Category Archives: French History

Considering the Multilingual Mediterranean

Posted on March 1, 2025 by briansandberg

I am enjoying participating in a Mediterranean Seminar Workshop on The Multilingual Mediterranean this weekend at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “The Mediterranean is not only the crossroads among continents, cultures, peoples, and religions; it is also, as Suzanne … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, Languedoc and Southern France, Medieval History, Mediterranean World, Religious History, World History | Leave a comment

Apocalypse Hier et Demain at the BnF in Paris

Posted on February 25, 2025 by briansandberg

The Bibliothèque nationale de France (Paris) has organized an exhibition on Apocalypse Hier et Demain (Apocalypse, Yesterday and Tomorrow), which is on display from February through June 2025. The exhibition explores the Book of Revelation and apocalyptic visions, before turning … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Atrocities, Civilians and Refugees in War, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern France, Early Modern World, European History, European Wars of Religion, French History, French Wars of Religion, History of the Western World, History of Violence, Italian History, Material Culture, Medieval History, Mediterranean World, Museums and Historical Memory, Reformation History, Religious History, Religious Violence, Renaissance Art and History, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, Women and Gender History, World History | Leave a comment

French and U.S. Presidents are Divided on Ukraine

Posted on February 25, 2025 by briansandberg

The Presidents of France and the United States are sharply divided on the Russian-Ukrainian War. The future of Ukraine and the European Union seems to hang in the balance. “President Trump and President Emmanuel Macron of France put on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic World, Contemporary France, Empires and Imperialism, French History, Peacemaking Processes, Strategy and International Politics, United States Foreign Policy, United States History and Society, War, Culture, and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Europe in Trumplandia

Posted on February 22, 2025 by briansandberg

Europeans are in shock after the recent Munich Security Conference, an annual meeting of European diplomats and international security officials in Germany. Academic colleagues and friends across Europe have been contacting me to ask what exactly the Trump administration is … Continue reading →

Posted in Arms Control, Authoritarianism, Contemporary France, Democracy, European History, European Studies, European Union, History in the Media, History of the Western World, Italian History, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, Political Parties and Organizations, Security Studies, State Development Theory, Strategy and International Politics, United States Foreign Policy, United States History and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Great War and Modern Memory at 50

Posted on February 15, 2025 by briansandberg

Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory, a classic study of British soldiers’ writings about trench warfare on the Western Front during the First World War, is now 50 years old. Dwight Garner, a book critic at The New … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, European History, European Studies, French History, Historiography and Social Theory, History of the Western World, History of Violence, Museums and Historical Memory, Public History, Strategy and International Politics, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society | 1 Comment

On the Growing Strength of the French Far-Right

Posted on February 14, 2025 by briansandberg

The far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) Party continues to grow in France, threatening to topple the current government, led by centrist François Bayrou, and preparing for the next presidential election. David Broder, an political analyst who publishes on far-right movements … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary France, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, Human Rights | Leave a comment

Would-be King Trump

Posted on January 22, 2025 by briansandberg

President Trump’s inauguration ceremonies in Washington, D.C., have been filled with royal rhetoric and regal symbolism, promoting the new President as a would-be king. The New York Times reports that “At a late-night inaugural ball on Monday, President Trump, flush … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Studies, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern France, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, French History, History of the Western World, Monarchies and Royal States, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Political Culture, Political Theory, Renaissance Art and History, State Development Theory, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Political Favor and Conflicts of Interest

Posted on January 17, 2025 by briansandberg

On President-elect Trump’s glaring conflicts of interest…. “During his first administration, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s global business empire created an unprecedented number of conflicts of interest for a sitting president. Ethics experts worried that opportunists could try to curry favor … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Studies, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern France, Early Modern World, European History, French History, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Political Culture, Political Theory, Reformation History, Renaissance Art and History, State Development Theory, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

France’s Far-Right Embraces Jean-Marie Le Pen

Posted on January 8, 2025 by briansandberg

French far-right political leader Jean-Marie Le Pen died this week. In 1972, Le Pen founded the Front National (National Front) and gradually built it into the preeminent far-right political party in France. Jean-Marie Le Pen was a former military intelligence … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary France, European History, European Studies, European Union, French History, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture | Leave a comment

History of Science and Versailles

Posted on January 8, 2025 by briansandberg

London’s Science Museum is currently displaying an exhibition on Versailles: Science and Splendour, which draws on recent studies in the history of science in early modern France. The Financial Times reports that “The engine of the exhibition is the relationship … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Studies, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern France, Early Modern World, European History, European Studies, French History, History of Medicine, History of Science, Museums and Historical Memory, Women and Gender History, World History | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment