Suchergebnisse

Maurice Agulhon rappelle les conditions dans lesquelles s'est déroulée la table ronde dont les échanges ont donné L'Impossible prison. Le rapport à l'œuvre de Michel Foucault est un bon indicateur des clivages qui divisent les historiens à la fin des années Soixante-dix. Maurice Agulhon est de ceux qui, tout en reconnaissant à l'auteur de Surveiller et punir une certaine justesse d'analyses, émet des réserves aux nombreuses généralisations qui font de la prison l'institution typique du questionnement de la société moderne.

Maurice Agulhon : Marianne, Some Reflections on her history.
At the crossroads of political history, of folklore and sometimes of art, the author follows the changes in the image of the woman with the Phrygian cap, whether she was called Marianne or not. He recalls her beginnings during the Revolution, how she came into her own in the Nineteenth Century, especially from the Second Empire on and above all under the Third Republic during which the name « Marianne » and the effigy of the Republic became one and have since shared a common destiny. Marianne's history is part of that of political allegory, of the visual representation adopted by states ; it both comes under the heading of national folklore and of partisan symbolism. Such a complexity gives it its wealth of meaning and brings up the question of the role of this kind of research.

The author takes stock of the debates brought to the fore by the Bicentennial of the Revolution : in the field of political history, two traditions have been very much present : on one hand, a republican heritage within the tradition of the rationalistic humanism of the Enlightenment, and on the other the heritage of traditional conservatism. Although the great majority of the French today consider themselves republicans and more reformists than revolutionaries, there is no doubt but that two different mental attitudes still exist. In the historical field, a series of controversies remain open concerning the social character of the Revolution, concerning the Revolution as either contingent or necessary and concerning the period 1789-1793 which formulates the problem of violence and its justification under the circumstances. Finally, the debate concerns the consequences and the long term effects of the Revolution on the political culture of the French. In this context, the Bicentennial has expressed the discomfort of a public opinion and of a political class which have chosen the politics of consensus. It is nevertheless still true that, because of its message of freedom, the Revolution remains an field that is very much alive both for the French and for other peoples.

L'assemblée qui m'a fait l'honneur de m'appeler au Collège de France a voulu d'abord rétablir dans ses enseignements, après trois années d'interruption, une place pour l'histoire contemporaine.Ce n'était pas une des traditions les plus anciennes et les plus caractéristiques de la Maison. La première chaire d'histoire récente (par opposition à l'antiquité classique) remonte à 1769, et les cours de ses titulaires successifs ne se sont guère approchés des temps brûlants et proches. Il y eut bien Michelet, mais on s'aperçoit, à l'examen, que, dans la série des titulaires de la vieille chaire d'histoire générale, il fut exceptionnel, plutôt que typique.