Ed Welch wins the Society for French Studies R. Gapper Book Prize

The jury gave the following statement about the book:

"Making Space in Post-War France: The Dreams , Realities and Aftermath of State Planning is an absolutely fascinating and eye-opening read. It is an extremely well-written study of state planning in post-war France, but also a history of Gaullism, of France as it lost its colonies and refocused its military and colonising skills and energies, of twentieth-century cultural theory, and a sensitive analysis of the theme of modern space in film, photography and literary texts as well as of the works of the planners themselves. Welch argues with great momentum that the impulse for post-war French planning came from a concern with the future, itself connected to the new reality of France without colonies and hence reduced to what came to be known from the early 1960s as l’hexagone. He shows that the Gaullist plans, with their military and colonial background and concerns, their focus on the status of France as a continuing power, also contained non-repressive utopian ideals, and where these failed, this was in part owing to the end of Gaullism, the end of the Trente Glorieuses and the end of the growth that had propelled them forward. The book demonstrates great depth of scholarship as it navigates through its complex and demanding material, with every point or illustration relevant. The translations are also excellent – stylish as well as accurate. The jury thought the book would be impactful for a number of different areas, from social and local government history to film studies, but that it also made a powerful argument for the history of state planning to be a major part of French studies. 

For more information about the prize, please see: The Society for French Studies | R. Gapper Book Prize