Event in January: Myth or Model? The French Revolution in the Great War

Andrew Smith Discussion

Dear All,

I wanted to draw attention to an event that will be of interest to H-Nationalism members. Tapping into recent discussions of the First World War and Nationalism, this lecture will highlight the specifically Republican nature of French Nationalism by focussing on echoes of the Revolution during the First World War.

The Annual Douglas Johnson Memorial Lecture in French History will be held at 6.00 p.m. on Wednesday 14 January 2015 in La Médiathèque, Institut Français, 17 Queensberry Place, South Kensington, London SW7 2DT.

 

Professor John Horne (Trinity College Dublin) will speak on ‘Myth or Model? The French Revolution in the Great War’.

Abstract:

The political culture of the Third Republic was saturated with references to the French Revolution. This was never truer than when France faced a new and devastating confrontation with modernity in the First World War. But what aspects of the Revolution were mobilized in the face of mass death in combat and an economic and industrial effort that opened up new vistas for French society in the future. Did the French Revolution act as a myth, a model or merely as a vague historical memory?

 

Further details can be found on the Society for the Study of French History website:

http://frenchhistorysociety.co.uk/douglas_johnson.htm

 

Attendance is free, and no registration is necessary. It would be great to see many of you there.
 

All the best,

Andrew W M Smith