HIST 358

FRANCE SINCE 1815

Prof. Munson

RESARCH PROJECT: SOURCES ON RESERVE AND IN THE LIBRARY

The following books have been put on reserve, and are listed in the order of time period covered. Many of the documentary sourcebooks have useful introductions by the editors. Since these introductions are often dated, use them as a general orientation, but supplement them with more recent secondary sources from the stacks.

- Collins, Irene, ed., Government and Society in France, 1814-1848, 1970. The most varied of the documentary source books, with legislative speeches, contemporary newspaper accounts, enquiries into social conditions. An especially good source for early French socialists.

- Beik, Paul H., ed., Louis Philippe and the July Monarchy, 1965. A selection of documents from the period, with an emphasis on politics and social thought.

- Simon, W.M., ed., French Liberalism, 1789-1848, 1972. Excerpts from liberal politicians, historians, and leading political thinkers of the time. The only collection that focuses on political thought (as opposed to politics).

- McClelland, J.S., ed., The French Right from De Maistre to Maurras, 1970. A representative collection of writers who were either right-wing themselves, or who contributed ideas to right-wing movements (Mussolini, for example, learned much from the left-wing ideas of Sorel). The introductions to each writer assume some knowledge of French and European history, so keep Popkin and other reference works handy. A rewarding source if used properly.

- Price, Roger, ed., 1848 in France, 1970. Excellent and varied collection of documents from the years of the Second Republic.

-- De Tocqueville, Alexis, Recollections, ed. by J. P. Mayer, 1959. A thoughtful memoir of the events of the Revolution of 1848 by one of France's greatest political minds. Aside from writing Democracy in America, Tocqueville served both as a legislative deputy and as Foreign Minister during the Second Republic. This is a rare glimpse of a man of ideas confronting the realities of political life.

- Osgood, Samuel, ed., Napoleon III: Buffoon, Modern Dictator, or Sphinx?, 1963. A collection of interpretations, mainly by historians. Among the authors excerpted are two contemporaries of Napoleon III, the romantic poet Victor Hugo and the radical revolutionary Karl Marx.

- Gooch, Brison D., ed., Napoleon III -- Man of Destiny: Enlightened Statesman or Proto-Fascist?, 1966. Similar to the collection above, but with no accounts from the period. To be used in conjunction with primary sources from elsewhere (like Thomson).

- Edwards, Stewart, ed., The Communards of Paris, 1871, 1970. Excellent collection of documents on the last attempt in France to establish a radical republic.

- Williams, Roger L., ed., The Commune of Paris, 1871, 1969. Includes eyewitness accounts as well as more recent interpretations. Best used in conjunction with Edwards.

- Becker, George J., ed., Paris Under Siege, 1870-1871: From the Goncourt 'Journal', 1969. An eyewitness account of life in Paris during two sieges, one by the Prussians, the other by the French government against the insurgent Paris Commune. To be used in conjunction with other materials.

- Derfler, Leslie, ed., The Dreyfus Affair: Tragedy of Errors?, 1963. A collection of interpretations by historians, but dated. Best used in conjunction with primary sources from other collections.

- Zola, Emile, The Dreyfus Affair: "J’accuse" and other Writings, ed. By Alain Pagès, 1996. A collection in English of all of Zola’s writings relating to the Dreyfus Affair. Here are the writings that turned the Dreyfus Affair into the scandal of the century. To be used in conjunction with the other sources above.

- Thomson, David, ed., France: Empire and Republic, 1850-1940, 1968. Mostly political documents, with particularly good materials on education, church-state relations.

- Derfler, Leslie, ed., The Third French Republic, 1870-1940, 1966. Good introduction, well-chosen smattering of documents. Used in conjunction with Thomson, you should be able to find primary sources on nearly any topic related to the Third Republic.

- Bloch, Marc, Memoirs of War, 1914-1915, 1988. Bloch, one of France’s greatest historians, fought in both world wars. In this, he reflects with his usual intelligence on his experience in the trenches.

- Keylor, William R., ed., The Legacy of the Great War:  Peacemaking, 1919, 1998.  A good introduction to the issues confronting European statesmen after World War I, with primary sources from the period and historical assessments.

- Daladier, Edouard, In Defense of France, 1939. More like "In Defense of Daladier". Daladier (from the Vaucluse) was prime minister of the Third Republic in its death throes, and a fellow traveller of Neville Chamberlain in the policy of appeasement toward Hitler. Not a giant among French leaders, but his point of view is one that many Frenchmen shared. If you’re doing foreign policy between the wars, this source should be on your list.

