After studying this chapter, students should understand and be able to discuss the following:
The defining events of the Age of the Bourgeoisie
The characteristics of the reigning styles of neoclassicism and romanticism and how they reflected events to 1848, along with the characteristics of realism as a product of the post-1848 period
The roles played by the middle class and the ideologies of liberalism and nationalism in shaping politics and culture during this era
The significance of the revolutions of 1830 and their aftermath
How the revolutions of 1848 were a watershed in politics and culture
The cultural importance of the Civil War in the United States
The impact of industrialism on history and civilization
The challenge to religion by the conclusions of higher criticism and the advances in science
The major contributions of science to an understanding of the universe
The dialectic between liberalism and socialism, with special attention to Marxism and its origins
The changed nature of neoclassicism and romanticism in the Age of the Bourgeoisie
The characteristics of the romantic novel, along with the leading writers
The development of the American literary and philosophical movement called transcendentalism and its influence on the writings of Thoreau
The achievements of Dickinson and Whitman, the founders of an American school of poetry written in a specifically American idiom
The characteristics of the realist novel, along with the leading writers
The rise of the slave narrative, a new literary genre, its leading writers, their achievements, and the genre's impact on the realist style
How the neoclassical style of Ingres compares and contrasts with the romantic style of Delacroix
The significance of the official Salon in helping to shape romantic and neoclassical art prior to 1871
The characteristics of realism in art, along with the leading advocates and significant works
How Manet laid the groundwork for modern painting
How photography was developed and became a new art form during this period
The characteristics of romantic music in this era
The impact of the bourgeoisie as patrons of opera
How Verdi and Wagner dominated opera, although with contrasting musical styles
How Brahms was the leader of the conservative school against the followers of Wagner
Historic "firsts" of the Age of the Bourgeoisie that became part of the Western tradition: the realist style of the arts, architecture, and literature; the germ theory of disease; anesthetics; advances in surgery; the pasteurization process; Marx's analysis of history; Darwin's theory of evolution; Pasteur's work in immunology and microbiology; the camera; the art of photography; the high-tech tradition; "art for art's sake" credo; higher criticism; and socialism
The role of the Age of the Bourgeoisie in transmitting the heritage of earlier civilizations: reviving Gothic architecture; continuing neoclassicism in art and romanticism in the arts and music; meeting the challenges to religious beliefs posed by scientific discoveries; perpetuating romantic music, especially in the operas of Wagner that pushed this style to the limit; updating liberalism and moving toward democracy; turning nationalism toward greater militancy; maintaining the revolutionary tradition begun in the American and French revolutions; bringing the ancient institution of slavery to an end; and intensifying industrialism
