Enlightenment: Besançon, 1740–1788

Besançon feels in many ways like an eighteenth-century city. In this second episode of “Sister Revolutions,” historian Benjamin Bernard and producer Sage Tanguay explore the intellectual and architectural efflorescence of the Enlightenment in Franche-Comté through interviews with historians—and a visit to Claude Nicolas Ledoux's imaginative Saline Royale (royal salt works) in the nearby village of Arc-et-Senans.

Sister Revolutions is a limited-run documentary series made possible by the Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission, Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia, and America 2026. You can learn more about each of these organizations on their websites: www.cvillesistercities.org, https://browncollege.virginia.edu/ and www.america2026.eu

Sister Revolutions is produced and hosted by Benjamin Bernard and Sage Tanguay With production assistance from Sophia Moore French Transcription and Translation by Oriane Guiziou-Lamour And English voiceover by Lewis Reining and Nathan Moore The music in this episode was provided by Blue Dot Sessions

This episode featured the voices of:

• Andre Ferrer from the Societe d’emulation du Doubs and Professor Emeritus at the University of Burgundy Franche-Comte
• Pascal Brunet public architectural historian
• Gregory Le Moing at the Royal Salt Works of Arc-et-Senans
• Sarah MacDonald and Yves al-Ghazi

Special thanks to

• Elizabeth Smiley of the Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission
• Bertrand Van Ruymbeke of America 2026
• Prof. Ari Blatt, Chair of the University of Virginia French Department
• Florent Werguet, Head of international relations for the City of Besancon
• Hugo Toudic Associate director of the University of Chicago center in Paris

Sister Revolutions is hosted by Symposia: a production of Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia and the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM.