Please join us in a one-hour Zoom presentation:
 “Paris Goods: Luxury Retailing and the Emergence of les Grands Magasins”

with Roger Mummert and the Alliance Française

April 9 at 4pm EDT

Register:

https://www.afusa.org/community/event-rsvp/?event_id=91

Explore luxury retailing in Paris beginning with Medieval times, when travelers sought les articles de Paris, the superior goods produced there by guild artisans.

We look at the emergence of new retailing venues: the Arcades, Novelty Stores and les Grands Magasins of Bon Marché, Galleries Lafayette, and Printemps. 

In this history in luxury retailing, merchandising and branding, the ultimate brand may be Paris itself. 

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.

D-Day was a colossal event in human history. On June 6, 1944, Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and began to turn the tide against Nazi aggression and tyranny. Understanding this epic event requires that we revisit the narratives of "American Exceptionalism" and "Eternal France" and examine the role of nationalism in the development of modern Europe. 

Part 1: "What Happened Here"

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.

"Bourgeois” by definition means middle class. And while most French citizens are middle class, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who wants to be called bourgeois. “Quelle horreur!” 

Indeed, in France, “bourgeois” has a complicated biography. We explore that in this series.

 

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.

Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) was a native of Berlin, but he had deep roots in Paris. In his essay, "A Berlin Chronicle" from Reflections, he reminisces about the role played by people in his life, from childhood on. Here, while seated in the Café Deux Magots in St-Germain-des-Prés, he has a revelation--an illumination, in his words--that encapsulates the way so many feel about Paris as a place of personal insight and inspiration. 

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.

We venerate Mark Twain as a foundational American novelist, but for much of his career he paid his bills by traveling the world, writing of his adventures and recounting them from the stage. In fact, Twain spent 12 years abroad--including nearly two years living in Paris. This is Part 1 of  the "Mark Twain and France" series, in which we explore Twain's first encounter with Paris as a reporter on a travel excursion in 1867.  

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.

The area surrounding Notre Dame Cathedral is being reimagined, as part of the vast greening of Paris. In a few years, the 12 million people who visit the cathedral annually will encounter a surrounding space that is far greener, cooler and more amenable to social interactions.

It may also be more Parisian.

See how the landscape architects of Bureau Bas Smets plan to bring Parisians back to the Ile de la Cité to gather in an inviting and refreshing place in the historic middle of a vast city. 

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.

Bohemianism is a grandmere to many "isms"  inspired by the original Bohemians of Paris . The list of “Bohemainism-isms” is long, but here are a choice few.

This is Part V of "Bohemianism," a podcast from theparisproject.net. 

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.

In 1851, Henri Murger published "Scenes de la Vie de Bohème," portraying the Bohemian life of four artists in the Quartier Latin. Some say the book defined the colorful ways of Bohemianism; others say is merely "marked" or even mocked what was a serious social and political rejection of bourgeois values and comforts. The book remains widely read, and the argument endures, as well.  

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.

"The Most Bohemian Bohemian" is Part 3 of "Bohemianism," a podcast series from theparisproject.net.  A countdown from 10 to 1 of the most colorful and influential Bohemians from la Bohème Galante, the first generations of Bohemians in Paris. 

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.

While the idea of Bohemianism may seem eternal, the founding of Bohemianism in Paris can be traced to 1830 when a small group of young writers and artists formed a circle they called le Petit Cénacle. They believed that life should be lived for art—and art never should be employed toward bourgeois conventions and comforts.

The Bohemians of le Petite Cénacle became infamous for their drunken revelry, noisy impropriety, and outrageous dress. Their motto: “Èpater la Bourgeoisie” or shock, scandalize, flabbergast the stuffy middle class. 

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.