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This course will offer a whirlwind survey of European history from the French Revolution to the present. Moving at breakneck speed, the course considers the political, economic, social, and cultural transformation of the continent during this 250-year period of dramatic change. At the beginning of this period most Europeans were illiterate, impoverished farm laborers; by the end of the era most were well-educated, prosperous democratic citizens. As the course seeks to understand this transformation, the overarching theme will be revolutions--political, economic, and intellectual--and their attendant ideologies. This means that much of the focus is on coming to terms with the various "isms" that shaped Europe in this period, such as liberalism, nationalism, imperialism, communism, fascism, and feminism. The course is built around three tensions that can help make sense of the proliferation of revolutions and ideologies during this period and that provide the overall structure for the course and act as the "engine" that drives it forward: liberalism vs. illiberalism, universality vs. particularity, and modernity vs. tradition. The course concludes with reflection on the challenges that face Europe today and on what its future may hold.