- Osgood, Samuel, ed., The Fall of France, 1940: Causes and Responsibilities, 1965. Frenchmen and others search for the causes of France's ultimate humiliation. It contains excerpts from all sides of the political spectrum, including the leaders of the Vichy government. The selection by historian and resistance fighter Marc Bloch (later killed by the Nazis) is especially thoughtful.

- Bloch, Marc, Strange Defeat: A Statement of Evidence Written in 1940, 1967. Bloch is one of France’s greatest social historians. Here, he tries to explain the most shattering event in France’s modern history as it was happening – the fall of France to the Nazis in 1940. After writing this passionate and eloquent eulogy to the Third Republic, Bloch joined the Resistance and was eventually executed by the Nazis.

- The Sorrow and the Pity: A Film by Marcel Ophuls, 1969. Transcript, in English, of the powerful documentary film that shook the French soul when it first appeared in the 1970s. Ophuls exposed anew the depth of French collaboration with the occupying Germans, and explored the reasons with remarkable sensitivity. Use this together with the film, now in Longwood’s holdings.

- Maier, Charles S., and Dan White, ed., The Thirteenth of May: the Advent of De Gaulle's Republic, 1968. Very comprehensive survey, with documents, of the events that led to the establishment of the Fifth Republic (the current regime). An excellent source for those interested in De Gaulle's post-war leadership or the conflict in the French colony of Algeria.

- Isenberg, Irwin, ed., France Under De Gaulle, 1967. A good collection of documents on France before the 1968 riots.

- Willis, F. Roy, ed., De Gaulle: Anachronism, Realist, or Prophet?, 1967. Part of an "Historical Problems" series, with assessments of De Gaulle by his contemporaries at the height of his post-war career. Again, it reflects opinion before the events of '68 and De Gaulle's resignation in 1969.

- Andrews, William G., ed., French Politics and Algeria, 1962. Another documentary survey that covers some of the same ground as above, but with more of a focus on Algeria. A good source for those interested in French imperialism, especially given the relative poverty of materials on French involvement in Vietnam.

- Porter, Gareth, ed., Vietnam: the Definitive Documentation of Human Decisions, vol. 1, 1979. Not truly definitive, since it contains no documents from French archives (typical of our obsession only with the American aspect of the war). But since many French documents found their way into the American and Vietnamese archives used by the editors, this is still the best available source for France's disaster in Indochina.

- Cohen, Steven, ed., Vietnam: Anthology and Guide to a Television History, 1983. A companion guide to the acclaimed PBS series on Vietnam (also available in our library on video), which includes some documents from the period of French rule in Indo-China.

- Hélias, Pierre-Jakez, The Horse of Pride: Life in a Breton Village, 1978. An evocative account of early twentieth-century life in rural France, by a noted folklorist, with much on religion, education, and regionalism (in this case, Brittany). Excellent for use with Wylie as a comparison. This is not on reserve, but is available directly from me upon request.

The following books, which are not documentary collections, have also been put on reserve as supplementary materials that may provide aid in using the documentary sources outlined above:

- Ardagh, John, and Colin Jones, Cultural Atlas of France, 1991. The best primer available on French geography, history and culture. If you are looking for a quick description of a specific region of France, this is the place to start. I use it all the time.

- Zeldin, Theodore, France, 1848-1945, 2 vols., 1977. A voluminous, ambitious and often entertaining treatment of various subjects, with emphasis on what the French call "the history of mentalities". If your topic falls into this period, Zeldin is likely to have a chapter or part of a chapter on it. Some of your required reading is from this book, so I have supplemented the hard cover edition with several copies in paperback.

- Ardagh, John, France Today, 1990. Perceptive study of contemporary French culture and society by a journalist. The problem is getting documents in English to match, so see me.

- Zeldin, Theodore, The French, 1982. This covers much of the same material as Ardagh, but with less reverence. Witty, sometimes cutesy, but backed by solid knowledge of the subject. Again, finding the documents to match is a problem.

- Kelly, Michael, ed., The Essentials: French Culture and Society, 2001. A handy alphabetically arranged guide to French culture, which is particularly good on the contemporary scene. So, if you’re doing anything on French culture, especially after the Second World War, you want to start with this as a reference tool.

