HIST410 Contemporary History
Week 1 Discussion
The First Total War
World War I is different from most other wars in that it was not a direct result of aggression by one entity towards another, notwithstanding the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbian elements. Instead, it was a consequence of a number of forces amidst a disruption of the tenuous balance of power in Europe. What were these forces and how did they contribute to the outbreak of WWI?
HIST410 Contemporary History
Week 2 Discussion
DQ1 The Rise of Communism and Fascism
Compare and contrast the two types of authoritarian governments that arose after 1917, that is, communism and fascism. What were the origins of these governments, their accomplishments, and their failures? What accounts for the fact that the masses mobilized to support these movements? Elaborate.
DQ2 Nationalism and the Treaty of Versailles
What were reasons that led to the ultimate failure of the Treaty of Versailles? What were the challenges facing the newly-formed League of Nations, and why was it so difficult to form a lasting agreement that would prevent another war? Elaborate.
HIST410 Contemporary History
Week 3 Discussion
The Rise of Fascism, World War II and the Holocaust
Analyze Adolph Hitler’s rise to power and the policies he used to rule Germany. The following statement was taken from a contemporary account of Germany in 1939:
“Though the Fuhrer’s anti-Semitic program furnished the National Socialist party in the first instances with a nucleus and a rallying-cry, it was swept into office by two things with which the ‘Jewish Problem’ did not have the slightest connection. On the one side was economic distress and the revulsion against Versailles: on the other, chicanery and intrigue…Hitler and his party promised the unhappy Germans a new heaven and a new earth, coupled with the persecution of the Jews. Unfortunately, a new heaven and earth cannot be manufactured to order. But a persecution of the Jews can…”
How do you interpret this contemporary account of the persecution of people who are Jewish? Elaborate.
HIST410 Contemporary History
Week 4 Discussion
The Cold War: Who Shot First?
The United States accused the Soviet Union of breaking all its wartime pledges and holding Eastern Europe hostage while trying to subvert governments in the West. The Soviet Union accused the US and its allies of trying to surround, and ultimately destroy it. War of words? Or was somebody telling the truth? And where do our ‘isms’ fit in? In particular nationalism?
HIST410 Contemporary History
Week 5 Discussion
Cold War and the End of Empires
What accounts for the rather late emergence of African countries as independent nation-states? Is there something peculiar about Africa that delayed its drive for independence? Why has the Arab-Israeli conflict been so persistent? What religious and cultural factors have contributed to the persistent state of unrest in the Middle East and, in particular, in what some people refer to as the Holy Land?
HIST410 Contemporary History
Week 6 Discussion
DQ1 The End of the Cold War
What impact did Mikhail Gorbachev’s ideas of glasnost (openness), perestroika (restructuring) and demokratizatsiia (democratization) have on Communist society? Were these principles compatible with collectivization and a command economy? Did Communist leaders favor these principles, or did they feel that their hands were tied once they were introduced into Communist society?
DQ2 Communism vs. Capitalism
It would be easy to dismiss the Cold War simply as proof that Capitalism was a better theory than Communism. Easy, but not the whole story. In order for Communism to be relegated to the dustbin of history, it first had to be proven that its struggle against Capitalism was unnecessary and thus irrelevant. How did the US and the USSR close the gap in the last quarter of the 20th Century to allow Communism to go out with a whimper and not a bang?
HIST410 Contemporary History
Week 7 Discussion
Brave New World
The Cold War is over. Time to do a victory lap and celebrate the primacy of American power. But the celebration seemed short-lived, as there were plenty of other concerns. Nothing is as it should be. Our adversaries are now our allies, and our allies are now competitors. The end of the Cold War knocked down the Iron Curtain, but it also destroyed conventional economic patterns. Is the end of the Cold War proving to be good for world peace, but not so good for world business?
HIST410 Contemporary History
Week 8 Discussion
Looking Ahead
Read the article entitled “Strategic Collaboration: How the United States Can Thrive as Other Powers Rise.” Do you agree with the authors’ assertions that the United States needs to engage certain powers to remain safe from present-day dangers? Elaborate.
https://csis.org/files/publication/twq08autumnhachigian.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
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