Posted: July 27th, 2015

The French Revolutionary Moment

The French Revolutionary Moment

Order Description

The aim of this task is to draw together what we have covered in our unit till now about the start of the French Revolution. It asks you to respond to the following question:

Was the French Revolution of 1789 in fact two revolutions – the revolution of the Bourgeoisie in Versailles in June, and the revolution of the people of Paris in July? If not, what unites these two events?

This is the first of four ‘debates’ that comprise the assignment requirement noted in the Handbook and Unit Guide as ‘Historiographical Exercise’, worth, in total, 40% of your overall mark.

Each of these debates asks you to make a relatively short reponse to a particular problem of historical understanding or questions of interpretation.

You are asked to write between 300 to 400 words. You are not expected to read beyond the readings listed in the Lecture Guide or the Seminar Program. The aim is really to gain your reaction to this question, informed by your study to date. You do not need to provide citations (although if you are quoting from a document or an article you should note this is a reference – an in text citation will do). You will be assessed on your critical engagement with the source material (documents etc.), your understanding of the topic, and the quality of your written expression. One of the skills these debates hopes to develop is your ability to express complex ideas and arguments clearly and succinctly within the space available. A Rubric for the assessment criteria is provided for feed-back.

The aim of this task is to draw together what we have covered in our unit till now about the start of the French Revolution. It asks you to respond to the following question:
Was the French Revolution of 1789 in fact two revolutions – the revolution of the Bourgeoisie in Versailles in June, and the revolution of the people of Paris in July? If not, what unites these two events?

This is the first of four ‘debates’ that comprise the assignment requirement noted in the Handbook and Unit Guide as ‘Historiographical Exercise’, worth, in total, 40% of your overall mark.
Each of these debates asks you to make a relatively short reponse to a particular problem of historical understanding or questions of interpretation.
You are asked to write between 300 to 400 words. You are not expected to read beyond the readings listed in the Lecture Guide or the Seminar Program. The aim is really to gain your reaction to this question, informed by your study to date. You do not need to provide citations (although if you are quoting from a document or an article you should note this is a reference – an in text citation will do). You will be assessed on your critical engagement with the source material (documents etc.), your understanding of the topic, and the quality of your written expression. One of the skills these debates hopes to develop is your ability to express complex ideas and arguments clearly and succinctly within the space available. A Rubric for the assessment criteria is provided for feed-back.