The readings for the Shadow School project from the Reader (free download to the right of the page) are optional. Their function is to parallel the required reading for the Community High School class, and to provide a common jumping-off point for wherever the conversations on this blog might go.
The readings for this first week dip back into the 18th Century to indicate some intellectual origins of the Revolution, and are from Rousseau's Social Contract, the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and Gautier discussing the painter David.
The readings from Rousseau concentrate on his ideas concerning sovereignty and the state, since this is such a guiding theme to the history of the 19th Century. Rousseau's influence was huge and very multifaceted, and we've only been able to touch upon that one theme in the Reader. Other aspects of his influence are his ideas on reason and sentiment, on 'Natural' Language and his linguistic studies, on pedagogy, and his influence on music, drama, and the novel.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man is largely modeled after the American Declaration of Independence, but it's interesting to note the differences in light of the French's lack of any living democratic tradition, the strength of the aristocracy and the Catholic Church, and the closer influence of Rousseau than Thomas Paine (though both were highly influential in both countries). For instance from the first article: "Social distinctions may be founded only upon the common good." No fundamental condemnation of aristocracy was politically feasible even in the revolutionary atmosphere at this stage, just a weakening of it; in fact, class was scarcely an issue in the American Revolution, while it would remain the major cause of instability in France for the whole century. It would be interesting to compare the original 1789 version (the one included in the reading) to the more radical, re-written version of 1793, on the eve of the Terror.
I had trouble finding a public domain text about Jacques-Louis David that I liked. Like him or hate him, David was pretty damned interesting, and largely responsible for the politicization and intellectual aspect of 'The Arts' that came after him. One thing I'd like to find more on is David's role in the Revolutionary government; he wielded considerable power during the Terror. Not surprisingly, this aspect of his activity got swept under the rug by 'art history' pretty quickly (after saving his head by supporting Napoleon), and Gautier in particular is never in a hurry to talk about politics...
The readings for this first week dip back into the 18th Century to indicate some intellectual origins of the Revolution, and are from Rousseau's Social Contract, the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and Gautier discussing the painter David.
The readings from Rousseau concentrate on his ideas concerning sovereignty and the state, since this is such a guiding theme to the history of the 19th Century. Rousseau's influence was huge and very multifaceted, and we've only been able to touch upon that one theme in the Reader. Other aspects of his influence are his ideas on reason and sentiment, on 'Natural' Language and his linguistic studies, on pedagogy, and his influence on music, drama, and the novel.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man is largely modeled after the American Declaration of Independence, but it's interesting to note the differences in light of the French's lack of any living democratic tradition, the strength of the aristocracy and the Catholic Church, and the closer influence of Rousseau than Thomas Paine (though both were highly influential in both countries). For instance from the first article: "Social distinctions may be founded only upon the common good." No fundamental condemnation of aristocracy was politically feasible even in the revolutionary atmosphere at this stage, just a weakening of it; in fact, class was scarcely an issue in the American Revolution, while it would remain the major cause of instability in France for the whole century. It would be interesting to compare the original 1789 version (the one included in the reading) to the more radical, re-written version of 1793, on the eve of the Terror.
I had trouble finding a public domain text about Jacques-Louis David that I liked. Like him or hate him, David was pretty damned interesting, and largely responsible for the politicization and intellectual aspect of 'The Arts' that came after him. One thing I'd like to find more on is David's role in the Revolutionary government; he wielded considerable power during the Terror. Not surprisingly, this aspect of his activity got swept under the rug by 'art history' pretty quickly (after saving his head by supporting Napoleon), and Gautier in particular is never in a hurry to talk about politics...
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