Course Outline
Welcome to Social 30IB. We will be studying 20th Century World History with a focus on developments in Europe. We will be covering the events and trends of this period in detail so we will have to move quickly. In studying this period, The IB program seeks for you to accomplish the following objectives:
Units:
1. Ideologies
2. Soviet Communism
3. Fascism
4. Ideologies After The Second World War
5. Contemporary Liberalism
Each of these units will consist of lectures, assignments, projects (both group and individual), and examinations. All examinations will take the form of in-class essays. Along with this unit work, you will be responsible for submitting a substantial paper (Internal Assessment) on a historical topic of your choice.
Assessment:
Note: Because this is a 30 level course, you will have to write a diploma exam in June. The course mark you receive in this class will make up 50% of your overall Alberta Education mark. The Diploma Exam will make up the remaining 50%.
Course Mark
Units 70%
Internal Assessment 30%
Unit Exams:
Unit Essays:
Textbooks:
Palmer, R. R., Joel Colton, and Lloyd Kramer, A History of the Modern World. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.
OR
Palmer, R. R. and Joel Colton, A History of the Modern World. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995.
Balfour, Sebastian, Castro. 2nd ed. New York: Longmans, 1995. (We will use this in April)
Please have the appropriate text ready for each class. Because the Palmer and Colton book is a bit of a mammoth tome, there will be space in the classroom to leave your text.
Essay Topics:
Soviet Russia (February 28th)
1. What factors led to the Bolsheviks seizing power in 1917?
2. Why did Stalin succeed Lenin?
3. What role did the great purges play in Stalin’s consolidation of power?
4. To what extent was collectivization a success?
5. To what extent was Stalin’s goal of rapid industrialization a success?
6. How did Stalin attempt to establish a veneer of democracy in the Soviet Union 1928-1939?
Fascism (March 28th)
1. To what extent was Mussolini’s seizure of power a revolution?
2. To what extent was Mussolini’s regime dependent on fear and force to MAINTAIN power?
3. Why did the Weimar Republic collapse?
4. Was the Nazi state an organized whole or a chaotic mass of competing interests?
5. What was the relationship between the Nazi Party and the State?
6. How did the Nazi’s consolidate power?
7. Was there an economic miracle in Nazi Germany?
8. What was the role of the army in the rise of the Nazis?
Ideologies After The Second World War (Due March 8)
1. Hat were Stalin’s motive’s in controlling Eastern and Central Europe?
2. How did the Grand Alliance break down?
3. How did the Arms Race escalate?
4. Was the US frontier policy sound?
5. What were the origins and consequences of the policy of containment?
6. Did the US “win” the Cold War?
7. What were the causes of the Sino-Soviet split?
8. To what degree was the UN a tool of the superpowers during the Cold War?
9. Compare and contrast the period of peaceful Coexistence (1956-1960) and Détente (1973-1979) in terms of US/Soviet relations.
10. What role did economics play in the fall of the Communist Bloc?
13. How and why did Europe become more integrated in the period 1945-1990?
14. What role did Charles de Gaulle play in the Cold War?
Welcome to Social 30IB. We will be studying 20th Century World History with a focus on developments in Europe. We will be covering the events and trends of this period in detail so we will have to move quickly. In studying this period, The IB program seeks for you to accomplish the following objectives:
- Comprehend, analyze, evaluate, and integrate source material critically as historical evidence
- Demonstrate historical understanding of European history through the acquisition, selection, effective use and synthesis of knowledge
- Explain different approaches to and interpretations of historical events and topics
- Place events in their historical context
- Explain the causes and effects of historical continuity and change
- Present arguments that are clear, coherent, relevant, and well substantiated
- Present historical explanations from and international perspective
- Plan, organize, and present an individual historical investigation.
Units:
1. Ideologies
2. Soviet Communism
3. Fascism
4. Ideologies After The Second World War
5. Contemporary Liberalism
Each of these units will consist of lectures, assignments, projects (both group and individual), and examinations. All examinations will take the form of in-class essays. Along with this unit work, you will be responsible for submitting a substantial paper (Internal Assessment) on a historical topic of your choice.
Assessment:
Note: Because this is a 30 level course, you will have to write a diploma exam in June. The course mark you receive in this class will make up 50% of your overall Alberta Education mark. The Diploma Exam will make up the remaining 50%.
Course Mark
Units 70%
Internal Assessment 30%
Unit Exams:
- Each unit exam will consist of an in-class essay, which you will be given 50 minutes to complete.
- You will have at least 7 days notice before any exam.
- Approximately 3 days prior to the exam you will be given a Thematic Study Sheet. This sheet will consist of 4 or 5 main themes covered in the unit. The exam will consist of questions, each based on one of these themes. You will choose ONE of these questions and write your essay on it.
Unit Essays:
- The essays will be 600-1000 words and are due on the prescribed dates.
- You may choose from any of the attached topics for that unit.
- Research for each essay can be limited to the textbook, school library and, if you wish, the Red Deer Public Library and Red Deer College Information Commons.
- A 400-500 word draft of the essay is due on the Monday before the final draft is due. You will receive feedback on this draft from a fellow class member.
- There will be a variety of assignments for each unit ranging from maps, questions, vocabulary, document assignments, etc.
- You must complete all of the assignments for a unit.
Textbooks:
Palmer, R. R., Joel Colton, and Lloyd Kramer, A History of the Modern World. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.
OR
Palmer, R. R. and Joel Colton, A History of the Modern World. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995.
Balfour, Sebastian, Castro. 2nd ed. New York: Longmans, 1995. (We will use this in April)
Please have the appropriate text ready for each class. Because the Palmer and Colton book is a bit of a mammoth tome, there will be space in the classroom to leave your text.
Essay Topics:
Soviet Russia (February 28th)
1. What factors led to the Bolsheviks seizing power in 1917?
2. Why did Stalin succeed Lenin?
3. What role did the great purges play in Stalin’s consolidation of power?
4. To what extent was collectivization a success?
5. To what extent was Stalin’s goal of rapid industrialization a success?
6. How did Stalin attempt to establish a veneer of democracy in the Soviet Union 1928-1939?
Fascism (March 28th)
1. To what extent was Mussolini’s seizure of power a revolution?
2. To what extent was Mussolini’s regime dependent on fear and force to MAINTAIN power?
3. Why did the Weimar Republic collapse?
4. Was the Nazi state an organized whole or a chaotic mass of competing interests?
5. What was the relationship between the Nazi Party and the State?
6. How did the Nazi’s consolidate power?
7. Was there an economic miracle in Nazi Germany?
8. What was the role of the army in the rise of the Nazis?
Ideologies After The Second World War (Due March 8)
1. Hat were Stalin’s motive’s in controlling Eastern and Central Europe?
2. How did the Grand Alliance break down?
3. How did the Arms Race escalate?
4. Was the US frontier policy sound?
5. What were the origins and consequences of the policy of containment?
6. Did the US “win” the Cold War?
7. What were the causes of the Sino-Soviet split?
8. To what degree was the UN a tool of the superpowers during the Cold War?
9. Compare and contrast the period of peaceful Coexistence (1956-1960) and Détente (1973-1979) in terms of US/Soviet relations.
10. What role did economics play in the fall of the Communist Bloc?
13. How and why did Europe become more integrated in the period 1945-1990?
14. What role did Charles de Gaulle play in the Cold War?