Mrs. Ruland's Advanced Placement World History Course

Unit 5: 1914 - Present

1. Questions of periodization
1. Continuities and breaks; causes of changes from the previous period and within this period
2. War and peace in a global context (the World Wars; colonial sodiers in the First World War; the Holocaust, the Cold War, nuclear weaponry, and international organizations and their impact on the global framework, e.g. globalization of diplomacy and conflict; global balance of power; reductions of European influence; the League of Nations, the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Nations, etc.)
3. New patterns of nationalism (fascism; decolonization; racism; genocide; the breakup of the Soviet Union)
4. Effects of major global economic developments (e.g. the Great Depression in Latin America; technology; Pacific Rim; multinational corporations)
5. New forces of revolution and other sources of political innovations
6. Social reform and social revolution (changing gender roles; family structures; rise of feminism; peasant protest; international Marxism; religious fundamentalism)
7. Globalization of science, technology, and culture
1. Developments in global cultures and regional reactions, including science and consumer culture
2. Interactions between elite and popular culture and art
3. Patterns of resistance including religious responses
8. Demographic and environmental changes (migrations; changes in birthrates and death rates; new forms of urbanization; deforestation; green/environmental movements; rural to urban shifts)
9. Diverse interpretations
1. Is cultural convergence or diversity the best model for understanding increased intercultural contact in the twentieth century?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using units of analysis in the twentieth century, such as the nation, the world, the West, and the developing world?

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Last updated June 28, 2009

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