A City of Ideas
Cities are built upon ideas. These ideas coalesce into narratives and myths that form a neural network of urban life. Though rooted in the past, these ideas continue to guide and challenge us today.
Rue Saint-Antoine, le Marais
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"Lafayette's Farewell Tour"
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the return to America of this "Hero of Two Worlds," a French nobleman who embraced the American cause--and who struggled at home to uphold the principles of the Revolution.
Presented in association with the Alliance Française
Latest Newsletter
The Paris That Never Was
Paris has been long subject to redesign, renovation and fantastical transformation. Here are a number of grand idées that never came to pass.
Examined in this issue:
Futuristic imagined in design and in literature.
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"D-Day and the Soul of France"
An Exploration of Narratives 80 Years Hence
with Roger Mummert
and Iris de Rode, PhD
Eighty years ago, a colossal undertaking by Allied forces turned back the tide of Nazi aggression and ended a four-year occupation of France.
Understanding this momentous chapter in French and American history compels us to reexamine the narratives that over time have become mythical.
We question the narratives of "American Exceptionalism," the "Flame of Resistance" and look at the role of nationalism in the emergence of a modern Europe still defining itself today.
Recorded June 5, 2024, at the Embassy of France in the United States, Washington, D.C.
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“Myths and Mysteries of the Bastille”
with Roger Mummert
The storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, is emblematic of the French Revolution and the triumph of citizens over state tyranny.
This popular uprising marked the end of the ancien régime and the emergence of France as a modern democratic republic. But as happens with historical turning points, the Bastille has attracted a myriad of political and ideological interpretations.
"Myths and Mysteries of the Bastille" explores how a medieval fortress and prison became a worldwide symbol of state tyranny. At the same time, the Bastille uprising 234 years ago was achieved largely by working people and immigrants--and without leadership from the Revolutionary elite.
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About this Website
Paris is a city where one can slip between cracks in time, and the ideas of all ages, ancienne and moderne, can be experienced at once.
I invite you to explore with me the myriad of ideas—of enlightenment and equality, romanticism and deconstructionism, bohemianism and haute couture—that originated in Paris or flourished there.
—Roger Mummert
View from Esplanade les Invalides
