1. World Civilizations Mrs. Lauterhahn

2.  A salon is a social gathering of people, usually in a private residence, to share ideas and artistic expression and to educate each other.  In Europe, they have existed from about the 1580s and played a central role in both the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment.  The Enlightenment reached its peak in the 1700’s and Paris was a center of intellectual activity so Parisian women hosted these social gatherings.

3.  The hostesses were most often wealthy women.  The salons were not only French.  There were similar movements in the coffee houses of England and Germany.  And of course, non-European cultures also had forms of salon gatherings.

4.  Here is a painting of a salon entitled “A reading of Molière” by Jean François de Troy from about 1728.  Note the large presence of women.

6.  The salons became an institution of the Enlightenment and served as a major channel of communication among intellectuals.  The Age of Enlightenment was one of the great times of European history and reached its peak in the 18th century.  It centered around the idea that humans could be rational and control their world through science and knowledge

7.  The Age of Enlightenment also formulated the political concepts that now define our modern democratic societies.  The United States, for example, was founded during the Age of Enlightenment and to this day shows both the Enlightenment’s strengths and weaknesses.

8.  Since most of the salons were hosted by women, the salons have become a focus of feminist scholarship.  Feminist historians note how women held power by controlling who was invited to participate and through moderating discussion.  The salon also became a way for women to pursue a form of higher education -- they exchanged ideas, received and gave criticism, read their own works and heard the works and ideas of other intellectuals..

9.  This was important, because it is only very recently that women have been allowed into many of our universities.  Princeton and Yale, for example, only opened their doors to women in 1969.