Course Description

Paris ! The name itself captures the imagination, and not just that of Francophiles. Patrice Higonnet, in his Paris, Capital of the World (Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2002) , evokes ways in which this “vibrant and modern city whose influence extends through time and space” has seized the world's attention: “Paris as the capital of modernity, or mystery, or tradition; Paris as the capital of art and fashion; Paris as the capital of world revolution; Paris as the capital of pleasure, crime, sex, science.”

In this course we shall seek, on the one hand, to trace the dynamic historical evolution of Paris as an urban space from pre-Roman days through the end of the 20 th century, concentrating on its urbanization, architecture, topography, esthetics, demography, and social and political history. Thus, we shall attempt to determine to what extent its history might support the city's claim to be “capital of the world.”

On the other hand, we shall examine how Paris and its history inspired the imaginations of five 19th-century French novelists—Hugo, Dumas, Balzac, Zola, Verne—who wrote during what is arguably the most dynamic century of Paris urbanism.