Republic, democracy and citizenship in France, from the Commune to the Belle Epoque
Democracy is both a political system involving in one form or in another citizen participation in power and a set of values intended to inspire individual and collective behavior. And yet, there is no subject where historical knowledge is more necessary. Democracy is the result of a long social and political process that began in France at the end of the 18th century and took root at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
It was at this moment that democracy merged with the Republican framework. Forms of political expression that had emerged in the 19th century under the Parliamentary Monarchy and the Second Empire - elections, the role of the press, claims for freedoms and rights, political groupings and sociability - blossomed into attributes of the Republic. As for the latter, it is as much an institutional regime as a genuine political model, characterized by ideological representations, historical references and symbolic practices, which imposes itself and remains until the Fourth Republic.
However, the First World War undoubtedly marked a break reflected in the retrospective myth of the Belle Epoque, even if the realization that a page had been turned was not immediate in the post-war years. In fact, while this chrononym largely consists of a nostalgic construction of memory, it also refers to the relative adequacy that had existed for over a decade between government orientations, republican political culture and the aspirations of society. It was this republican festivity that the authorities and intellectuals celebrated, neglecting its shadows; reminded by the films of Jacques Becker and Max Ophüls – Casque d'or et Le plaisir en 1952.
The period that goes from the proclamation of the Third Republic to the outbreak of the First World War, therefore, deserves an in-depth historical study. This will by no means be chronological or linear, but - an innovation this year - the historical framework of the period and its main shifts will be presented in the introductory sessions to facilitate our understanding. However, above all, the aim will be to provide a framework for problematic reflection, relying on the deep renewal of political history which, over the last few decades, has broadened - to culture in particular, as attested by the notion of political culture - and has been enriched by the contributions of political science, sociology... Particular attention will be paid to iconographic sources (images, caricatures, etc.). Another innovation will be the inclusion of bridges to current events as a way of opening the course.
- Teaching coordinator: Dulphy Anne