You should aim in this assignment to go beyond narrative description and achieve a higher level of analytical sophistication. The style of the tourist guidebook is to be avoided. To do achieve this, your assignment should be based on a combination of personal reflections rooted in physical encounter with the site(s) and wider specialist reading. Here are a few examples of the sort of question that students should be answering in this assignment. More will be provided in light of student intentions.
– How did the physical geography of public spaces reshape the social and cultural life of Paris in the 18th century? Answer with reference writing about: the 18th-century theatre in Paris.
– Compare and contrast traces of the past and elements of modernity in any ONE of the following: the Conciergerie, the Panthéon, the Place de la Concorde, the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, the Rue de Rivoli (from Concorde to Pyramides), the Bourse; the Canal Saint-Martin.
– How and where is global history staged in the national capital? Choose ONE significant site.
– Public infrastructure reflects and in turn defines the shape of civic culture in any given city. Choose ONE significant site of public infrastructure (park, square, bridge, promenade, transport system…)
Word limit: 1500 words, including quotations and notes, excluding bibliography, annexes and cover page.