current historiographical and research issues.

Accordingly, the specific aims of Hist 324 include the following key learning outcomes or goals in support of the Bachelor of Arts Graduate Profile:

• to understand key issues and debates in French history c.1750-1815, especially debates around the origins and consequences of societal transformations
• to demonstrate fluency in historiographical debates concerning the origins, course, and consequences of the French Revolution
• to develop skills in both primary and secondary source interpretation, and apply those skills to defined historical problems
• to identify and evaluate the value of different historical methods and theories
• to develop and refine students' ability to offer reasoned historical arguments in written and oral formats

In addition to the specific objectives above, this Stage III course will help to impart the following research-related and information literacy stills. These skills build your ability to assimilate, assess, and present information at an advanced level, and are highly transferable to other fields of work:

• fostering the ability to carry out independent work in major research collections
• cultivating broad bibliographical and investigatory skills, including the advanced use of online databases and resources
• enhancing note-taking and research skills in lectures, oral discussions, assigned readings, and through independent research
• heightening your interpretive, analytic, and synthetic abilities via diverse coursework assignments, which encourage a battery of skills and practices

 

Assessment Summary

As with most History Stage III courses, assessment in Hist 324 is entirely based on coursework (there is no Examination during the University Exam period). Grades as a percentage of total course mark are distributed as follows:

• 10% = Seminar Participation (based on entire semester)
• 15% = Online Tests (3 Tests @ 5% each, 20 questions per test, spaced at 4-week intervals).
• 25% = Primary Source Essay (1,500 words) or Film Review Essay (1,500 words) due at 11:59pm on Friday 25 September
• 50% = Final Essay (3,000 words) due at 11:59 pm on Friday 6 November

Information on grading standards, essays, and referencing can be found in the ‘History Coursework Guide’ that is available on this Canvas site. It may also be consulted via the School of Humanities website (under the 'History' section of the ‘For Current Students’ page):

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/arts/about-the-faculty/school-of-humanities/for-current-students.html

For details on all of the coursework policies, including academic integrity and submission of late work, see the full version of the course syllabus (available as pdf download via 'Modules')

 

Weekly Topics and Lecture schedule (provisional)

Week 1-Introduction to the Course: Myths of Revolution

Week 2-Eighteenth Century Society and Enlightenment 

Week 3-Politics of Public Opinion: An ‘Information Society’?

Week 4-Revolutionary Origins: Social or Political?

Week 5-From Crisis to Revolution: Inventing 1789

Week 6-Rural France and its Revolution(s)

Mid-Semester Break

Week 7-Cultural Revolution(s)

Week 8-Gender Relations in the Revolutionary Era

Week 9-Violence and Terror: Why?

Week 10-The Revolution in the Colonies: Liberty and Slavery

Week 11-Napoleon’s Revolution: End, or New Beginning?

Week 12-No lecture [Labour day holiday]

 

Course Resources and Canvas

1. Seminar Readings and Textbook

All required course readings are available via Canvas 'Reading Lists'. This course does not have a hardcopy course packet (in other words, no purchases of any kind are required for this class). History 324 also has a recommended but not required textbook, which is available as a free ebook via the Library:

• Jeremy D. Popkin, A Short History of the French Revolution, 6th edition, Routledge, 2015. [consult 'Reading Lists' to get the link]

If you prefer not to consult or download the ebook, this text is also available  via hardcopy in Short Loan, and may also be available for purchase at the University Bookstore. You are not required to read  this text, but it is an excellent brief treatment for those who wish more detailed chronological coverage of the course themes.

2. Canvas access to course materials: Everything distributed, shown, or discussed in lecture—syllabus, lecture outlines, PowerPoint presentations, and miscellaneous handouts—will be made available on Canvas. All lectures will be recorded and recordings will be accessible via Canvas within 48 hours of each lecture. Slideshows are uploaded to Canvas but full lecture notes are not posted; this is intentional, and is meant as an incentive to regular lecture attendance. Similarly, certain materials that are exclusive to seminars will not be posted to Canvas. To get those handouts, students must attend seminar (students who must miss seminar because of a  justified absence should contact the instructor to get a copy of the seminar handout).

If you miss class, it becomes your responsibility to understand what has been covered in your absence. Canvas is designed to help by making access to lost or misplaced material easier, and by providing access to lecture recordings, but it is still wise to arrange with friends to ‘cover’ for one another in case of missed classes. Please be aware that lecture recording technology is generally reliable but still imperfect; recordings sometimes fall short in audio or video quality, so recorded lectures should  be treated as a resource for learning reinforcement rather than a substitute for in-person attendance. Regular lecture attendance remains the best way to build and improve note-taking skills and to practice how to master the live flow of information and argument.

 

Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:            

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks as indicated in the course syllabus.