Honors Theses
Date of Award
2006
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Croft Institute for International Studies
First Advisor
Susan Grayzel
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
The Dreyfus Affair, which began in 1894. was not only a political clash. It also engulfed the social and cultural worlds of France during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From the highest politician to the average French citizen, people from ever}' background were aware of the Dreyfus Affair and its implications for France. This Affair divided the people of France in every way possible and impressed itself upon every walk of French life for over a decade. With the aid of modem mass media, the Affair spread to every corner of France. By causing divisions in its cultural, social, and political spheres, the Dreyfus Affair clearly shaped France as a country. This paper explores the origins of French anti-Semitism, the social divisions in France due to the Affair, the use of propaganda and the press during the Affair, and the Affair's cultural effects. It argues that one must investigate every angle of the Affair in order to understand its legacy. For among other things, the Dreyfus Affair also furthered the efforts to divide religious and stately affairs. As a result of the Affair and the international publicity it generated, France formally recognized a division between religion and the State with the Separation of Church and State Law of 1905. Accordingly, France became one of the most secularized countries in Europe and thus the impact of the Affair continues to this day.
Recommended Citation
Roe, Mary Elizabeth, "Ils en ont parle" (2006). Honors Theses. 2408.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2408
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