Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution: With a New Preface, 20th Anniversary Edition (Studies on the History of Society and Culture, No. 1)

The Fall of Communism and the resultant unleashing of repressed nationalism spurred renewed interest in the origins and causes of nationalism. The sudden groundswell of nationalism was as though a manifestation of Albert Camus' quote that "It is a well-known fact that we always recognize our homeland when we are about to lose it." Many historians and sociologists date the origins of nationalism as an ideology, sentiment or social movement to the early years of the 19th Century, but this is a contentious subject, and one which Hunt seeks to disprove by utilizing French history as her vehicle. Hunt focuses on the means French Revolutionaries utilized to achieve a French national identity by supplanting those of the ancien regime.When first released in 1984, Hunt's book was something of a sensation for its exploration of the use of symbolism, imagery and rhetoric to forge a common national identity at the time of the Revolution, as well as purging the vestiges of the ancien regime. Hunt takes a cultural approach exploring the use of material culture in rallying popular opinion to the Republican cause; an approach that was novel for the time, but one that is now often emulated. Hunt gives ample space in her introduction to the various historiographical debates over the causes and meaning of the Revolution, as well as over the means whereby the revolutionaries sought to solidify their hold on power. But Hunt is primarily concerned with the means revolutionaries utilized to rally public support, in the process remaking and remodeling French society in the revolutionary image, rather than in discussing the causes or consequences of the Revolution. Hunt persuasively argues that the political cannot be separated from the cultural, and it was the emergence of a public political culture in Revolutionary France that solidified support of republican ideals in the hearts and minds of the French. French citizens, previously unaccustomed to being political participants, instead found themselves actively courted by the various political factions and as a result, became actively engaged in the struggle over the Revolution. In the process belief in the King, the church, and the state were gradually swept away, replaced by the ideals of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.Hunt divides her book into two halves; the first, and more intriguing half, addresses the appropriation of symbols and imagery to inculcate support of the Revolution's ambitions with its citizens. The second half is a more straightforward sociological examination of the Revolutionary experience. While the two halves seem somewhat dissimilar, the two related to each other well, the first half explaining the means whereby revolutionaries created the new trappings of state, and the second examining who comprised the new political classes. In the hands of a lesser author a sense of disconnection and dissimilarity could easily creep in, yet here each half would be weakened by the exclusion of the other. By its very nature the Revolution politicized French society and culture, and there was no part of French life untouched by the desire to reshape and reform it in the republican image.Hunt forces the reader to reevaluate the hidden and blatant messages conveyed by material culture, not just in Revolutionary France, but in other societies past and present, as well as our own. In the process readers confront the familiarity of the Revolution through the paradigm of the material culture it produced and in the process encourages rethinking what we know about past events. But Hunt's focus on the process, rather than the outcome or consequences of the Revolution is one of the few failings of "Politics, Culture, and Class." Instead of entering into the fray on the relative merits of the Revolution, she instead only obliquely addresses the larger historiographical debate, focusing on her own innovative theory instead. Hunt likewise leaves questions unanswered, such as whether many of the Revolutionary era festivals were compulsory, how widely attended they were, and the receptiveness to this new imagery by French citizens. The imagery of Communist era art, parades and films serving as propaganda all come to mind, and the same question lingers: did those who attended really believe in the ideals being paraded before them? While "Politics, Culture, and Class" serves to inform our fuller understanding of the creation of French national identity, it is only one piece of a larger puzzle.

The Fall of Communism and the resultant unleashing of repressed nationalism spurred renewed interest in the origins and causes of nationalism. The sudden groundswell of nationalism was as though a manifestation of Albert Camus' quote that "It is a well-known fact that we always recognize our homeland when we are about to lose it." Many historians and sociologists date the origins of nationalism as an ideology, sentiment or social movement to the early years of the 19th Century, but this is a contentious subject, and one which Hunt seeks to disprove by utilizing French history as her vehicle. Hunt focuses on the means French Revolutionaries utilized to achieve a French national identity by supplanting those of the ancien regime.When first released in 1984, Hunt's book was something of a sensation for its exploration of the use of symbolism, imagery and rhetoric to forge a common national identity at the time of the Revolution, as well as purging the vestiges of the ancien regime. Hunt takes a cultural approach exploring the use of material culture in rallying popular opinion to the Republican cause; an approach that was novel for the time, but one that is now often emulated. Hunt gives ample space in her introduction to the various historiographical debates over the causes and meaning of the Revolution, as well as over the means whereby the revolutionaries sought to solidify their hold on power. But Hunt is primarily concerned with the means revolutionaries utilized to rally public support, in the process remaking and remodeling French society in the revolutionary image, rather than in discussing the causes or consequences of the Revolution. Hunt persuasively argues that the political cannot be separated from the cultural, and it was the emergence of a public political culture in Revolutionary France that solidified support of republican ideals in the hearts and minds of the French. French citizens, previously unaccustomed to being political participants, instead found themselves actively courted by the various political factions and as a result, became actively engaged in the struggle over the Revolution. In the process belief in the King, the church, and the state were gradually swept away, replaced by the ideals of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.Hunt divides her book into two halves; the first, and more intriguing half, addresses the appropriation of symbols and imagery to inculcate support of the Revolution's ambitions with its citizens. The second half is a more straightforward sociological examination of the Revolutionary experience. While the two halves seem somewhat dissimilar, the two related to each other well, the first half explaining the means whereby revolutionaries created the new trappings of state, and the second examining who comprised the new political classes. In the hands of a lesser author a sense of disconnection and dissimilarity could easily creep in, yet here each half would be weakened by the exclusion of the other. By its very nature the Revolution politicized French society and culture, and there was no part of French life untouched by the desire to reshape and reform it in the republican image.Hunt forces the reader to reevaluate the hidden and blatant messages conveyed by material culture, not just in Revolutionary France, but in other societies past and present, as well as our own. In the process readers confront the familiarity of the Revolution through the paradigm of the material culture it produced and in the process encourages rethinking what we know about past events. But Hunt's focus on the process, rather than the outcome or consequences of the Revolution is one of the few failings of "Politics, Culture, and Class." Instead of entering into the fray on the relative merits of the Revolution, she instead only obliquely addresses the larger historiographical debate, focusing on her own innovative theory instead. Hunt likewise leaves questions unanswered, such as whether many of the Revolutionary era festivals were compulsory, how widely attended they were, and the receptiveness to this new imagery by French citizens. The imagery of Communist era art, parades and films serving as propaganda all come to mind, and the same question lingers: did those who attended really believe in the ideals being paraded before them? While "Politics, Culture, and Class" serves to inform our fuller understanding of the creation of French national identity, it is only one piece of a larger puzzle.

If you want to understand how the French Revolution changed the common people of France this is a great way to start. The book is a bit dated but still stands up very well and Hunt's credentials are excellent. This book also talks about some of the symbols of the revolution and makes for an interesting analysis on the side. The politics goes through quite a bit of the revolution but it is fairly scattered (like most Hunt books are). If you are reading about the French Revolution this is a great addition to your reading list.

This book was purchased for a class. It provided some good points that are often overlooked about the French Revolution, but ultimately, it was not entirely ground-breaking.

According to Hunt, the French revolution and the Napoleonic autocracy provided the models which all later revolutions and autocracies based their politics upon. This book makes a real contribution to the scholarship and is an important read for anyone who wants to understand how modern "politics" came into being.

Great!