Title The Enlightenment in practice : academic prize contests and intellectual culture in France, 1670-1794 / Jeremy L. Caradonna

Published Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2012

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Description 1 online resource (xi, 333 pages) : map Contents The rebirth of the concours académique : cultural politics and the domestication of letters in the age of Louis XIV -- À la recherche du concours académique -- The participatory Enlightenment -- Dijon revisited : Rousseau's first discourse from the perspective of the concours académique -- The concours académique, political culture, and the formation of the critical public sphere -- The practical Enlightenment : the concours académique, the state, and the pursuit of expertise -- Prize contests in the revolutionary crucible : decline and regeneration -- Conclusion : the Enlightenment in question Summary Public academic prize contests-the concours académique-played a significant role in the intellectual life of Enlightenment France, with aspirants formulating positions on such matters as slavery, poverty, the education of women, tax reform, and urban renewal and submitting the resulting essays for scrutiny by panels of judges. In The Enlightenment in Practice, Jeremy L. Caradonna draws on archives both in Paris and the provinces to show that thousands of individuals-ranging from elite men and women of letters artisans, and peasants-participated in these intellectual competitions, a far broader range of people than has been previously assumed. Caradonna contends that the Enlightenment in France can no longer be seen as a cultural movement restricted to a small coterie of philosophers or a limited number of printed texts. Moreover, Caradonna demonstrates that the French monarchy took academic competitions quite seriously, sponsoring numerous contests on such practical matters as deforestation, the quality of drinking water, and the nighttime illumination of cities. In some cases, the contests served as an early mechanism for technology transfer: the state used submissions to identify technical experts to whom it could turn for advice. Finally, the author shows how this unique intellectual exercise declined during the upheavals of the French Revolution, when voicing moderate public criticism became a rather dangerous act Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes In English Subject Literature -- Competitions -- France -- History -- 17th century Literature -- Competitions -- France -- History -- 18th century Literary prizes -- France -- History -- 17th century Literary prizes -- France -- History -- 18th century Enlightenment -- France HISTORY -- Europe -- France. History. Enlightenment Intellectual life Literary prizes Literature -- Competitions Geistesleben Literaturpreis SUBJECT France -- Intellectual life -- 17th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85051439 France -- Intellectual life -- 18th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85051440 Subject France Frankreich Genre/Form Electronic book History Form Electronic book ISBN 0801463904 9780801463907 9780801464379 0801464374

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