François Furet (; 27 March 1927 – 12 July 1997) was a French historian and president of the

Saint-Simon Foundation The Saint-Simon Foundation (french: Fondation Saint-Simon) was a French think tank that was created in 1982 and brought together public intellectuals, journalists, senior civil servants, business leaders, trade unionists, and academics. It terminate ...

, best known for his books on the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. From 1985 to 1997, Furet was a professor of French history at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. Furet was elected to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

in March 1997, just three months before he died in July.

Biography

Born in Paris on 27 March 1927 into a wealthy family, Furet was a bright student who graduated from the Sorbonne with the highest honors and soon decided on a life of research, teaching and writing. He received his education at the Lycée Janson de Sailly and at the faculty of art and law of Paris. In 1949, Furet entered the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

, but he left the party in 1956 following the

Soviet invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

. After beginning his studies at the University of Letters and Law in his native Paris, Furet was forced to leave university in 1950 due to a case of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. After recovering, he sat for the ''agrégation'' and passed the highly competitive exams with a focus in History in 1954. After a stint teaching in high schools, he began work on the

at the National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, supporting himself with a journalist job at the '' France Observateur'' between 1956–1964 and ''

Nouvel Observateur (), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...

'' between 1964–1966. In 1966, Furet began work at the

École des hautes études en sciences sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...

(EHESS) in Paris, where he would later be president (from 1977 to 1985).David Robin Watson (1999). "Furet, François", ''The Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing, Volume 1, Chicago Fitzroy Dearborn, p. 426-427. Furet served as Director of Studies at the EHESS in Paris and as a professor in the Committee on Social Thought at the

. In March 1997, he was elected to the

. He died in July 1997 in a

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

hospital while being treated for head injuries he incurred in an accident on a tennis court. He was survived by his wife Deborah, daughter Charlotte and son Antoine from a previous marriage to Jacqueline Nora. There is now a François Furet school in the suburbs of Paris as well as a François Furet prize given out every year. Furet's major interest was the French Revolution. Furet's early work was a social history of the 18th century

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

, but after 1961 his focus shifted to the Revolution. While initially a

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

and supporter of the Annales School, he later separated himself from the Annales and undertook a critical re-evaluation of the way the French Revolution is interpreted by Marxist historians. He became the leader of the revisionist school of historians who challenged the Marxist account of the French Revolution as a form of

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

. As other French historians of his generation like

Jacques Godechot Jacques Léon Godechot (3 January 1907 – 24 August 1989) was a French historian of the French revolution, and a pioneer of Atlantic history. As a frequent and varied contributor to the ''Annales Historiques de la Révolution Française'', he act ...

Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie Emmanuel Bernard Le Roy Ladurie (, born 19 July 1929) is a French historian whose work is mainly focused upon Languedoc in the ''Ancien Régime'', particularly the history of the peasantry. One of the leading historians of France, Le Roy Ladurie h ...

, Furet was open to ideas of English language historians, especially

Alfred Cobban Alfred Bert Carter Cobban (24 May 1901 – 1 April 1968) was an English historian and Professor of French History at University College, London, who along with prominent French historian François Furet advocated a classical liberal view of the F ...

. Likewise, Furet frequently lectured at American universities and from 1985 onwards taught at the

. In his first work on the Revolution, 1966's ''La Révolution'', Furet argued that the early years of the Revolution had a benign character, but after 1792 the Revolution had skidded off into the blood lust and cruelty of the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

. The cause of the Revolution going off course was the outbreak of war in 1792 which Furet controversially argued was intrinsic to the Revolution itself, rather than being an unrelated event as most French historians had argued until then. The other major theme of Furet's writings was its focus on the political history of the Revolution and its relative lack of interest in the Revolution's social and economic history. Other than a study of ''Lire et écrire'' (1977), a study co-edited with Jacques Ozouf concerning the growth of literacy in 18th century France, Furet's writings on the Revolution tended to focus on its historiography. In a 1970 article in ''Annales'', Furet attacked "the revolutionary catechism" of Marxist historians. Furet was especially critical of the "Marxist line" of

Albert Soboul Albert Marius Soboul (27 April 1914 – 11 September 1982) was a historian of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. A professor at the Sorbonne, he was chair of the History of the French Revolution and author of numerous influential ...

which Furet maintained was actually more Jacobin than Marxist. Furet argued that

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

was not especially interested in the Revolution and that most of the views credited to him were really the recycling of Jacobinism. Furet considered

Bolshevism Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, fo ...

and

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

were

totalitarian twins Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

in terms of violence and repression. From 1995 until his death on 12 July 1997 in

Figeac Figeac (; oc, Fijac) is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. Figeac is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Figeac is on the via Podiensis, a major hiking medieval pilgrimage trail which is part of the Way of S ...

, Furet’s views about

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

led to a debate via a series of letters with the German philosopher

Ernst Nolte Ernst Nolte (11 January 1923 – 18 August 2016) was a German historian and philosopher. Nolte's major interest was the comparative studies of fascism and communism (cf. Comparison of Nazism and Stalinism). Originally trained in philosophy, he was ...

