The Paris Commune: French Politics, Culture, and Society at the Crossroads of the Revolutionary Tradition and Revolutionary Socialism

Description

During the week of 21-28 May 1871, between 20, 000 and 30, 000 Parisians were killed in the repression of the Paris Commune; a ten-week revolution that followed the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian War. As evidenced by the brutal reaction against it, and its relative absence from the French historical memory, the Commune has been surrounded by controversy since its advent. David A. Shafer examines the emergence of the Commune out of a political culture influenced by both the traditions bequeathed to the nineteenth century by the French Revolution and contemporary events, circumstances and ideas. This essential guide provides readers with a survey of the Commune's foundations and its narrative history, as well as an assessment of the evolution of its historiography and topics which have rendered the Commune vital to an understanding of the concept of revolution. CONTENTS French Republicanism and the Commune Three Crucial Weeks in May The Bloody Week A Socialist Revolution? The Commune's Contested Historiography Backgrounds and Ideologies of the Communards The Commune in Action Chapter 5: Women and the Commune Three Communards Women and Legislation Women's Roles in the Commune Gender Constructs and the Commune Chapter 6: Revolution, Culture, and the Commune Art and Revolution The Functioning of the Arts During the Commune Culture, National Regeneration, and the Public Space Visualizing the Commune Caricature and the Commune