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- French Revolution
French Revolution

This free course provides basic historical background to the French Revolution. It will show that the Revolution accelerated intellectual, cultural and psychological change, and opened up new horizons and possibilities. In fact, while much controversy and scepticism remain as to the real extent of underlying change in the social and economic structure of France, it is generally agreed by scholars that the Revolution stimulated a widening of expectations and imaginative awareness: a belief, inherited from the Enlightenment, in the possibility of progress, as well as a conviction that state and society could be reconstituted with a view to realising social and individual aspirations and human happiness generally. As it degenerated into violence and bloodshed, however, the Revolution also provoked scepticism and pessimism about progress and human nature. The two basic types of modern political outlook, progressive and conservative, date from this experience. Which, if any, of these sets of beliefs was true is not at issue here. What matters is that the Revolution gave rise to them and gave them lasting life.
Course learning outcomes
After studying this course, you should be able to:
After studying this course, you should be able to:
- understand the main events of the French Revolution 1789–99 and its significance in the shift in European culture from Enlightenment to Romanticism
- appreciate the French Revolution and its significance through exposure to selected contemporary texts, documents and illustrations of the period.
First Published: 09/08/2012
Updated: 29/11/2018
You can start this course right now without signing-up. Click on any of the course content sections below to start at any point in this course.
If you want to be able to track your progress, earn a free Statement of Participation, and access all course quizzes and activities, sign-up.
Course content
- Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 Enlightenment, liberty and revolution
- 2 Death of the Old Regime
- 3 From 1789 to the flight to Varennes
- 4 Europe and the French Revolution
- 5 Enlightenment, universalism and revolution
- 6 The Thermidorian Settlement and the end of the Revolution
- 7 Conclusion
- Keep on learning
- References
- Acknowledgements
The Third Estate File
Gustav III of Sweden's letter on the fall of the Bastille File
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen File
The Decree on the abolition of nobility File
Plate 1 File
The Decree on the death penalty File
Plate 2 File
Plate 3 File
Plate 4 File
Plate 5 File
Plate 6 File
The lyrics of the Marseillaise File
The AV notes relating to the audio extracts File
The pictures referred to in the AV notes File
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About this free course
16 hours study
Level 2: Intermediate
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