FRENCH 228 “Pleasures of Paris: Paris in the Age of Mass Culture, 1860-1930”

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Paris was transformed through the process of hausmannisation from a medieval city to a modern capital known for the entertainments and pleasures it afforded both visitors and residents.  The construction of the new boulevards and monuments, along with the emergence of mass democracy and the popular press, gave rise to a culture of spectacle and display.  By the fin de siècle, Paris had become “the capital of the nineteenth century,” attracting avant-garde artists from all over the world, including a sizeable community of expatriate Americans between the two world wars. This interdisciplinary course, which makes use of historical and literary documents, as well as films and songs, explores the process of haussmannisation, life on the boulevards, Montmartre as a revolutionary space and a place of popular entertainment, the grands magasins, and the café culture of American writers and artists during the interwar years.  Visits onsite in Paris include the Musée d’Orsay, the Opéra Garnier, the grands magasins, Montmartre, Père Lachaise cemetery, as well as tours of the grands boulevards and of Left-bank cafés. Subject to Dean’s Office approval. Prerequisite: At least one unit of 206, 207, 208, 209 or above, an SAT II score of 690-800, an AP score of 5, or an equivalent departmental placement score. Application required.

Primary Readings:

Emile Zola, La Curée (excerpts) 
Alphonse Daudet, « La Bataille du Père-Lachaise »
Guy de Maupassant, Bel Ami (excerpts)
Octave Mirbeau, Paris déshabillé
J. Huysmans, Les habitués de café)
Roland Dorgèles, Montmartre mon pays or Bouquet de bohème (excerpts)
Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

Secondary Texts:

Christophe Prochasson, Paris 1900 (excerpts)
Vanessa Schwartz, Spectacular Realities: Early Mass Culture in Fin-de-Siècle France
Gabriel Weisberg, ed. Montmartre and the Making of Mass Culture
Barbara Stern Shapiro, Pleasures of Paris: Daumier to Picasso
Tyler Stovall, Paris Noir: African-Americans in the City of Light