Parsons Paris

A look into The Making of Paris

This semester, Parsons Paris is offering a course titled The Making of Paris, taught by Professor Stephanie Nadalo. The course examines the urban, artistic, and social history of Paris from the city’s ancient origins to the present, looking into local monuments from the Notre Dame Cathedral to the Eiffel Tower, and everything in between that allows for the urban landscape of Paris’ reflection on both the monumental ambitions of French rulers and the daily labor of architects, engineers and anonymous builders. Professor Nadalo uses her knowledge of the city to explain the importance of Parisian topography, revealing its layers of accumulation, describing the character of the city, and tying it all back to the city’s character being affected by dramatic acts of political upheaval and symbolic destruction. By examining the making and remaking of Paris over the centuries, the course familiarizes students with the city’s complex legacy as a locus for art, architecture, and revolutionary politics. 

Professor Nadalo expands the scope of the classroom, bringing her class on field trips across Paris such as, Notre Dame & the Latin Quarter, a day trip to Versailles, a visit to the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, and a walking tour of the Marais.  In doing such, the class gets to put the concepts gained in class through readings, discussions and lectures, to the test in real Parisian locations. Overall, the class works towards allowing students to gain familiarity with the political, social, and cultural contexts surrounding the development of Paris and its artistic communities across time, while sharpening their critical reading skills through the analysis of academic secondary sources and primary source texts. Thinking critically and creatively about the challenges and opportunities facing historic cities and consider how the past can be in dialogue with contemporary urbanism and design, The Making of Paris cultivates students’ historical and material sensibilities by engaging in close visual analysis at historic sites and museums.