“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” is well-known as the stirring slogan of the French Revolution. In this study group, by means of an examination of the life and thought of pre-revolutionary visionary Jean-Jacques Rousseau and of the major events of the Revolution itself, we will reflect upon and wrestle with the internal tensions and, indeed, contradictions embodied in this slogan. To what extent, for example, does the quest for liberty impinge upon the longing for equality, and vice versa? To what degree, moreover, does the craving for fraternity compromise the desire for both liberty and equality? Instructor Barry Shapiro is a French revolutionary scholar and Emeritus Professor of History, Allegheny College, Meadville, PA. Classes will meet on Tuesdays from January 28 through March 31.