This course proposes an introduction to French history, politics ,and society from the French Revolution to the present. Attention is paid to the successive crises that have challenged France's stature, its national identity, and its republican model. Topics include the gradual consolidation of democratic political and social systems following the Revolution, and the continuities and contestations of that legacy as reflected in the rise of France as an imperial power, the Dreyfus Affair, two World Wars, and the loss of empire.