Mapping modernity  by Olson, Kory Ernest.  Abstract (Summary)
iii Many French politicians and academics believed that a lack
of map-reading skills contributed to France’s defeat in the
Franco-Prussian War. Following this loss, the introduction of
geography into the national educational curriculum changed how
maps were used and understood in the early Third Republic. Used
widely by travel guidebook authors and by government officials
administering the city prior to 1870, maps took on an additional
role during the Third Republic: through visual representation
they helped reaffirm the republic’s desire for a common national
identity. This identity, based on the modernity and stability of
the new regime, helped a volatile France redefine itself and its
capital city. This dissertation is a study of France’s view of
Paris and of how the government and publishers wished to portray
its capital city to the world. This study aims to define how
France promoted Paris as a modern, stable capital city, and how
the governme