The is a French competitive examination for the recruitment of associate professors who teach history or geography at the , or level. There is also an and the . In practice, though not an absolute requirement, it is often used as a selection criterion for teaching history in the and in higher education.

History

The was created in 1831. The division of between the two disciplines was established under the influence of the geographer Emmanuel de Martonne and with the agreement of the minister, the historian and antiquarian Jérôme Carcopino, in 1941 (decree and order of 28 April) then definitively ratified by the order of 28 September 1943: "an in history and an in geography shall be instituted". Since 2010, it has been necessary to have a master's degree to take this exam, one of the most attractive and selective literary and remains de facto required to teach history in or at university.

Structure of the examinations

* Qualifying examinations (written): Each of the history written tests must deal with a different historical period. These two essays are given in chronological order: if medieval history, for example, is the subject of the first essay, the second essay will automatically deal with the question on modern history or contemporary history (but not ancient history, which may be given as a commentary). * Practical and oral exams:

Programme questions

In history, two out of four of the questions are renewed each year, with each question remaining on the curriculum for two years. In geography, one question on France is included every year, while the other question changes. Since 2008, the question on France has been topical.

2022 Programme

History questions: * (new question) ancient: The

Greek world In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in History of the Mediterranean region, Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as sig ...

and the East from 404 to 200 BC; * (new question) medieval: Cities and state building in North-Western Europe from the 13th to the 15th century (Empire, former Netherlands, France, England); * modern: The world of print in Western Europe (ca. 1470 - ca. 1680); * Contemporary: Labour in Western Europe from the 1830s to the 1930s. Craft and

industrial labour Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

, practices and social issues. Geography questions: * Thematic geography:

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

; * (new question) Geography of territories: Populations, settlement and territories in France.

2021 Programme

History questions: * Ancient: Religion and power in the

Roman world The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...

from 218 BCE to 235 CE * Medieval: Writing, power and society in the West from the beginning of the 12th century to the end of the

14th century As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 ( MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and n ...

(England, France, Italian Peninsula,

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

) * (new question) modern: The world of print in Western Europe (ca. 1470 - ca. 1680) * (new question) contemporary: Labour in Western Europe from the 1830s to the 1930s. Craft and

, practices and social issues Geography questions: * Geography of territories:

Rural areas In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

in France * (new question) Thematic geography: Borders The subjects for 2021 were:

medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

: 'Stability and precariousness of the written word', contemporary history: 'Being a worker', explanation of texts in modern history: '' by Antoine Vitré (159?-1674) and geography of territories: ''. The 2021 session was affected by the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

due to mandatory distancing and wearing of masks within examination centres by all candidates, during written and oral tests. Oral admission tests were not attended by the public for the 2021 session. 150 candidates were eligible.

2020 Programme

This session was notable for the absence of oral tests due to the

. The written eligibility tests were considered valid as admission tests. They were organised from 22 to 25 June 2020 instead of March. History questions * (new question) Ancient: Religion and power in the Roman world from 218 BCE to 235 CE; * (new question) medieval: Writing, power and society in the West from the early 12th to the late 14th century (England, France, Italian peninsula, Iberian peninsula); * modern: State, powers and disputes in the French and British monarchies and their American colonies (ca. 1640 - ca. 1780); * contemporary: Culture, media, powers in the United States and Western Europe 1945 - 1991. Geography questions: * (new question) thematic geography:

South-East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

; * Geography of territories: Rural areas in France The 2020 topics are: Ancient History composition: "Piety and Impiety in Public Religion"., contemporary history composition: "the 1968s: culture and protest" interpretation of medieval history texts: "The books of a Dominican friar in the 13th century on 17 June 1287" and composition of the geography of territories: "Natural risks and territories in South-East Asia".

Success rates

Between 2003 and 2009, the number of successful candidates decreased by 30%, without offsetting the decrease in the number of posts (-37% over the period). From year to year, the competition has become more and more selective: since 2005, the real admission rate has never exceeded 7%, and from 2003 to 2010 (except in 2007), the percentage of admitted candidates compared to those not eliminated was lower than that of the . In 2011, following a sharp drop in the number of candidates not eliminated, the in history became less selective than that in philosophy. The success rate varies greatly from one academy to another. It is exceptionally high in the academies of Créteil-Paris-Versailles and Lyon because of the presence of the École Normale Supérieure of rue d'Ulm,

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, Cachan (students from the latter benefiting from the preparation offered by rue d'Ulm), the École des Chartes, and renowned faculties such as Paris-I and Paris-IV.

Historians' views on the agrégation d'histoire

In 1883,

Ernest Lavisse Ernest Lavisse (; 17 December 184218 August 1922) was a French historian. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Biography He was born at Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, Aisne. In 1865 he obtained a fellowship in history, and ...

, speaking to Parisian students, said: "The will not require of those of you who choose the history of antiquity the slightest notion of

epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

or archaeology; nor will it require of those who choose the history of the Middle Ages the slightest notion of

palaeography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") ...

or diplomacy or medieval

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

..and all that you will not be asked for will be indispensable." In 1888,

Ernest Denis Ernest Denis (January 3, 1849 – January 4, 1921) was a French historian. Denis became known as a specialist of Germany and Bohemia, and played a major role in the establishment of the Czechoslovak state in 1918. Along with Louis Léger, he i ...

, who was to hold the chair of modern history at the Sorbonne, and who was himself an , said of the that "there is only one way to improve it, and that is to abolish it!" - what

Jacques Le Goff Jacques Le Goff (1 January 1924 – 1 April 2014) was a French historian and prolific author specializing in the Middle Ages, particularly the 12th and 13th centuries. Le Goff championed the Annales School movement, which emphasizes long-term t ...

described in 1966 as "words that are, alas, still relevant and likely to remain so". In 1892, it was

Ferdinand Lot Ferdinand Victor Henri Lot ( Le Plessis Piquet, 20 September 1866 – Fontenay-aux-Roses, 20 July 1952) was a French historian and medievalist. His masterpiece, '' The End of the Ancient World and the Beginnings of the Middle Ages'' (1927), ...

(who was chartered, not an and ended his career as a professor of medieval history at the Sorbonne) who judged "that the is an evil institution which, more than any other, has contributed to our scientific degradation, that it is a gnawing canker which devours the intelligence of teachers and students."

Controversy at the 2011 session

The received unusual amount of attention from the general public in 2011: the text given for the historical commentary test was presented as an authentic medieval text written in the 15th century, when in fact it was a fictionalized reconstruction of , published in 1964. The two historians behind the subject, Catherine Vincent and Denyse Riche, resigned from the jury after their error was revealed by the French media. The Ministry of Education officially took a position by announcing that this error, although not in line with the required scientific rigour, did not lead to the cancellation of the test since the principle of equality between candidates had not been violated.

Famous winners

Famous recipients of the agrégation in history-geography and later in history include:

References

Bibliography

*André Chervel (1993). . Paris: Kimé. p. 289. * *Jean-François Condette (2015). 127 (2): 219-238. *Loukia Efthymiou (2003). . Clio. 18: 91-112. *Nicolas Ginsburger, "Historians and Geographers in the Vichy Scalpel". Commentary on (January-February 1943)", , autumn 2017, n°31, p. 141-185. *Yves Verneuil (2005). . Paris: Belin. p. 367.

External links

fr, Rapport du jury 2009">

French Civil Service Recruitment