The French Republic: History, Values, Debates

In this invaluable reference work, the world's foremost authorities on France's political, social, cultural, and intellectual history explore the history and meaning of the French Republic and the challenges it has faced. Founded in 1792, the French Republic has been defined and redefined by a succession of regimes and institutions, a multiplicity of symbols, and a plurality of meanings, ideas, and values. Although constantly in flux, the Republic has nonetheless produced a set of core ideals and practices fundamental to modern France's political culture and democratic life.

Based on the influential Dictionnaire critique de la rpublique, published in France in 2002, The French Republic provides an encyclopedic survey of French republicanism since the Enlightenment. Divided into three sections--"Time and History," "Principles and Values," and "Dilemmas and Debates"--The French Republic begins by examining each of France's five Republics and its two authoritarian interludes, the Second Empire and Vichy. It then offers thematic essays on such topics as Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity
laicity
citizenship
the press
immigration
decolonization
anti-Semitism
gender
the family
cultural policy
and the Muslim headscarf debates. Each essay includes a brief guide to further reading.

This volume features updated translations of some of the most important essays from the French edition, as well as twenty-two newly commissioned English-language essays, for a total of forty entries. Taken together, they provide a state-of-the art appraisal of French republicanism and its role in shaping contemporary France's public and private life.

Contributors: Anne-Claude Ambroise-Rendu, Universit de Paris X
Stphane Audoin-Rouzeau, cole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)
Jean Baubrot, EHESS
Edward Berenson, New York University
John R. Bowen, Washington University in St. Louis
Herrick Chapman, New York University
Alice L. Conklin, The Ohio State University, Vincent Duclert, EHESS
Steven Englund, The American University of Paris
ric Fassin, cole Normale Suprieure, Paris
Stphane Gerson, New York University
Nancy L. Green, EHESS
Patrice Gueniffey, EHESS
Sudhir Hazareesingh, University of Oxford
Ivan Jablonka, Universit du Maine, Le Mans, and Collge de France
Julian Jackson, Queen Mary University of London
Paul Jankowski, Brandeis University
Jeremy Jennings, Queen Mary University of London
Dominique Kalifa, University of Paris 1 Panthon-Sorbonne
Lloyd Kramer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ccile Laborde, University College London and Institute for Advanced Study
Herman Lebovics, Stony Brook University
Mary Dewhurst Lewis, Harvard University
Philip Nord, Princeton University
Karen M. Offen, Stanford University
Christophe Prochasson, EHESS
Emmanuelle Saada, Columbia University and EHESS
Martin Schain, New York University
Joan Wallach Scott, Institute for Advanced Study
Jerrold Seigel, New York University
Todd Shepard, The Johns Hopkins University
Daniel J. Sherman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bonnie G. Smith, Rutgers University
Frdric Viguier, New York University
Rosemary Wakeman, Fordham University
Franois Weil, EHESS
Johnson Kent Wright, Arizona State University.

Translations from the French by Arthur Goldhammer.