Albert Soboul
Encyclopedia
Albert Marius Soboul was a French historian of the French Revolution
and of Napoleon
. A professor at the Sorbonne
, he was Chair of the History of the French Revolution and author of numerous influential works of history and historical interpretation.
, Algeria
, in the spring of 1914. His father, a textile worker, died later that same year. He and his older sister Gisèle grew up first in a rural community in Ardèche
in southern France before moving with their mother back to Algeria. When she too died in 1922, the children were sent to be raised by their aunt Marie in Nîmes
.
The children's aunt was a primary school teacher, and under her care Soboul blossomed in his education at the lycée of Nîmes (1924–1931). He was uniquely inspired by the educator Jean Morini-Comby, who was himself a published historian of the Revolution. Soboul excelled in his studies and developed a lifelong passion for history and philosophy.
After Nîmes, Soboul studied for a year at the university of Montpellier
, then transferred to the Lycée Louis-le-Grand
in Paris
. After completing his agrégation
in history and geography in 1938, he undertook writing his first book of history, an examination of the ideas of the revolutionary leader Saint-Just.
activity, he formally joined the party in 1939. Called up for military service that same year, he served in the horse-drawn artillery without seeing combat before being demobilized in 1940. Soon afterward he received a teaching position at the lycée of Montpellier, but was dismissed in July 1942 after organizing a student demonstration. He spent most of the war years doing research for the Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires
.
After the end of the German Occupation, Soboul returned to teaching, first at Montpellier, then at the Lycée Marcelin Berthelot and finally the Lycée Henri-IV. Soboul became a close friend of the eminent historian Georges Lefebvre
and wrote his 1,100-page doctoral dissertation, Les sans-culottes parisiens en l'an II (The Parisian Sans-culottes
in the Year II
, 1958), under his direction. Soboul was later promoted to the University of Clermont-Ferrand
. In 1967, he was made Chair of the History of the French Revolution at the Sorbonne.
A committed communist throughout his life, Soboul promulgated the concept of overarching class struggle as the basis of the Revolution. Together with Lefebvre and others, Soboul is considered a principal architect of the Marxist school of historical analysis
.
Soboul's major works, listed by year of publication:
interpretation of the period from "revisionists
" such as François Furet
and Denis Richet. Since his death on 11 September 1982, Soboul's reputation has dimmed. Nonetheless, his body of work, characterized by substantial research and clear style, is considered by some to remain an important contribution to the study of "history from below
."
Soboul is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery, not far from the graves of prominent Communist Party leaders and the Communards' Wall
, where the last Communards were shot in May, 1871.
A biography, Un historien en son temps : Albert Soboul (1914–1982) by Claude Mazauric, was published in France in 2004.
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and of Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
. A professor at the Sorbonne
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, he was Chair of the History of the French Revolution and author of numerous influential works of history and historical interpretation.
Early life and education
Albert Marius Soboul was born in Ammi MoussaAmmi Moussa
Ammi Moussa is a town and commune in Relizane Province, Algeria.-References:...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, in the spring of 1914. His father, a textile worker, died later that same year. He and his older sister Gisèle grew up first in a rural community in Ardèche
Ardèche
Ardèche is a department in south-central France named after the Ardèche River.- History :The area has been inhabited by humans at least since the Upper Paleolithic, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Pont d'Arc. The plateau of the Ardeche River has extensive standing stones ,...
in southern France before moving with their mother back to Algeria. When she too died in 1922, the children were sent to be raised by their aunt Marie in Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
.
The children's aunt was a primary school teacher, and under her care Soboul blossomed in his education at the lycée of Nîmes (1924–1931). He was uniquely inspired by the educator Jean Morini-Comby, who was himself a published historian of the Revolution. Soboul excelled in his studies and developed a lifelong passion for history and philosophy.
After Nîmes, Soboul studied for a year at the university of Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
, then transferred to the Lycée Louis-le-Grand
Lycée Louis-le-Grand
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand is a public secondary school located in Paris, widely regarded as one of the most rigorous in France. Formerly known as the Collège de Clermont, it was named in king Louis XIV of France's honor after he visited the school and offered his patronage.It offers both a...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. After completing his agrégation
Agrégation
In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...
in history and geography in 1938, he undertook writing his first book of history, an examination of the ideas of the revolutionary leader Saint-Just.
Career
Soboul published his debut book using the pseudonym "Pierre Derocles". Already involved in Communist PartyFrench Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
activity, he formally joined the party in 1939. Called up for military service that same year, he served in the horse-drawn artillery without seeing combat before being demobilized in 1940. Soon afterward he received a teaching position at the lycée of Montpellier, but was dismissed in July 1942 after organizing a student demonstration. He spent most of the war years doing research for the Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires
Musée national des Arts et Traditions Populaires
The Musée national des Arts et Traditions Populaires was a museum of the popular arts and traditions of France. It was located at 6, avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Paris, France, but is now permanently closed to the public...
.