- Bell, David, Douglas Johnson, and Peter Morris, eds., A Biographical Dictionary of French Political Leaders Since 1870, 1990. Indispensable reference work for anyone working on a topic having any relation to politics.

In addition to these materials, the stacks contain the complete run of historical dictionaries recently published by Greenwood Press, starting with the Revolution of 1789, and ending with the Fourth and Fifth Republics. It is usually best to start with these as an orientation to your subject, before you go launching off into specialized studies. But don't cite them in your paper, since they are for background use only. Since these circulate, use them as much as possible in the library itself, so that everyone has access.

- Newman, Edgar, ed., Historical Dictionary of France from the 1815 Restoration to the Second Empire, 2 vols., 1987.

- Echard, William., ed., Historical Dictionary of the French Second Empire, 1985.

- Hutton, Patrice, ed., Historical Dictionary of the Third French Republic, 1986.

- Gordon, Bertram, ed., Historical Dictionary of World War II France, 1998.

- Northcutt, Wayne, ed., Historical Dictionary of the French Fourth and Fifth Republics, 1946-1991, 1992.

In general, always check the history materials on the reference shelves for information on your topic, asking a reference librarian for help if you need it. Intelligent use of reference works can save loads of time, just don't use them as major sources for your paper. If you want to do a topic or period that doesn't seem to be covered by the sources available, see me, and we will see if something can be arranged.

This list constitutes maybe a quarter of what I could have put on reserve, and mainly excludes secondary works by historians on the various subjects covered in the course. Neither does it include most of the books by or about specific figures, like Tocqueville or De Gaulle (whose complete war memoirs are still on the stacks). The books on reserve are designed to give you a jump start on your topic, not to free you from the task of looking in the stacks on your own. Be aware that the history section does not contain all the books relevant to French history. French social thinkers can be found in the sociology section, the achievements of French science in the technology or science section, French feminism in the women's studies section, French economic and labor history in the economics and business sections, French education in the education section, and so on. Remember, everything has a history, and those specialized histories will generally be found under the subject heading in question -- at least, that's the way the Library of Congress headings work. For some topics, the circulating books may disappear fast, which means you shouldn't procrastinate on developing your topic. Please do not check out a mountain of books, and then "forget" to return the ones you don't use: someone may need the books that lay a-moldering under your bed. Remember, also, that the web has a lot of primary source materials on French history (usefully collected on the web page for H-France, a listserve for French historians -- http://www3.uakron.edu/hfrance/history.html).

The library has several periodicals that contain frequent articles on French history. Each of these periodicals has annual, biannual, or quarterly indexes, and are now available on-line. Check these indexes and databases to see if there are any articles related to your topic. Some of the most important journals are:

French Historical Studies (Back issues are on-line on the JSTOR database – ask a reference librarian how to use it).

French History (Another recent acquisition by the library).

Historical Journal (Back issues on JSTOR)

Journal of Contemporary History (Back issues on JSTOR)

Journal of Modern History (Back issues on JSTOR)

Past and Present (Back issues on JSTOR)

Check the catalog for further titles devoted to specific regions or topics. Keep in mind that all the sources on reserve must be shared, so be considerate. Defacing, highlighting, underlining, hogging, stapling, folding, mutilating or otherwise abusing your reserve privileges will be dealt with severely if I find about it. Books are perishable items, and should be treated with respect, as should the students who come after you and have to use these sources too. My spies are everywhere.

Your project should also address a particular historical problem. For example, you might focus on documents that explain the motives behind the push for mass education in the late nineteenth century, or maybe just the motives of Jules Ferry, the prime minister who introduced these reforms: was the major goal to educate and discipline a labor force, to teach respect for traditional morals and values to the unwashed masses, to lessen the cultural influence of the Catholic Church, or to educate a democratic electorate? Or was it a combination of these goals? Do not just summarize events or the ideas contained in documents, explain their significance. Take a stand and make an argument: do your documents show, for example, that France stayed in Vietnam after 1945 more for economic reasons, geo-political ones, or mostly out of national pride? Look for the broader meaning in the specific topic you have chosen, without making the topic itself too broad in the process.

On questions of format (footnotes and endnotes, etc.), consult your syllabus, the departmental style sheet, and, if those don't answer your questions, Turabian. In regard to proper names and words in French, I expect the correct French spelling, including accents. If your word processor does not support accents, do them by hand. Believe me, it is not that tough.

Oh, I almost forgot. Good Luck.