Students will work independently, studying the social, political, gender, and intellectual trajectories of the French Revolution from 1789 through the Terror and the Napoleonic Empire.  To understand the origins of the Revolution, students will read philosophy and political theory from Enlightenment authors like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu.  Students will share a reading list in common and have the option to meet periodically for book discussions as a group and with the faculty member.  Since this is an independent readings course, students enrolled at different credit levels will read different texts and write different numbers of essays.  Students enrolled for more than 4 credits will complete a library research paper on one aspect of the Enlightenment or the French Revolution.