Historical events as transformations of structures: Inventing revolution at the Bastille

Theory and Society

Volumn 25, Issue 6, 1996, Pages 841-881

  Sewell, William H ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0030298592     PISSN: 03042421     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/BF00159818     Document Type: Article

References (56)

1. I have had useful comments on this article from Ronald Aminzade, Laura Downs, Muge Goçek, David Laitin, Colin Lucas, Sherry Ortner, Sharon Reitman, Sidney Tarrow, the Editors of Theory and Society, and the members of the Social Theory Workshop at the University of Chicago. Earlier versions of the article were presented at the Center for Comparative Research in History, Society, and Culture at the University of California, Davis; the Fifth Norwegian National Sociology Conference; the Sociology Department at the University of California, Berkeley; and the 1994 Dean's Symposium at the University of Chicago.
2. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
3. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
4. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
5. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
6. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
7. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
8. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
9. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
10. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
11. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
12. The rapprochement between social history and narrative may be conveniently marked by the appearance of Laurence Stone's "The Revival of Narrative: Reflections on a New Old History," Past and Present 85 (1979): 3-24. Among the scholars who have contributed to a theoretical understanding of events are Philip Abrams, who devoted a chapter to events in Historical Sociology (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982), 190-226; Pierre Nora, "Le retour de l'événement," in J. Legoff and P. Nora, editors, Faire de l'histoire, Vol. 1, Nouveaux problèmes (Paris: Gallimard, 1974), 285-308; J. Molino, "L'événement de la logique à la sémiologie," Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale, L'événement Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le Centre Méridional d'Histoire Sociale (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1986), 251-270; Andrew Abbott, "From Causes to Events," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 428-455; Ronald Aminzade, "Historical Sociology and Time," Sociological Methods and Research 20 (1992): 456-480; Larry Griffen, "Temporality, Events, and Explanation in Historical Sociology," Sociological Methods and Research (1992): 403-427, and "Narrative, Event-Structure Analysis, and Causal Interpretation in Historical Sociology," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1094-1 133. By far the most thorough and impressive theorization has been undertaken by Marshall Sahlins, who has attempted to rethink the event in the framework of Levi-Straussian structuralism. The relatively minor impact of Sahlins's work on social historians and historical sociologists is probably attributable to both his Levi-Straussian starting point and his exotic subject matter - Hawaiian and Fijian history. Although I do not cite him much in this article, his work has profoundly influenced my own reflections on events; I plan to discuss it elsewhere, where I can do it justice. Marshall Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981); Islands of History, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); and "The Return of the Event, Again; With Reflections on the Beginnings of the Great Fijian War of 1843 to 1855 between the Kingdoms of Bau and Rewa," 37-99 in Clio in Oceania: Toward a Historical Anthropology', ed. Aletta Biersack, (Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London, 1991).
13. Anthony Giddens, A Contemporary Critique of Historical Materialism, volume 1: Power, Property, and the State (London: Macmillan, 1981), 27.
14. I have elaborated a conception of structure at much greater length in William H. Sewell, Jr., "A Theory of Structure: Duality, Agency, and Social Transformation," American Journal of Sociology 98 (1992): 1-29. I have, however, changed my conception in one significant respect since publishing that article. In the 1992 article, I define structures as "mutually sustaining cultural schemas and sets of resources that empower and constrain social action and tend to be reproduced by that action." I would now modify this definition by specifying modes of power as a constitutive component of structures.
