HST 359u:
"Early Modern France, 1515-1778"
Thomas Luckett

Winter 2010
Tue. & Thur, 10:00-11:50 AM
Room 222 Neuberger Hall


Blackboard required:  This is the public web page for this course.  The rest of the web site for this course is available only through Blackboard, and will become accessible a few days in advance of the term.  To view it, you will need to obtain an ODIN account, and enroll in the course.  Use of Blackboard is a requirement of the course. 

If you are new to ODIN or Blackboard, the following links will be useful:

Course section information:
  • HST 359u, sec TML, crn 44747.
Course description:  A survey of the history of France during the Wars of Religion, the Age of Absolutism, and the Enlightenment, 1515-1778.  Major themes include religious conflict, the development of the royal state, the political opposition of the parlements, the nature of "absolutism," elite and popular culture, the origins of the French Revolution.

Goals:  By the end of the term, the student should:

  • Master the chronology of events in early modern France.
  • Understand the major themes in the history of early moder France.
  • Understand the structure of the historiography of early modern France.
  • Know how to critique a secondary work on Early Modern France, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and explain how it fits into the larger historiography.
  • Know how to analyze a primary source from early modern France, and explain how it could be used to support a particular position in the historiography.

Readings:  Required readings include five books, available through the Portland State Bookstore:

  • Beik, William, Louis XIV and Absolutism: A Brief Study with Documents (Bedford, 2000).  ISBN 0-312-13309-X
  • Bodin, Jean, On Sovereignty, trans. Julian H. Franklin (Cambridge UP, 1992).  ISBN 0-521-34992-3
  • Holt, Mack P., The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629, 2nd edn (Cambridge UP, 2005).  ISBN 0-521-54750-4
  • Jones, Colin, The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon (Penguin, 2003).  ISBN 0-14-013093-4
  • Rabelais, François, Gargantua and Pantagruel, trans. M.A. Screech (Penguin, 1999).  ISBN 0-14-044550-1

First reading assignment:  If you'd like to get started over break, the first reading assignment of the term will be:

  • Holt, French Wars of Religion, intro. & chapters 1-2.
  • Rabelais, Gargantua & Pantagruel, book 1.

Contact Prof. Thomas Luckett:

  • Office hours:  by appointment, 441-H Cramer Hall.
    • To schedule an appointment call:  503-725-3917 or 503-725-3977
  • Phone:  503-725-3982.
  • Email:  see faculty directory.

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