Your Search Results

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        November 2017

        In pursuit of politics

        Education and revolution in eighteenth-century France

        by Adrian O'Connor, Maire Cross

        In pursuit of politics offers a new interpretation of debates over education and politics in the early years of the French Revolution. Following these debates from the 1760s to the Terror (1793-94), and putting well-known works in dialogue with previously-neglected sources, it situates education at the centre of revolutionary contests over citizenship, participatory politics and representative government. The book takes up education's role in one of history's most dramatic periods of political uncertainty and upheaval, anxiety and ambition. It traces the convergence of philosophical, political, ideological and practical concerns in Ancien Régime debates and revolutionary attempts to reform education and remake society. In doing so, it provides new insight into the relationship between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution and sheds new light on how revolutionary legislators and ordinary citizens worked to make a new sort of politics possible in eighteenth-century France.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        September 2017

        The French army 1750–1820

        by Rafe Blaufarb

        This book examines the transformation of the French military profession during the momentous period that saw the death of royal absolutism, the rise and fall of successive revolutionary regimes, the consolidation of Napoleonic rule and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy after the Empire's final collapse. Crossing traditional chronological boundaries, it brings together periods in French history that are usually treated separately and challenges established views of change and continuity during the Age of Revolution. Based on a wealth of archival sources, this book is as much a social history of ideas like equality, talent, and merit as a military history.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        September 2016

        Robespierre and the Festival of the Supreme Being

        The search for a republican morality

        by Jonathan Smyth, Maire Cross

        The search for a republican morality provides an exciting new study of an important event in the French Revolution and a defining moment in the career of its principal actor, Maximilien Robespierre, the Festival of the Supreme Being. This day of national celebration was held to inaugurate the new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, and whilst traditionally it has been dismissed as a compulsory political event, this book redefines its importance as a hugely popular national event. Hitherto unused or disregarded source material is used to offer new perspective to the national reaction to Robespierre's creation of the Festival and of his search for a new republican morality. It is the first ever detailed study in English of this area of French Revolutionary history, the first in any language since 1988 and will be welcomed by scholars and students of this period.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        April 2018

        Robespierre and the Festival of the Supreme Being

        The search for a republican morality

        by Jonathan Smyth, Maire Cross

        Robespierre and the Festival of the Supreme Being provides an exciting new study of an important event in the French Revolution and a defining moment in the career of its principal actor, Maximilien Robespierre, the Festival of the Supreme Being. This day of national celebration was held to inaugurate the new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, and whilst traditionally it has been dismissed as a compulsory political event, this book redefines its importance as a hugely popular national event. Hitherto unused or disregarded source material is used to offer new perspective to the national reaction to Robespierre's creation of the Festival and of his search for a new republican morality. It is the first ever detailed study in English of this area of French Revolutionary history, the first in any language since 1988 and will be welcomed by scholars and students of this period.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        August 2016

        Robespierre and the Festival of the Supreme Being

        The search for a republican morality

        by Jonathan Smyth, Maire Cross

        The search for a republican morality provides an exciting new study of an important event in the French Revolution and a defining moment in the career of its principal actor, Maximilien Robespierre, the Festival of the Supreme Being. This day of national celebration was held to inaugurate the new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, and whilst traditionally it has been dismissed as a compulsory political event, this book redefines its importance as a hugely popular national event. Hitherto unused or disregarded source material is used to offer new perspective to the national reaction to Robespierre's creation of the Festival and of his search for a new republican morality. It is the first ever detailed study in English of this area of French Revolutionary history, the first in any language since 1988 and will be welcomed by scholars and students of this period.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        September 2016

        Robespierre and the Festival of the Supreme Being

        The search for a republican morality

        by Jonathan Smyth, Maire Cross

        The search for a republican morality provides an exciting new study of an important event in the French Revolution and a defining moment in the career of its principal actor, Maximilien Robespierre, the Festival of the Supreme Being. This day of national celebration was held to inaugurate the new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, and whilst traditionally it has been dismissed as a compulsory political event, this book redefines its importance as a hugely popular national event. Hitherto unused or disregarded source material is used to offer new perspective to the national reaction to Robespierre's creation of the Festival and of his search for a new republican morality. It is the first ever detailed study in English of this area of French Revolutionary history, the first in any language since 1988 and will be welcomed by scholars and students of this period.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        September 2020

