History Lecture: The French Revolution

On Tuesday 15th January, Professor David Andress, from the University of Portsmouth, spoke to students on the topic of terror and the French Revolution. He addressed the different ideas of the origins of the revolution and highlighted a range of factors which underpin how people tend to think about the terror, notably class divides and the interplay between the state and religion. He spoke about the state’s exaggerated fear of mass violence and treason, as well as its own use of violence and the context of war. Central to his talk was the question of terror as inherent to the revolutionary model. Professor Andress ended his talk by fielding some thoughtful questions from students on the topics of reinventing the human race and links between the revolution, contemporary France and literature. Thank you to Professor Andress for giving up his time to talk to our students.