Dominer la Nature, reproduire la Nature: enjeux de l’énergie à Paris

Abstract: Energy is an operative paradigm for understanding the evolution of the nineteenth century. Texts about urban development in Paris under the Second Empire, read alongside works by Balzac and Zola, show that the concept of energy evolved over the course of the century: moving from a romantic ideology to a more technical one and illustrating a relationship with Nature that evolved from mastery to domination. (In French)