The papers in this volume represent the first attempt at a coherent analysis of the institutional structure of French science and technology in the nineteenth century. They treat both research and education and cover the main developments in the period from the establishment of the Napoleonic University in 1808 to the outbreak of the First World War. The papers reflect the intense interest in the social history of French science since the Revolution and convey a vivid impression of different modes of thought in a particularly active field of research. The contributions stress and develop more clearly than in any previous study, the theme of structural change in a complex interlocking network of institutions. Far from being an unresponsive monolith, France's system of scientific research and education proved capable of significant modification and expansion, especially in the later nineteenth century. To an extent that has not been fully recognised by historians, the French did respond to the changing demands of an industrialising economy and to the intellectual, economic and political challenge of the new Germany - a point that needs to be taken into account in discussions of the supposed decline of French science in the nineteenth century.

• Introduction: The institutional basis of French science in the nineteenth century Robert Fox and George Weisz
• Part I. The University: 1. The emergence of the Ecole Normale Superieure as a centre of scientific education in the nineteenth century Craig Zwerling
• 2. Reform and conflict in French medical education, 1870-1914 George Weisz
• 3. Educational qualifications and university careers in science in nineteenth-century France Victor Karady
• Part II. Technical education: 4. Education for the industrial world: technical and modern instruction in France under the Third Republic 1870-1914 C. R. Day
• 5. Apollo courts the Vulcans: the applied science institutes in nineteenth-century French science faculties Harry W. Paul
• 6. From 'corps' to 'profession': the emergence and definition of industrial engineering in modern France
• Part III. The advancement and diffusion of science
• 7. The development of the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle of Paris c. 1800-1914 Camille Limoges
• 8. The savant confronts his peers: scientific societies in France 1815-1914 Robert Fox
• 9. The prize system of the Academy of Sciences 1850-1914 Elisabeth Crawford
• Part IV. A Foreign Perspective: 10. The organisation of science and technology in France: a German perspective Peter Lundgreen
• Bibliography
• Index.