Description
Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV wanted to make Paris the new Rome and did an extraordinary job of attracting talent from all of Europe. Louis XIV oversaw the success of the project by 1680 but then turned away from the city when he realized the independent nature of the creation. He left for Versailles, where he could enjoy some of the culture without seeing the freedom of expression that accompanied it.
Charlie Steen’s classes place historical events in context with art, architecture, religion, and other cultural aspects of a period. He continues to teach western civilization at UNM part-time and is author of several books, including A Cultural History of Early Modern Europe. A graduate of UNM, he also holds a PhD in early modern European history from UCLA.