Unit 2: Revolution and Modernity
Many historians believe the "modern age" began with the French Revolution. While there were revolutions in the ancient world, many argue that something radically new appeared in history at the end of the eighteenth century.
In this unit, we explore the connection between revolutions and modernity by focusing on the following questions: What was the western world like before modernity? What ideas inspired the French Revolution, and what was modern about them? Your analysis of pre-revolutionary Europe will also give you a point of comparison for later units, which turn to non-western revolutions.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 8 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- characterize the socio-political realities of pre-revolutionary Europe;
- describe key themes of the Enlightenment and critically evaluate them;
- identify the most important elements of modernity; and
- critically evaluate competing models of modernity.
2.1: Ancien Régime Europe: Two Examples
Read this brief text to better understand the political structure of pre-revolutionary France. Examine the portraits and pictures of French kings to understand how power was represented at this time.
Watch this lecture, focusing on understanding the ways in which the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) influenced state-building in France and England. As you watch, focus on the following aspects of pre-revolutionary societies: the institution of kingship, the role of religion, and the mechanisms of taxation.
Read this paper to understand the practice of "tax farming" in France.
Watch this lecture, which discusses how and why both England and Holland rejected absolutist rule.
Read this brief essay to get an overview of the conflicts between religion and the English state before the English Civil War.
2.2: The Enlightenment
Watch this lecture. Focus on the different meanings of the Enlightenment among the intellectual elites and in popular culture. What did the Enlightenment thinkers focus on? What did they critique? How was the influence of the intellectuals different from that of the "street"?
This 1784 essay is one of the most important texts of the European Enlightenment. As you read it, ask yourself: what does Kant mean by "emergence from self-incurred immaturity"? What is the relationship between thinking for oneself and obedience to political authority? What do you think is revolutionary about this text?
In "The Social Contract" Rousseau articulated the concept of the 'general will', an idea which was often evoked by revolutionaries in France and in later eras. Read this selection of excerpts from Rousseau's influential text to understand what he meant by the concept of the general will.
Read this 1794 essay and analyze its tone. As you read, ask yourself why Condorcet is so unshakably convinced of the necessity of progress? What does he mean by progress? What is his understanding of history?
2.3: Characteristics of Modernity
Read this text, paying particular attention to how the author characterizes modernity and how he distinguishes between traditional modes of life and the modern era.
Various notions of equality and inequality are essential in discussions of both revolutions and modernity. Study this article carefully, focusing on distinctions between formal and substantive equality and their various meanings in different socio-political contexts.
Read this article. Note how it characterizes modernity and modernization. What does modernization theory say about the relationship between Europe and the rest of the world? What are some alternative ways of configuring this relationship? Compare this article to the article on "Modernity and History". What are the features of modernity suggested by these two articles?
Read the final section of this essay, "Part C. State, Bureaucracy, and Law in the Age of Modernity", focusing on how Weber defined the relationship between violence and the modern state.
Unit 2 Assessment
- Receive a grade
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.