HIST. 525: France and Its Empire: From Acadia to Zidane

France and Its Empire: From Acadia to Zidane 
 

Is Babar actually a story about French colonialism? How did mosquitoes take down Napoleon’s Army in the Caribbean? Why did French construction in Hanoi create an infestation of millions of rats? Why did the French torture Algerian nationalists in the name of civilization? Why does the French government invest such time in policing the bodies of Muslim women? This course explores how the history of France cannot be told without understanding its global empire in the Americas, Africa, and Asia from the 16th century to the 1960s, with significant legacies in the present day.