ABSTRACT
Societies perceive "Reform" or "Reforms" as substantial changes and significant breaks which must be well-justified. The Enlightenment brought forth the idea that the future was uncertain and could be shaped by human beings. This gave the concept of reform a new character and new fields of application. Those who sought support for their plans and actions needed to reflect, develop new arguments, and offer new reasons to address an anonymous public. This book aims to compile these changes under the heuristic term of "languages of reform." It analyzes the structures of communication regarding reforms in the 18th century through a wide variety of topics.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
section Section I|98 pages
Semantics of Languages of Reform
chapter 2|23 pages
The Dawning of the Age of Reform
chapter 3|17 pages
The Making of "Federalism" in Eighteenth-Century France
chapter 4|23 pages
Ambiguity in Translation
section Section II|86 pages
Strategies and Rhetoric of Reform
chapter 5|26 pages
Change and Improvement to Save the State
chapter 6|28 pages
Reform as Verbesserung
chapter 7|16 pages
Luxury as an Eighteenth-Century Language of Reform of Society Between France and Italy
chapter 8|14 pages
A Useful Public Institution?
section Section III|110 pages
Thematic Vocabularies in Specific Contexts
chapter 11|23 pages
Mending the Boat While Sailing
chapter 12|20 pages
From a Reform Language of Speculation to a Speculative Language of Reform
chapter 13|25 pages
From the Civic Improvement of the Jews to the Separation of State and Church
section Section IV|40 pages
Adaption and Translation of Reform Languages
part Section V|64 pages
Reflecting on Reform