DESCRIPTION

The French Revolution transformed the whole range of political institutions as well as the whole vocabulary of political relations in the West. This class explores some of the most important themes of moral and political life in the period of the French Revolution, with emphasis not only on the origin of revolutionary thought, but on its continuing influence in our own time. The class considers a number of writers including Rousseau, Kant, Fichte, and Constant. We examine these writers both on their own terms and in relation to present-day debates about the tendency and result of revolutionary political thought. Literary and artistic works are studied to supplement lectures and class discussions.