The Dreyfus Affair

This research thesis deals with different aspects related to the events of the Dreyfus affair. I chose this topic because I had already grasped it during the high school, so that I was interested in deepening my knowledge and understanding of it. The introduction provides some brief contextual insights, a summary of the facts and the most relevant figures involved. The first chapter focuses on the factors which influenced the birth of the affair. It is mostly dedicated to the military issues of the fact, which originally belongs to that cultural field, and the role played by antisemitism in influencing the event. Reference ismade also to events which are not directly linked with the Dreyfus affair but for which there were similar factors and outcomes. The second chapter goes into the heart of the facts: it studies the effects of sociopolitical issues and it provides and analysis of the various legal steps. Many historians agree that the Dreyfus affair was decisive in the passage from one era to another both from a political and judicial point of view. This chapter gives more space to the narrative dimension of the affair, which is mostly characterized by legal issues and their effects. The third chapter deals with how the affair was perceived from an external point of view. In the first part, I adopt a horizontal perspective by travelling in space: the reaction of the press by various countries is analyzed. The second part travels in time and it provides a brief analysis of the contemporary "popular" production about the Dreyfus affair.