Welcome to the paper! We'll be looking at life in France and its empire during the rise and fall of absolutism in France from Richelieu to the Revolution. We begin with the background of the Renaissance before focusing on the absolute monarchy of the Sun King Louis XIV and the culture of his court at Versailles, which included an early feminist movement. We'll look at how artists praised and criticised the regime and will also find out what life was like for the millions of people beyond the court. Since France's first empire began under Louis XIV, we will also examine the imperial system and colonial slavery.

The second half of the paper looks at how criticism of the monarchy became an examination of all aspects of knowledge and society, leading to the publication of major works of the French Enlightenment, including the Encyclopaedia and Voltaire’s Candide. We'll also discover how the aristocracy became more decadent as the eighteenth century advanced, which is seen in paintings of the time as well as in literary works like Dangerous Liaisons and The Marriage of Figaro.

During the paper you'll improve your analytical skills while reading texts of the time as well as recent criticism. Above all, I hope you'll develop an appreciation and enjoyment of another era and another culture.

Our three one-hour classes each week will be a mix of lectures, tutorials and discussions according to the material covered and your questions and observations. Material is intended to be covered in a face-to-face/kanohi ki te kanohi setting. Classes will be recorded on Panopto and made available through Moodle but student discussion will be edited out for privacy reasons.