The rugged coastline of Brittany, the rich countryside of the Loire Valley, the splendid villas and indigo skies of the Côte d’Azur, and of course the wonder of Paris are threads in the magnificent tapestry of France. You will find the peace and quiet of picturesque villages, grand châteaux, and lush vineyards alongside cutting-edge fashion, cuisine, and artwork. In addition to its incredible landscape, France boasts a rich cultural history and intense national pride. Literary greats Victor Hugo and Jean-Paul Sartre, world-renowned artists Rodin, Monet, and Degas, influential philosophers Voltaire and Rousseau, legendary musicians Debussy and Ravel, all have contributed to creating the cultural mecca that is modern-day France.

Paris and its environs will serve as a backdrop and resource for the Democracy Through an Aristocrat's Eyes program. Students will visit sites in the city that relate to the academic seminars: Alexis de Tocqueville’s birthplace, one of his adulthood residences where he wrote Democracy in America and The Old Regime, and scenes of the French Revolution. In addition, students will tour sites in Versailles and have an opportunity to visit Tocqueville’s estate in Normandy. At the Louvre, participants will examine works of art central to Tocqueville’s analysis of democratic versus aristocratic art. The program will visit the Institute de France, to examine Tocqueville’s original papers, and visit with Pierre Manent, the leading Tocqueville scholar in France, at the École des Hautes Études. Students will likewise meet with other contemporary French political thinkers as we study their works.