        Death and the crown

        Ritual and politics in France before the Revolution

        by Anne Byrne

        Looking at royal ritual in pre-revolutionary France, Death and the crown examines the deathbed and funeral of Louis XV in 1774, the lit de justice of November 1774, and the coronation of Louis XVI, including the ceremony of the royal healing touch for scrofula. It reviews the state of the field in ritual studies and appraises the status of the monarchy in the 1770s, including the recall of the parlements and the many ways people engaged with royal ritual. It answers questions such as whether Louis XV died in fear of damnation, why Marie Antoinette was not crowned in 1775 and why Louis XVI's coronation was not held in Paris. This lively, accessible text is a useful tool for under- and post-graduate teaching which will also be of interest to specialists on this under-researched period.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        October 2020

        Feudalism, venality, and revolution

        Provincial assemblies in late-Old Regime France

        by Stephen Miller, William G. Naphy, Joseph Bergin

        According to Alexis de Tocqueville's influential work on the Old Regime and the French Revolution, royal centralisation had so weakened the feudal power of the nobles that their remaining privileges became glaringly intolerable to commoners. This book challenges the theory by showing that when Louis XVI convened assemblies of landowners in the late 1770s and 1780s to discuss policies needed to resolve the budgetary crisis, he faced widespread opposition from lords and office holders. These elites regarded the assemblies as a challenge to their hereditary power over commoners. The monarchy incorporated an administrative of seigneurial jurisdictions and venal offices. Lordships and offices upheld inequality on behalf of the nobility and bred the discontent motivating the people to make the French Revolution.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        October 2020

        Feudalism, venality, and revolution

        Provincial assemblies in late-Old Regime France

        by Stephen Miller, William G. Naphy, Joseph Bergin

        According to Alexis de Tocqueville's influential work on the Old Regime and the French Revolution, royal centralisation had so weakened the feudal power of the nobles that their remaining privileges became glaringly intolerable to commoners. This book challenges the theory by showing that when Louis XVI convened assemblies of landowners in the late 1770s and 1780s to discuss policies needed to resolve the budgetary crisis, he faced widespread opposition from lords and office holders. These elites regarded the assemblies as a challenge to their hereditary power over commoners. The monarchy incorporated an administrative of seigneurial jurisdictions and venal offices. Lordships and offices upheld inequality on behalf of the nobility and bred the discontent motivating the people to make the French Revolution.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        July 2022

        Confiscating the common good

        Small towns and religious politics in the French Revolution

        by Edward Woell, Maire Cross

        Comprising five microhistories, this book proposes that the French Revolution's religious politics in small towns weakened democratic society to such an extent that it precluded political democracy. It details two revolutionary dynamics that damaged the civic life of small towns: social polarisation and the loss of local institutions that had been a source of social capital as well as a common good. Detailed narratives about Pont-à-Mousson, Gournay-en-Bray, Vienne, Haguenau and Is-sur-Tille also reveal that contrary to the view upheld by many scholars, small-town religious politics extended far beyond the pivotal Ecclesiastical Oath of 1791. Other developments - the nationalisation of Church property, the dissolution of religious orders, and the elimination of bishoprics, chapters, parishes and collegial churches - also adversely affected the wellbeing of these small urban communities not only in the Revolution but also in the two centuries that followed.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        July 2022

        Confiscating the common good

        Small towns and religious politics in the French Revolution

        by Edward Woell, Maire Cross

        Comprising five microhistories, this book proposes that the French Revolution's religious politics in small towns weakened democratic society to such an extent that it precluded political democracy. It details two revolutionary dynamics that damaged the civic life of small towns: social polarisation and the loss of local institutions that had been a source of social capital as well as a common good. Detailed narratives about Pont-à-Mousson, Gournay-en-Bray, Vienne, Haguenau and Is-sur-Tille also reveal that contrary to the view upheld by many scholars, small-town religious politics extended far beyond the pivotal Ecclesiastical Oath of 1791. Other developments - the nationalisation of Church property, the dissolution of religious orders, and the elimination of bishoprics, chapters, parishes and collegial churches - also adversely affected the wellbeing of these small urban communities not only in the Revolution but also in the two centuries that followed.

      • Trusted Partner
        The Arts
        October 2023

        Performance art and revolution

        Stuart Brisley’s cuts in time

        by Sanja Perovic

        Stuart Brisley is a pioneering multi-media and performance artist who developed performance art as a form of social action in the 1960s and 1970s. This book assesses his seminal influence on British art through a focus on his lifelong engagement with the histories and imaginaries of revolution. Linking revolutionary history with material from a critical dialogue established with Brisley over the last decade, the book recognises Brisley's corpus as a fascinating stage for addressing important questions about the relationship of art, politics and history. How do we make sense of politically committed art in a contemporary context where revolution has supposedly died or is deemed impossible? What can the afterlives of performance art tell us about the historical past, including the promises and contradictions of revolutionary time?

