| 1 | Introduction | |
| I. Absolutism |
| 2 | The Material World and the Political Background | |
| 3 | The Theory and Practice of Absolutism | |
| 4 | Taxes and Provincial Reform | |
| 5 | Theater, Art, and Politics | First paper due |
| II. Enlightenment |
| 6 | Origins of the French Enlightenment | |
| 7 | The Encyclopédie
| |
| 8 | A Political Movement, I? | |
| 9 | A Political Movement, II? | |
| 10 | Spaces of the Public Sphere | Second paper due |
| III. Revolution |
| 11 | The Origins of the French Revolution | |
| 12 | The Problem of Nationalism I | |
| 13 | The Problem of Nationalism II | |
| 14 | 1789, the Abolition of Feudalism, and the Rights of Man | |
| 15 | From Constitutional Monarchy to the Terror | |
| 16 | The Directory | |
| 17 | The Revolution in Images and Song | Third paper due |
| IV. Empire |
| 18 | Napoléon: Debates | |
| 19 | Napoléonic Warfare | |
| 20 | The French Caribbean | |
| 21 | Individual Consultation with Instructor | |
| 22 | Legacies | |
| 23 | Visions of Empire | Fourth paper due |
| V. Final Projects |
| 24 | Individual Consultation with Instructor | |
| 25-26 | Oral Presentations | |
| 27 | Conclusion | Final paper due |
