Introduction

French Revolution and Shaping Nationalism


Key Issues
To what extent should we embrace nationalism? 
To what extent do external and internal factors shape nationalism?

When you meet someone from the same nation, are there common understandings you readily share? Is there an easy acceptance of each other as members of the same nation?

In this lesson you will continue your inquiry into the relationship between nation, nationalism and identity as you explore examples of how a nation develops a sense of nationalism.  You will also consider the role of historical, social, economic, geographic and political factors on the development of French nationalism. 

Each of the following lesson inquiries will develop understandings to help you respond to the section question:

  • Was there a French nation before 1789?
  • Why and how did the French Revolution take place?
  • How did nationalism develop during the French Revolution?
  • How did Revolutionary France influence the spread of nationalism?
  • Is nationalism a shared internalized feeling?

TERMS

collective consciousness
rhetoric
Ancien Régime