Paris: "A City of Ideas": Recent Episodes
Roger Mummert
Paris is a city built on ideas. These ideas coalesce into narratives, myths and stories that form a neural network of urban life. "A City of Ideas" explores these Ideas toward an understanding of how Paris developed as a modern city. This podcast series was created and narrated by Roger Mummert (rogermum@aol.com). For more information; 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 a "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.
"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.
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.
bohemianism
Living a life of l’art pour l’art, flaunting conventions, embracing poverty and rejecting bourgeois values and comforts.Part 1
Walking a Lobster: Birth of la Bohème
In the 1830s, the poet Gerard de Nerval attached a blue silk leash to his pet lobster Thibault and walked him through the gardens of the Palais Royal. It is difficult today to appreciate the significance of this gesture. At the time, de Nerval, a poet’s poet among the young Parisian literati, was (with the participation of Thibault the lobster) making a shocking artistic and social statement.
De Nerval was a bohemian.
Paris is in the midst of a massive greening plan, to transform the city into one of the greenest cities in Europe. The city sees this as part of a historic continuum, but critics say this is greenwashing. The Paris greening plan is ambitious and admirable--but history and language matter. Let's not admire a tree and call it a forest.
The Champ-de-Mars by the Eiffel Tower, which was created for military drills, is today a battleground for city planners vs. tree advocates.
As the city of Paris developed into modernity, the removal of human waste was key to that transition. Today, repurposing waste products plays a significant role in realizing a greener Paris. And urine is key to it.
Paris is undergoing what may be the most comprehensive transformation since the Haussmann renovation in the 19th century. This time, 2 million Parisians, and not just an emperor and his agent, have a hand in determining how life in Paris can be enhanced and enjoyed in a sustainable green city.
Laïcité has roots in France going back to the Edict of Nantes in 1598, which granted freedom of religion (or at least tolerance) to French Protestants. And since that time, this French concept of secularism has been hotly debated.
This podcast is part of "Paris: A City of Ideas," a series created and narrated by Roger Mummert (rogermum@aol.com)
For more information: www.theparisproject.net
In the 19th century, public education in France was made mandatory and secular. The Catholic Church, which previously had controlled and administered education, viewed this as a hostile act of anti-clericism. They faced off against the proponents of secularism in what was known as "The Conflict of the Two Frances." Today, more than ever, schools are battleground over secularism, religious expression and separatism.
This podcast is part of "Paris: A City of Ideas," a series created and narrated by Roger Mummert (rogermum@aol.com).
For more information: www.theparisproject.net
For four centuries, laïcité has been a guiding principle of life in Paris and throughout France. Yet is remains a hot-button issue today, as France struggles to define a national character while fulfilling the aspirations of the Republic. Does secularism even have a place in a country and an interconnected world undergoing vast demographic and cultural transitions?
This podcast is part of "Paris: A City of Ideas," a series created and narrated by Roger Mummert (rogermum@aol.com).
For more information: www.theparisproject.net
Laïcité is a distinctly French concept of secularism. It ensures the free expression of religion by banishing religion and its symbols from the public sphere.
This podcast is part of "Paris: A City of Ideas," a series created and narrated by Roger Mummert (rogermum@aol.com).
For more information: www.theparisproject.net