      • Trusted Partner
        The Arts
        October 2023

        Performance art and revolution

        Stuart Brisley’s cuts in time

        by Sanja Perovic

        Stuart Brisley is a pioneering multi-media and performance artist who developed performance art as a form of social action in the 1960s and 1970s. This book assesses his seminal influence on British art through a focus on his lifelong engagement with the histories and imaginaries of revolution. Linking revolutionary history with material from a critical dialogue established with Brisley over the last decade, the book recognises Brisley's corpus as a fascinating stage for addressing important questions about the relationship of art, politics and history. How do we make sense of politically committed art in a contemporary context where revolution has supposedly died or is deemed impossible? What can the afterlives of performance art tell us about the historical past, including the promises and contradictions of revolutionary time?

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        December 2019

        Death and the crown

        Ritual and politics in France before the Revolution

        by Anne Byrne, Maire Cross, David Hopkin

        Looking at royal ritual in pre-revolutionary France, Death and the crown examines the deathbed and funeral of Louis XV in 1774, the lit de justice of November 1774, and the coronation of Louis XVI, including the ceremony of the royal healing touch for scrofula. It reviews the state of the field in ritual studies and appraises the status of the monarchy in the 1770s, including the recall of the parlements and the many ways people engaged with royal ritual. It answers questions such as whether Louis XV died in fear of damnation, why Marie Antoinette was not crowned in 1775 and why Louis XVI's coronation was not held in Paris. This lively, accessible text is a useful tool for under- and post-graduate teaching which will also be of interest to specialists on this under-researched period.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        December 2019

        Death and the crown

        Ritual and politics in France before the Revolution

        by Anne Byrne, Maire Cross, David Hopkin

        Looking at royal ritual in pre-revolutionary France, Death and the crown examines the deathbed and funeral of Louis XV in 1774, the lit de justice of November 1774, and the coronation of Louis XVI, including the ceremony of the royal healing touch for scrofula. It reviews the state of the field in ritual studies and appraises the status of the monarchy in the 1770s, including the recall of the parlements and the many ways people engaged with royal ritual. It answers questions such as whether Louis XV died in fear of damnation, why Marie Antoinette was not crowned in 1775 and why Louis XVI's coronation was not held in Paris. This lively, accessible text is a useful tool for under- and post-graduate teaching which will also be of interest to specialists on this under-researched period.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        February 2021

        The French army 1750–1820

        by Rafe Blaufarb

        This book examines the transformation of the French military profession during the momentous period that saw the death of royal absolutism, the rise and fall of successive revolutionary regimes, the consolidation of Napoleonic rule and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy after the Empire's final collapse. Crossing traditional chronological boundaries, it brings together periods in French history that are usually treated separately and challenges established views of change and continuity during the Age of Revolution. Based on a wealth of archival sources, this book is as much a social history of ideas like equality, talent, and merit as a military history.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        February 2021

        The French army 1750–1820

        by Rafe Blaufarb

        This book examines the transformation of the French military profession during the momentous period that saw the death of royal absolutism, the rise and fall of successive revolutionary regimes, the consolidation of Napoleonic rule and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy after the Empire's final collapse. Crossing traditional chronological boundaries, it brings together periods in French history that are usually treated separately and challenges established views of change and continuity during the Age of Revolution. Based on a wealth of archival sources, this book is as much a social history of ideas like equality, talent, and merit as a military history.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        November 2019

        In pursuit of politics

        Education and revolution in eighteenth-century France

        by Adrian O'Connor, Maire Cross

        In pursuit of politics offers a new interpretation of the debates over education and politics in the early years of the French Revolution. Following these debates from the 1760s to the Terror (1793-94) and putting well-known works in dialogue with previously neglected sources, it situates education at the centre of revolutionary contests over citizenship, participatory politics and representative government. The book takes up education's role in a dramatic period of uncertainty and upheaval, anxiety and ambition. It traces the convergence of philosophical, political, ideological and practical concerns in Ancien Régime debates and revolutionary attempts to reform education and remake society. In doing so, it provides new insight into the relationship between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution and sheds light on how revolutionary legislators and ordinary citizens worked to make a new sort of politics possible in eighteenth-century France.

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