3Q: Jeffrey Ravel on the French past and our future
This weekend, MIT hosts the 59th meeting of the Society for French Historical Studies, the largest annual conference devoted to the history of France. The event, running through Sunday, April 7, will feature 110 panels and roughly 550 participants from around the world. While the conference’s theme is “Nature and Technology in French History,” the panels cover all periods of French life and a wide array of topics. MIT News spoke with professor of history Jeffrey Ravel, a specialist in France who has helped organize the event, about the state of the field. Q. This conference covers a wide array of subjects ranging from medieval times through 2013. What are a few of the topics being discussed that help us understand France’s place in the contemporary world?A. Most of the conference participants would tell you it is the very broad sweep of French history, from its beginnings a millennium ago...