Date of Visit: 05/07/2024 Author: Ommay Khyr The people closed in on all sides of me and I was swept off my feet into another one of the numerous rooms present in the Château de Versailles. This grand palace had its humble roots as a Hunting lodge for Louis XIII (13).Construction on the Palace continued … Continue reading Visit to the Palace of Versailles
The French General Assembly tour is certainly one of my favorite tours we have gone on thus far. The building encompasses Parisian history better than any landmark I have seen because it has royal and democratic aspects. It is a historical collage of a multitude of different important French cultural ideas all combined into one … Continue reading The General Assembly & the Democratic Reframing of Formerly Exclusive Structures
As I stared down the narrow teal Colonne de Juillet, it was difficult to imagine the size and scope of the original Bastille that once had stood there. Other buildings, such as the elegant Palace of Versailles that we had visited the day before, had been elaborately maintained following the French Revolution, but the Bastille … Continue reading Bastille: Spaces, Emotion, and Recognition
At the Musée Carnaval, I didn’t exactly know what to expect. I knew the museum would feature information about the city of Paris. That was it. I had little to no knowledge of Parisian history before coming to Paris. I knew about Napolean and the Guillotine, and “Let Them Eat Cake!” Walking up to the … Continue reading Anna Clark: 5/9 Musée Carnaval
While doing the walking tour of Montmartre, I noticed a very strong geographical irony that I initially could not understand because it depicted groups who violently clashed commemorating their heroes simultaneously within very small space. First of all, I was confused as to why a statue of a headless religious figure who was chased, tortured, … Continue reading Geographical Relationships Between Landmarks of Revolution
Dr Bjork-James and An took us on a walking tour of Paris through the lens of the French Revolution. We started at the Bastille and ended at the Assemblée Nationale. It was the perfect way to orient ourselves geographically before we dive even deeper into the revolution in the days that will follow. Stop 1: … Continue reading French Revolution Walking Tour
This sketch by Jacques-Louis David is called Le Serment de Jeu de paume or The Tennis Court Sketch. It depicts a scene from June 20, 1789. June 20 was a pivotal moment in the French Revolution when members of the Third Estate, feeling marginalized and disregarded by the traditional powers of the king and the … Continue reading “Le Serment de Jeu de Paume” by Jacques-Louis David
<May 8th, 2024> The Musée Carnavalet in Paris is a captivating museum dedicated to the history of the city. Housed in two stunning historic mansions – the Hôtel Carnavalet and the Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau – the museum offers a journey through the evolution of Paris from its earliest days to the present. At the … Continue reading Visit to the Musée Carnavalet
<May 10th, 2024> During our scheduled class time on Friday, we gathered to watch the 2012 film Les Misérables as a group. The main cast featured esteemed actors such as Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean), Anne Hathaway (Fantine), Russel Crowe (Inspector Javert), Eddie Redmayne (Marius Pontmercy), and Amanda Seyfried (Cosette), comprising a truly remarkable team of … Continue reading Screening of Les Misérables and The Revolution
Revolutionary Cities is both a Maymester course at Vanderbilt University and a course blog where students and the teaching team present thoughts, images, sounds, stories, and sensations from a month-long exploration of political revolution in the cities of Paris, Marseille, and Barcelona. The teaching team will post information here both to guide your journey through … Continue reading Welcome to Revolutionary Cities…
Revolutionary Cities 