French Film Viewing

I will be showing the film Ridicule on Wednesday 1o November at 6 pm in the Academic Forum Room 201. This film is set in the court of Louis XVI in the years before the Revolution. There are several references to the culture of the Enlightenment as well as the inner workings of the court and the ethos of the aristocracy. It is not required for History 219 but it will help illuminate much of what we have covered in class.

A brief synopsis from the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117477/

The Age of the Planet Earth

One of the many intellectual legacies of the Enlightenment is the idea that the universe is older than 6000 years. While few Enlightenment thinkers doubted the notion of a created Earth, their rational examination of fossil and geological evidence led them to believe that natural history occurred differently from how it is depicted in the Scriptures. One of the most serious Biblical attempts to date the age of Creation was from a seventeenth-century Protestant theologian named James Ussher, who used the Bible to trace back the chronology of the world back to Adam and Eve. His chronology is still used by Creationists today.

An Interesting Relic from the Revolution

An anonymous family in Italy is claiming that this gourd once contained a handkerchief that had been soaked in the blood of Louis XVI after his execution in January 1793. Scientists have been able to collect remnants of blood stains from inside the container and much of the DNA evidence determined so far strongly suggests that it is authentic. We know that many of the witnesses of Louis' execution collected blood from the scaffold. Many still believed in the sacred nature of the monarchy and viewed the king as a martyr. Others, like the original owner of this artifact believed that they were taking part in a dramatic historical event and kept the blood as a memento.

Senior Comp Question

Here is the question I will be asking for the Senior Comps. It will also be one of the questions for the final.

Describe how the French Revolution was a consequence of the social and cultural changes that took place in France and Europe in the 18th century. Why was France in particular impacted by these changes? How did the Revolution fulfill the ambitions of Enlightenment thinkers? How did it go astray?