The Making of Modern Paris, 1852-1939

In this class, we’ll explore the making of modern Paris from the Second Empire through the 1930s.

Political and social turbulence, as well as an architectural and artistic efflorescence, characterized Paris from the Second Empire through the 1930s. Topics to be treated in this class’s exploration of the City of Light will include Baron Haussmann and the remaking of Paris; the everyday lives of ordinary Parisians; life in the city during the Prussian siege and the Paris Commune; the Great Expositions of 1867, 1878, 1889, and 1900; the experiences of the city’s inhabitants during the First World War; and the cultural vitality of Paris during the interwar years.

Frank Biletz received his PhD in history from the University of Chicago, with a primary specialization in modern British and Irish history. He is currently Adjunct Instructor in History at Loyola University Chicago and has been teaching seminars at the Newberry since 1994.

MATERIALS LIST

Recommended:

• Luc Sante, The Other Paris. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2016. ISBN: 978-0374536459

First Reading:

• No first reading assignment