History 255 - Tpc: Les Miserables, 1789-1900

Victor Hugo's celebrated novel, Les Misrables (1862), will set the themes for this lecture and discussion course on the history of France from 1789 to 1900. Topics will include revolts and revolutions; nationalism and nation building; urbanization and the social problems of poverty, disease, and crime; romanticism, socialism, and republicanism; the rise of the newspaper and print imagery. Particular attention will be given to the representation of history in literature, print images, and films. In addition to Hugo's Les Misrables, readings will include novels by Honor Balzac and Georges Sand.