Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

History Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in History

French Exceptionalism: The Impact Of Laïcité, Rachel Culp May 2020

French Exceptionalism: The Impact Of Laïcité, Rachel Culp

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the impact of citizens’ attitudes toward religious freedom on their attitudes toward four socio-political issues: abortion, same-sex marriage, importance of Christianity to nationality and whether Islam is viewed as incompatible with nationality in a Western European context. I focused specifically on France, Germany and the UK as these countries represent three distinct approaches to the separation of religion and government. I aim to isolate and investigate the impact of the concept of laïcité, the French interpretation of secularism, and see if laïcité and attitudes toward laïcité impact citizens’ attitudes differently toward socio-political issues. My research found that …


Une Analyse Des Réponses À La Montée De L’Islam Radical En France, Austin Bannister Jun 2016

Une Analyse Des Réponses À La Montée De L’Islam Radical En France, Austin Bannister

Honors Theses

My study begins with a close look at the Parisian “banlieue” and popular imagery associated with it. When the large wave of immigrants came to France in the 1950’s, they were very poor and settled in the outskirts of Paris. Today, even some sixty years later, this “banlieue” is roughly synonymous with “slums” or “shantytowns” and is associated with criminal activity, very poor inhabitants, and violence. A distinction between beautiful Paris and the rundown banlieue is defined not only by the appearance of their respective buildings, but by the lives of their inhabitants as well. There is a clear social …


Unveiling Laïcité: Secularism Algerian Muslims And The Headscarf Affair In Modern France, Coleen Nugent Jun 2016

Unveiling Laïcité: Secularism Algerian Muslims And The Headscarf Affair In Modern France, Coleen Nugent

Honors Theses

The historical relationship between the French state and its form of secularism, laïcité, and the French Muslim population is fraught with conflict, misunderstanding, and ambivalence. Laïcité, is a form of secularism unique to France, thus why it refuses to be translated from its native French. France also has a unique colonial relationship with Algeria, which was considered an integral part of France during France's colonial empire. Both the history of laïcité and the history of this colonial relationship help to explain the modern relationship between laïcité and the French Muslim population. In order to analyze this conflict, the "Head Scarf …


Algerian, Tunisian, And Moroccan Students Abroad In France: The Importance Of History In Understading The International Student Experience, Hannah M. Ulrich Jan 2016

Algerian, Tunisian, And Moroccan Students Abroad In France: The Importance Of History In Understading The International Student Experience, Hannah M. Ulrich

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In the wake of two major terrorist attacks in the past year, the presence in France of a large Arab-Muslim population has gained new global attention. Whether or not the perpetrators of these events held French or other European nationalities, their names and faces all said “Arab” to the public and raised questions about immigration, terrorism, Islam and the presence and status of Arab-Muslims in France. These questions are nothing new, even if they seem to take on new urgency. Since North Africans began coming to France in significant numbers in the 1920s and 1930s their place in France has …


Secularization In Orleans, France: A Case Study Utilizing Mark Chaves' 'New Differentiation Theory', Stephanie J. Beck Jan 2011

Secularization In Orleans, France: A Case Study Utilizing Mark Chaves' 'New Differentiation Theory', Stephanie J. Beck

Honors Theses

Steeped in a heavily religious history, Europe and specifically France provide an intriguing backdrop for a closer look into secularization in present-day Orleans, France. Many various approaches to secularization theory have arisen over the past sixty years. This paper explores the evolution of secularization theory, delving into Mark Chaves' "New Differentiation Theory", based upon religious authority's influence on t he individual, societal, and institutional levels. Though created by an American academician, the "New Differentiation Theory'' provides a new basis of analysis with which one may draw conclusions regarding the state of secularization in a European city (in this case Orleans, …