The Events of May 1968 – In France and Elsewhere

1968 was a tumultuous year around the globe. This course will be centered on France during the month of May when student demonstrations and labor strikes rocked the nation. We will also look at events in the U.S. (Vietnam, civil rights, student protests), Czechoslovakia (Warsaw Pact invasion) and elsewhere (Berlin, Greece etc.). Essential question: Was 1968 a truly revolutionary year?  Discussion-based class. Short documentary films will be shown in class. Students will be asked to read short essays.

Several short essays will be provided.

Bill VanderWolk taught many courses at Bowdoin College on French literature and history of the 19th and 20th centuries. He began his studies in France in September 1968 when the aftershocks of May were still reverberating.