HS/PO/SO 370 - Social Protests in France

This course offers a thematic and chronological exploration of the history of political and social protest in France since 1789, using Nantes as case study, an example, and a focal point. We will analyze the key moments of social struggles, their expressions, and their permanence in the public arena. The work will alternate between national and local scales.
 

A historical overview will trace the major stages of social struggle, progress, and upheaval since 1789 (political and industrial revolutions, emergence of new social ideas, changing role of the State, trade unionism, etc.). The contemporary stakes and perspectives of societal struggles and recent protests since 1973 (end of the thirty years economic growth period, beginning of the anti-globalization and environmental movements) will be presented, including the relationship between population and State.

This course will use the resources of and collaborate with the CHT (archives of the Centre d'Histoire du Travail de Nantes), and students will be introduced to the methodology of historical research through a study of sources on trade unionism and social conflicts linked to industries in the Nantes region.