Since the Middle Ages this riverside quarter has been dominated by the Sorbonne, and acquired its name from the early latin-speaking students. It dates back to the Roman town across the Ile de la Cité. The area is generally associated with artists, intellectual and a bohemian way of life; this is mainly due to the thousands of students that live around. But the place also has a history of political unrest : In 1871, the Place Saint Michel became the center of the Paris Commune, and in may 1968, it was a site of student uprising. Today the eastern half has become sufficiently chic, however, to house members of the French Establishment. The place contains many of the Paris monuments, museums and gardens, ranging from the brand-new Institut du Monde Arabe to the Middle Ages Musée de Cluny, or the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in the Jardin des Plantes.