HIST 520: Revolutions

This course examines the origins and progress of European revolutions from the French Revolution of 1789 through the revolutions that swept across Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in 1989-1991. If we think of change as the crucial element of history, then there is probably more history packed into revolution than any other kind of human activity. Revolutions are intensely politicized events and so, predictably, are their histories. This does not mean that those who made or opposed revolution were not sincere in their beliefs, or that there is nothing to be learned from the study of revolution.

Indeed, this course is especially based upon the following two propositions: that it is necessary to understand revolution in order to understand the modern world, and that we can make some sense of the world by comparing revolutions over time and over space. A task for the class will be to ask what lessons or patterns of understanding the European revolutions offer us today.

Please review the syllabus for full course information.

This is a Full Semester course. Participants may register one Full Semester course OR one course each in Winter/Spring I and Winter/Spring II. 

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