15. For a fuller development of this point, see William H. Sewell, Jr., "Three Temporalities: Toward an Eventful Sociology," in The Historic Turn in the Human Sciences, ed. Terrence McDonald (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996).
16. For a fascinating account of how potential ruptures are handled in face-to-face interactions, see Irving Goffman, "On Face Work." in Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face to Face Behavior (New York, Pantheon Books, 1967), 5-46.
17. The standard accounts of this period are Georges Lefebvre, The Coming of the French Revolution, R. R. Palmer (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1947), and Jean Egret, The French Prerevolution 1787-1788, trans. Wesley D. Camp, introd. J. F. Bosher (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977).
18. The standard accounts of this period are Georges Lefebvre, The Coming of the French Revolution, R. R. Palmer (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1947), and Jean Egret, The French Prerevolution 1787-1788, trans. Wesley D. Camp, introd. J. F. Bosher (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977).
19. L. Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution, 3 vols., trans. M. Eastman (New York: 1932). Charles Tilly speaks of these as situations of "multiple sovereignty." Charles Tilly, European Revolutions, 1492-1992 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1993).
20. L. Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution, 3 vols., trans. M. Eastman (New York: 1932). Charles Tilly speaks of these as situations of "multiple sovereignty." Charles Tilly, European Revolutions, 1492-1992 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1993).
21. See Roland Mousnier, "Les Concepts d'ordres, d'états, de fidelité et de monarchie absolue en France de la fin du XVe siècle à la fin du XVIIIe siècle," Revue historique 502 (1972): 289-312; William H. Sewell, Jr., "Etat, Corps, and Ordre: Some Notes on thé Social Vocabulary of the Old Regime," in Sozialgeschichte Heute, Festschrift für Hans Rosenberg zum 70. Geburtstag, ed. Hans-Ulrich Wehler (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1974), 49-68; Charles Loyseau, Traité des ordres et simples dignitez. in Oeuvres (Paris, 1666).
22. See Roland Mousnier, "Les Concepts d'ordres, d'états, de fidelité et de monarchie absolue en France de la fin du XVe siècle à la fin du XVIIIe siècle," Revue historique 502 (1972): 289-312; William H. Sewell, Jr., "Etat, Corps, and Ordre: Some Notes on thé Social Vocabulary of the Old Regime," in Sozialgeschichte Heute, Festschrift für Hans Rosenberg zum 70. Geburtstag, ed. Hans-Ulrich Wehler (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1974), 49-68; Charles Loyseau, Traité des ordres et simples dignitez. in Oeuvres (Paris, 1666).
23. See Roland Mousnier, "Les Concepts d'ordres, d'états, de fidelité et de monarchie absolue en France de la fin du XVe siècle à la fin du XVIIIe siècle," Revue historique 502 (1972): 289-312; William H. Sewell, Jr., "Etat, Corps, and Ordre: Some Notes on thé Social Vocabulary of the Old Regime," in Sozialgeschichte Heute, Festschrift für Hans Rosenberg zum 70. Geburtstag, ed. Hans-Ulrich Wehler (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1974), 49-68; Charles Loyseau, Traité des ordres et simples dignitez. in Oeuvres (Paris, 1666).
24. My account of the events surrounding the taking of the Bastille is based primarily on Jacques Godechot, The Taking of the Bastille: July 14, 1789, trans. Jean Stewart, preface by Charles Tilly (New York: Scribners, 1970). This is the best single scholarly account.
25. Ibid., 187-188.
26. Les Révolutions de Paris, 1 (July 17, 1789), 8.
27. Again, the best account is Godechot, The Taking of the Bastille.
28. Ibid., 217.
29. Charles Tilly, The Contentious French (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986).
30. H.-L. Lusebrink and R. Reichardt, "La 'Bastille' dans l'imaginaire social de la France à la fin du XVIIIe siècle (1774-1799)," Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine 30 (1983): 196-234, and Die Bastille: Zur Symbolgeschichte von Herrschaft und Freiheit (Frankfurt: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1990).
31. H.-L. Lusebrink and R. Reichardt, "La 'Bastille' dans l'imaginaire social de la France à la fin du XVIIIe siècle (1774-1799)," Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine 30 (1983): 196-234, and Die Bastille: Zur Symbolgeschichte von Herrschaft und Freiheit (Frankfurt: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1990).
32. Keith Michael Baker, "Inventing the French Revolution," in Inventing the French Revolution: Essays on French Political Culture in the Eighteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 203-223. Baker's essay charts a wide range of transformations of the term "revolution" in the eighteenth century, and even during the weeks following the taking of the Bastille, but he does not specifically consider when revolution became associated with an act of popular violence.
