Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NapApps (Napoleonic Job Applications: from Personal Pleas to Modern Curriculum Vitae in Early 19th-Century Europe)
Período documentado: 2021-09-01 hasta 2023-08-31
The NapApps project undertook a comprehensive analysis of job applications for administrative positions during the Napoleonic era with the objective of shedding light on the transition from traditional pleas to modern curriculum vitae. Employing statistical text analysis on an extensive corpus of archival sources, the project challenged prevailing interpretations and made a substantial contribution to the ongoing discourse concerning the diffusion of the Napoleonic administrative model and its profound impact on European societies.
The primary focus of this project was to investigate the far-reaching consequences of the removal of social barriers and the introduction of open public employment opportunities in the wake of the momentous French Revolution of 1789. Notably, the subsequent Napoleonic regime, widely recognized in historiography for its association with meritocracy, upheld the principle of ‘la carrière ouverte aux talents’ (the career open to talent). With this objective in mind, the project embarked on a comprehensive exploration of the emergence of a professional culture grounded in knowledge and skills, examining its coexistence with older notions of merit.
Tracing the origins of meritocracy and examining the development of a professional culture, while also contemplating the ambiguity of the concept of merit, holds significant societal importance. By understanding how individuals internalized different principles and to what extent they influenced their behavior and aspirations, we can glean insights that not only enhance our comprehension of the past but also inform contemporary discussions and policies pertaining to equality, social mobility, and the recognition of individual achievements.
The overarching objectives of the project revolved around the analysis of a substantial corpus of employment applications for administrative positions within the Napoleonic Empire and the ‘Grand Empire’. Through the examination of these applications, the project aimed to explore the rhetoric employed by the applicants and their individual characteristics. This endeavor sought to address fundamental questions, including how applicants portrayed themselves, the values they espoused, and the factors that determined their success or failure in securing employment.
The primary focus of this project was to investigate the far-reaching consequences of the removal of social barriers and the introduction of open public employment opportunities in the wake of the momentous French Revolution of 1789. Notably, the subsequent Napoleonic regime, widely recognized in historiography for its association with meritocracy, upheld the principle of ‘la carrière ouverte aux talents’ (the career open to talent). With this objective in mind, the project embarked on a comprehensive exploration of the emergence of a professional culture grounded in knowledge and skills, examining its coexistence with older notions of merit.
Tracing the origins of meritocracy and examining the development of a professional culture, while also contemplating the ambiguity of the concept of merit, holds significant societal importance. By understanding how individuals internalized different principles and to what extent they influenced their behavior and aspirations, we can glean insights that not only enhance our comprehension of the past but also inform contemporary discussions and policies pertaining to equality, social mobility, and the recognition of individual achievements.
The overarching objectives of the project revolved around the analysis of a substantial corpus of employment applications for administrative positions within the Napoleonic Empire and the ‘Grand Empire’. Through the examination of these applications, the project aimed to explore the rhetoric employed by the applicants and their individual characteristics. This endeavor sought to address fundamental questions, including how applicants portrayed themselves, the values they espoused, and the factors that determined their success or failure in securing employment.
The project has compiled an 800-application corpus for administrative positions within the French Empire and collected prosopographic data on 330 authors, encompassing both French and Italian candidates. Computational text analysis of the corpus generated statistics, including word frequency, cooccurrences, and the utilization of thematic vocabularies.
From a diverse toolset, including Voyant Tools, MALLET, AntConc, Iramuteq, Wordstat, and R packages, the project primarily employed the latter three for their ability to integrate text and metadata analysis, and their effectiveness with French texts. The examination of custom vocabularies revealed that, in comparison with their Italian counterparts, the French slightly overused words associated with family needs and misfortune, and significantly overused vocabulary linked with family service (i.e. services rendered by other family members, even in the past), indicating the persistence of the traditional notion of hereditary merit in the post-revolutionary era.
Correspondence analysis applied to the biographical data of the candidates unveiled correlations between variables, identifying distinct profiles. For instance, candidates unwilling to relocate resembled local notables – typically middle-aged, affluent men in local positions. In contrast, those open to relocation presented a more diverse profile but some exhibited a certain degree of internalization of new principles. Candidates explicitly pursuing career advancement applied for positions in different departments, aligning with Napoleonic policy. The analysis also differentiated French applicants, primarily with military experience, from Italian applicants, who predominantly hailed from a legal background.
Furthermore, logistic regression identified factors significantly influencing favorable job application outcomes. Notably, the location from which the application letter was written emerged as a crucial factor, as the subgroup of applicants from Paris had a higher likelihood of being hired. This discovery elucidated the enhanced employment prospects for French applicants, who had greater opportunities to stay in the capital, highlighting the division between those who could afford to remain there and engage with influential networks, and those lacking the necessary financial means. This underscored the importance of socioeconomic factors, in conjunction with professional attributes, in determining applicants' career prospects.