. The debate had been started by a footnote in Furet's ''Le passé d'une illusion'' criticising Nolte's views over the relationship between Bolshevism and fascism, leading Nolte to write a letter of protest. Furet defended his view about totalitarian twins sharing the same origins while Nolte argued that fascism was a response to Bolshevism. The Parisian newspaper ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'' called him "a revolutionary of the Revolution." According to the newspaper, "One could even say that there is a Furetian school (of the Revolution)," with a "galaxy" of professors and writers, influenced by Furet, living in France, the United States and the United Kingdom." Furet was a member of both the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

French Revolution

Furet was the leading figure in the rejection of the classic or Marxist interpretation. Desan (2000) concluded he "seemed to emerge the victor from the bicentennial, both in the media and in historiographic debates". Furet, an ex-

member, published his classic ''La Révolution Française'' in 1965–1966. It marked his transition from revolutionary

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political%20ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically in ...

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...

position and reflected his ties to the social-science-oriented Annales School. Furet then re-examined the Revolution from the perspective of 20th-century totalitarianism as exemplified by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

. His ''Penser la Révolution Française'' (1978), translated as ''Interpreting the French Revolution'' (1981), was a breakthrough book that led many intellectuals to reevaluate Bolshevism and the Revolution as inherently totalitarian and anti-democratic. Looking at modern French communism, he stressed the close resemblance between the 1960s and 1790s, with both favoring the inflexible and rote ideological discourse in party cells where decisions were made unanimously in a manipulated direct democracy. Furet further suggested that popularity of the far left to many French intellectuals was itself a result of their commitment to the ideals of the Revolution. Furet set about to imagine the Revolution less as the result of social and class conflict and more a conflict over the meaning and application of egalitarian and democratic ideas. He saw

Revolutionary France The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

as located ideologically between two revolutions, namely the first egalitarian one that began in 1789 and the second the authoritarian coup that brought about

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's empire in 1799. The egalitarian origins of the Revolution were not undone by the Empire and were resurrected in the July Revolution of 1830, the 1848 Revolution and the

Commune of Paris The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

in 1871. Working much of the year at the University of Chicago after 1979, Furet also rejected the Annales School with its emphasis on very long-term structural factors and emphasized intellectual history. Influenced by

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wor ...

and Augustin Cochin, Furet argues that Frenchmen must stop seeing the Revolution as the key to all aspects of modern French history. His works include ''Interpreting the French Revolution'' (1981), a historiographical overview of what has preceded him and ''A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution'' (1989).Donals Sutherland, "An Assessment of the Writings of François Furet," ''French Historical Studies'', Fall 1990, Vol. 16 Issue 4, pp 784–91 Because of his influence in history and historiography, Furet was granted some of the field's most prestigious awards, among them: * Tocqueville Award, 1990 * The European Award for Social Sciences, 1996 * The Hannah Arendt Award for Political Thought, 1996 * An honorary diploma (''Honoris Causa'') from Harvard University

Methodology

Furet's concerns were not only historical, but historiographical as well. He attempted particularly to address distinctions between history as grand narrative and history as a set of problems that must be dealt with in a purely chronological manner.

Bibliography

* ''La Révolution française, en collaboration avec Denis Richet'' (''The French Revolution'', 2 volumes, 1965) * ''Penser la Révolution française'' (''Interpreting the French Revolution'', 1978) * ''L'atelier de l'histoire'' (''In the Workshop of History'', 1982) * "Beyond the Annales," ''The Journal of Modern History'' Vol. 55, No. 3, September 198
in JSTOR
* "Terrorism and Democracy". ''TELOS'' 65 (Fall 1985). New York
Telos Press
* ''Marx and the French Revolution'' with Lucien Calvié, (University of Chicago Press, 1988) * "The Monarchy and the Procedures for the Elections of 1789," ''The Journal of Modern History'' Vol. 60, No. 3, September 198
in JSTOR
* "The French Revolution Revisited" ''Government and Opposition'' (1989) 24#3 pp: 264-282
online
* ''Dictionnaire critique de la Révolution française'' (coedited with Mona Ozouf, 1992, 2 vol.) ** ''A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution'' (Harvard U.P. 1989) * ''Le Siècle de l'avènement républicain'' (with Mona Ozouf, 1993) * ''Le Passé d'une illusion, essai sur l'idée communiste au XXe siècle'' (1995) ** ''The Passing of an Illusion: The Idea of Communism in the Twentieth Century'', (translated by Deborah Furet, University of Chicago Press, 1999). * co-written with

''Fascisme et Communisme: échange épistolaire avec l'historien allemand Ernst Nolte prolongeant la Historikerstreit'', translated into English by Katherine Golsan as ''Fascism and Communism'', with a preface by

Tzvetan Todorov Tzvetan Todorov (; ; bg, Цветан Тодоров; 1 March 1939 – 7 February 2017) was a Bulgarian-French historian, philosopher, structuralist literary critic, sociologist and essayist. He was the author of many books and essays, whi ...

, Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2001, . * ''La Révolution, Histoire de France'' ** ''Revolutionary France, 1770–1880'' (translated by Antonia Nevill) (Oxford U.P., 1995). * ''Reading and Writing: Literacy in France from Calvin to Jules Ferry'' * ''Lies, Passions, and Illusions: The Democratic Imagination in the Twentieth Century'', (translated by Deborah Furet, University of Chicago Press, 2014).

Biography

French Revolution

Methodology

Bibliography

Notes

Further reading