33. Tilly, The Contentious French.
34. Les Révolutions de Paris, 1 (July 17, 1789), 17.
35. Les Révolutions de Paris, 1 (July 17, 1789). The term "citoyen" is used frequently throughout the account. The line about "the soldiers of the fatherland" occurs on 7. The language of liberty and despotism occurs prominently on 18-19.
36. Réimpression de l'Ancien Moniteur, vol. 1 (Paris: Plon, 1858), 158. Henceforth, quotations from this source will specify page numbers in parentheses in the text.
37. Colin Lucas has written with great penetration about the revolutionary conundrum of distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate violence. See especially "Revolutionary Violence, the People, and the Terror," in The French Revolution and the Creation of Modern Political Culture, vol. 4, The Terror, ed. Keith Michael Baker (Oxford: Pergamon, 1994) but also "The Crowd and Politics between Ancien Regime and Revolution in France," Journal of Modern History 60 (1988): 421-457 and "Talking About Urban Popular Violence in 1789," in Reshaping France: Town, Country and Region during the French Revolution, ed. Alan Forrest and Peter Jones (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991).
38. Colin Lucas has written with great penetration about the revolutionary conundrum of distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate violence. See especially "Revolutionary Violence, the People, and the Terror," in The French Revolution and the Creation of Modern Political Culture, vol. 4, The Terror, ed. Keith Michael Baker (Oxford: Pergamon, 1994) but also "The Crowd and Politics between Ancien Regime and Revolution in France," Journal of Modern History 60 (1988): 421-457 and "Talking About Urban Popular Violence in 1789," in Reshaping France: Town, Country and Region during the French Revolution, ed. Alan Forrest and Peter Jones (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991).
39. Colin Lucas has written with great penetration about the revolutionary conundrum of distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate violence. See especially "Revolutionary Violence, the People, and the Terror," in The French Revolution and the Creation of Modern Political Culture, vol. 4, The Terror, ed. Keith Michael Baker (Oxford: Pergamon, 1994) but also "The Crowd and Politics between Ancien Regime and Revolution in France," Journal of Modern History 60 (1988): 421-457 and "Talking About Urban Popular Violence in 1789," in Reshaping France: Town, Country and Region during the French Revolution, ed. Alan Forrest and Peter Jones (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991).
40. For a more general argument about events as acts of signification, see Marshall Sahlins, "Structure and History," chap. 5 in Islands of History, 136-156.
41. Sahlins, Historical Metaphors and Islands of History.
42. Lusebrink and Reichardt, "La 'Bastille' dans l'imaginaire sociale," and Die Bastille.
43. Les Révolutions de Paris, 1 (July 17, 1789), 18.
44. Ibid., 19-20.
45. Réné Girard, Violence and the Sacred, trans. Patrick Gregory (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977 [1972]).
46. Michel Foucault, "The Spectacle of the Scaffold," chap. 2 in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, trans. Alan Sheridan (New York: Vintage, 1977).
47. Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, trans. Joseph Ward Swain (New York: The Free Press, 1965 [1915]), 240.
48. Les Révolutions de Paris, 1 (July 17, 1789), 19.
49. See, e.g., Edmund R. Leach, "Ritual," Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Ed. David L. Sills, vol. 13 (New York: Macmillan, 1968) and Victor W. Turner, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure (Chicago: Aldine, 1969).
50. See, e.g., Edmund R. Leach, "Ritual," Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Ed. David L. Sills, vol. 13 (New York: Macmillan, 1968) and Victor W. Turner, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure (Chicago: Aldine, 1969).
51. Catherine Bell, Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), 140-141.
52. Ibid., 140.
53. Turner, The Ritual Process.
54. Georges Lefebvre, The Great Fear of 1789: Rural Panic in Revolutionary Franc, trans. Joan White, introduction by George Rudé (New York: Vintage Books, 1973 [1932]).
55. Clay Ramsay, The Ideology of the Great Fear: The Soissonnais in 1789 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992).
56. My account of the night of August 4 is based primarily on Patrick Kessel, La Nuit du 4 Août 1739 (Paris: Arthaud, 1969).