After the end of the German Occupation, Soboul returned to teaching, first at Montpellier, then at the Lycée Marcelin Berthelot and finally the Lycée Henri-IV. Soboul became a close friend of the eminent historian Georges Lefebvre
Georges Lefebvre
Georges Lefebvre was a French historian, best known for his work on the French Revolution and peasant life. He coined the term "history from below", which was later popularised by the British Marxist Historians...
and wrote his 1,100-page doctoral dissertation, Les sans-culottes parisiens en l'an II (The Parisian Sans-culottes
Sans-culottes
In the French Revolution, the sans-culottes were the radical militants of the lower classes, typically urban laborers. Though ill-clad and ill-equipped, they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars...
in the Year II
French Republican Calendar
The French Republican Calendar or French Revolutionary Calendar was a calendar created and implemented during the French Revolution, and used by the French government for about 12 years from late 1793 to 1805, and for 18 days by the Paris Commune in 1871...
, 1958), under his direction. Soboul was later promoted to the University of Clermont-Ferrand
Blaise Pascal University
Blaise Pascal University , also known as"Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand II" or just Clermont-Ferrand II, is a public university with its main campus on in Clermont-Ferrand, France, with satellite locations in other parts of the region of Auvergne, including Vichy, Moulins, Montlucon,...
. In 1967, he was made Chair of the History of the French Revolution at the Sorbonne.
A committed communist throughout his life, Soboul promulgated the concept of overarching class struggle as the basis of the Revolution. Together with Lefebvre and others, Soboul is considered a principal architect of the Marxist school of historical analysis
Marxist historiography
Marxist or historical materialist historiography is a school of historiography influenced by Marxism. The chief tenets of Marxist historiography are the centrality of social class and economic constraints in determining historical outcomes....
.
Published works
Soboul published numerous historical works, notably the three-volume La Civilisation de la Révolution française (The Civilization of the French Revolution).Soboul's major works, listed by year of publication:
French publications
- 1939: La Naissance de l'Armée nationale. 1789-1794, (under the pseudonym "Jules Leverrier") Éditions Sociales Internationales.
- 1945: L'Armée nationale sous la Révolution, 1789-1794, Éditions France d'abord.
- 1948: La Révolution française, 1789-1799, Éditions sociales.
- 1958: Les Sans-culottes parisiens en l'an II. Mouvement populaire et gouvernement révolutionnaire (1793-1794), La Roche-sur-Yon, 248 p.
- 1962: Histoire de la Révolution française, Éditions sociales.
- 1966: Le Procès de Louis XVI, Paris, Julliard, 267 p.
- 1967: Le Directoire et le consulat, PUF, 126 p.
- 1968: La Première République : 1792-1804, Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 365 p.
- 1970: La Civilisation et la Révolution française. La crise de l'Ancien Régime, Arthaud, 471 p.
- 1972: Précis d'histoire de la Révolution française, Paris, Éditions Sociales, 530 p.
- 1973: 1789, l'an un de la liberté, Éditions sociales, 351 p.
- 1981: Comprendre la révolution, collection of articles, Paris, Maspero.
Posthumous publications
- 1983: Problèmes paysans de la Révolution (1789-1848), Paris, Maspero, 442 p.
- 1984: La Révolution française, Gallimard, 2005, 121 p.
- 1986: Portraits de révolutionnaires, Messidor, 312 p.
- 1989: Dictionnaire historique de la Révolution française, PUF, 1132 p.
- 1990: La France napoléonienne, Arthaud, 419 p.
- 1995: La Maison rurale française, Paris, Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiquesComité des travaux historiques et scientifiquesThe Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques is a French learned society created by François Guizot in 1834....
, 171 p.
English editions
This list is by year of first English edition publication. Original publisher is in parentheses, followed by most current publisher and ISBN:- 1964: The Parisian Sans-Culottes and the French Revolution, 1793-4 – (Clarendon Press) Greenwood Books: ISBN 0-313-20913-8.
- 1972: The Sans-culottes: the Popular Movement and Revolutionary Government, 1793-1794 – (Doubleday/Anchor Books) Princeton University Press: ISBN 0-691-05320-0.
- 1975: The French Revolution, 1787-1799: From the Storming of the Bastille to Napoleon – Random House; ISBN 0-394-47392-2.
- 1977: A Short History of the French Revolution, 1789-1799 – University of California Press; ISBN 978-0-520-03419-8.
- 1988: Understanding the French Revolution – International Publishers; ISBN 0-7178-0658-8.
Legacy
Soboul faced increasing opposition to his class-struggleClass struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
interpretation of the period from "revisionists
Historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event...
" such as François Furet
François Furet
-Biography:Born in Paris on 27 March 1927, into a wealthy family, François Furet was a brilliant 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...
and Denis Richet. Since his death on 11 September 1982, Soboul's reputation has dimmed. Nonetheless, his body of work, characterized by substantial research and clear style, is considered by some to remain an important contribution to the study of "history from below
History From Below
History From Below is the follow-up album to 2008's critically acclaimed Ode to Sunshine by San Diego's Delta Spirit. The album was released on June 8, 2010.The band began streaming "White Table" on its website, http://www.deltaspirit.net, on May 6....
."
Soboul is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery, not far from the graves of prominent Communist Party leaders and the Communards' Wall
Communards' Wall
The Communards’ Wall at the Père Lachaise cemetery is where, on May 28, 1871, one-hundred forty-seven fédérés, combatants of the Paris Commune, were shot and thrown in an open trench at the foot of the wall....
, where the last Communards were shot in May, 1871.
A biography, Un historien en son temps : Albert Soboul (1914–1982) by Claude Mazauric, was published in France in 2004.