Romanticism and Civilization examines romantic alternatives to modern life in Rousseau's foundational novel Julie. It argues that through the novel's drama and characters, Rousseau seeks to recover the sincerity and longing of the heart and the unity of life.

Chapter 1 The Bourgeois, Nature, and Civic Virtue: Sexual Relations in Three Societies
Chapter 2 Rousseau's Romantic Reform of Christian Piety, Aristocratic Honor, and Patriarchal Authority
Chapter 3 Rousseau's Romantic Alternatives: Love and Family