Short Essay 1 (1500-2000 words) – Choose a question from List 1.
How did social and intellectual factors contribute to the French Revolution? Should one distinguish between the two or did they combine to bring down the Old Regime?
How did the Enlightenment figure in the French Revolution? This question prompts you to define what ‘the Enlightenment’ was and to discern between the Revolution’s origins and its course.
Why the Terror? How did a revolution about political representation and human rights lead to chronic insurrections and guillotines? What critical stance do you take in the historical debate on the Terror’s origins?
Why did the French Revolution fail to produce a stable political regime in the early 19th century? When would you date the Revolution’s end: 1799, 1815, 1880?