Instructions: Essays should be approximately three to four pages. Answer each part of the assignment in essay format thoroughly and thoughtfully (DO NOT submit short-answer or bullet-point responses). A good essay should respond to each aspect of the question below thoroughly. An outstanding essay will bring the student's own insights, analyses to the topic, providing nuance and thoughtfulness that go beyond a summation of Hobsbawn's observations and arguments.
Address the following issues raised in Hobsbawn's Echoes of the Marseillaise in an essay format:
Why did the French Revolution of 1789 come to be seen as a "bourgeois revolution" by the 1820s in the context of France during the post-revolutionary period as discussed in Chapter 1 of the book? Second, how was this interpretation developed and expanded during the later 19th and early 20th centuries; and why did this established interpretation become controversial in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917 as explained in chapters two and three of Hobsbawn's text?
Also, what were some developments in contemporary French and other Western societies by the 1970s that according to Hobsbawn in his fourth chapter of Echos that facilitated popular acceptance of the attacks on the established interpretation about the French Revolution?
Finally, Hobsbawn argues that the claim that the French Revolution was neither "bourgeois" nor transformative is unrealistic and largely politically motivated.
How effective or ineffective is his argument in your judgment? Be specific about the strengths and weaknesses of his assessments by using specific examples from the text and your own critical judgment.