The Future of French History in the United States: Unapocalyptic Thoughts for the New Millennium

This slightly revised version of a luncheon address given at the annual meeting of the Society for French Historical Studies in May 2000 considers the effects on the profession of French history in the United States of the various contemporary trends that go under the name of “globalization.” It suggests that in the short term globalization will decrease the relative number of academic positions in French history and will encourage research projects that place France in a comparative perspective or emphasize relations between metropole and colony. It contrasts these “unapocalyptic” predictions with the possible long-term consequences of globalization: the modern university’s abandonment of its traditional project of creating a national culture.