From a diverse toolset, including Voyant Tools, MALLET, AntConc, Iramuteq, Wordstat, and R packages, the project primarily employed the latter three for their ability to integrate text and metadata analysis, and their effectiveness with French texts. The examination of custom vocabularies revealed that, in comparison with their Italian counterparts, the French slightly overused words associated with family needs and misfortune, and significantly overused vocabulary linked with family service (i.e. services rendered by other family members, even in the past), indicating the persistence of the traditional notion of hereditary merit in the post-revolutionary era.
Correspondence analysis applied to the biographical data of the candidates unveiled correlations between variables, identifying distinct profiles. For instance, candidates unwilling to relocate resembled local notables – typically middle-aged, affluent men in local positions. In contrast, those open to relocation presented a more diverse profile but some exhibited a certain degree of internalization of new principles. Candidates explicitly pursuing career advancement applied for positions in different departments, aligning with Napoleonic policy. The analysis also differentiated French applicants, primarily with military experience, from Italian applicants, who predominantly hailed from a legal background.
Furthermore, logistic regression identified factors significantly influencing favorable job application outcomes. Notably, the location from which the application letter was written emerged as a crucial factor, as the subgroup of applicants from Paris had a higher likelihood of being hired. This discovery elucidated the enhanced employment prospects for French applicants, who had greater opportunities to stay in the capital, highlighting the division between those who could afford to remain there and engage with influential networks, and those lacking the necessary financial means. This underscored the importance of socioeconomic factors, in conjunction with professional attributes, in determining applicants' career prospects.
The project's application of quantitative textual analysis techniques to nineteenth-century 'writing-to-the-power' sources has yielded significant contributions to historical research and methodology. While these techniques have been widely employed with digitized corpora, their application to non-digitized sources has been limited. By applying a quantitative approach to both the textual corpus and the applicants' biographic data, the project challenged prevailing interpretations of the Napoleonic model's impact. This deepened our understanding of the historical development of professional cultures in Europe and shed light on interactions among the government, officials, and local elites.
Specifically, the project's preliminary findings challenge the prevailing view in current scholarship, which describes the failure of Italians to assimilate the Napoleonic model as a cultural clash, portraying the French as proto-colonialists firmly convinced of their mission to introduce modern values into a context permeated by ancient practices. However, quantitative analysis of vocabulary reveals that French candidates employed the traditional rhetoric of family needs – seeking the benevolence of the sovereign – no less so than their Italian counterparts. While correspondence analysis has revealed disparities between French and Italian candidates regarding their backgrounds and desired positions, these distinctions do not necessarily imply a lower degree of professionalism among Italians. Factors influencing job application outcomes are not directly tied to geographical origin, being rather associated with specific features, such as previous administrative experience or the ability to travel to Paris and leverage influential social networks. These results align with existing scholarship on the Napoleonic army, which had already highlighted the ambiguity of the concept of merit, seen as both a family legacy and a personal attribute.
In the project's third year, a qualitative analysis of recommendations from diverse networks and other factors influencing governmental decision-making will complement the quantitative findings. The resulting synthesis will further strengthen the project's contributions to ongoing historiographical discourse and enhance our understanding of the socio-cultural impact of the Napoleonic era.
Specifically, the project's preliminary findings challenge the prevailing view in current scholarship, which describes the failure of Italians to assimilate the Napoleonic model as a cultural clash, portraying the French as proto-colonialists firmly convinced of their mission to introduce modern values into a context permeated by ancient practices. However, quantitative analysis of vocabulary reveals that French candidates employed the traditional rhetoric of family needs – seeking the benevolence of the sovereign – no less so than their Italian counterparts. While correspondence analysis has revealed disparities between French and Italian candidates regarding their backgrounds and desired positions, these distinctions do not necessarily imply a lower degree of professionalism among Italians. Factors influencing job application outcomes are not directly tied to geographical origin, being rather associated with specific features, such as previous administrative experience or the ability to travel to Paris and leverage influential social networks. These results align with existing scholarship on the Napoleonic army, which had already highlighted the ambiguity of the concept of merit, seen as both a family legacy and a personal attribute.
In the project's third year, a qualitative analysis of recommendations from diverse networks and other factors influencing governmental decision-making will complement the quantitative findings. The resulting synthesis will further strengthen the project's contributions to ongoing historiographical discourse and enhance our understanding of the socio-cultural impact of the Napoleonic era.