Few events in history have had such a profound impact on Western society and culture and have generated such intense debate among historians as the French Revolution. In this course we will consider the causes, meanings, and consequences of the French Revolution by examining French society and culture in the “long century” between the reign of King Louis XIV (1660) and the end of Napoleon Bonaparte’s empire (1815). Our sources will range from novels and memoirs to Enlightenment treatises to scandalous revolutionary pamphlets attacking Queen Marie-Antoinette. In addition to primary sources, we will encounter a range of conflicting historical interpretations of the Old Regime and Revolution as we try to make sense of a revolution that, in many historians’ eyes gave birth to the modern world. In addition, the course will introduce the culture of the rich and sparkling century that is fondly known as le siècle des lumières.