Sunday, April 17, 2011

Unit#6: Rise of Totalitarianism, World War II and the Holocaust

Reminders for your scrapbook project:
-Don''t forget to number the pages in your scrapbook!!
-Don't forget to fill out your blue grade sheet!!
-Don't forget to number your sources for the Endnotes!!
-Be sure to write an Endnotes page AND Bibliography!!

Here are some helpful links for the Scrapbook Project:
Current Events on WWII-related topics - pretty interesting from the Daily Telegraph...

Friday, February 4, 2011

Unit #5: China: From the Qing Dynasty to Mao's Communism

Here are the essential questions for our unit:
  1. Why did the Qing dynasty decline and ultimately collapse, and what role did the Western powers play in this process? 
  2. What problems did China encounter between the two world wars, and what solutions did the Nationalists and the Communists propose? 
  3. How did Mao Zedong and the Communists come to power in China?  
  4. What were Mao’s chief goals for China, and what policies did he institute to try to achieve them?
Here are some important documents:
Here are the PowerPoint presentations:
Women in China:

The Early Republic:


Chiang Kai-Shek:



Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party:




Japanese Aggression in China:



Mao Zedong and the Communist Party:





Links for China Research Project:  Please do NOT use Wikipedia as a source for this project... We'll talk more in class about what's acceptable four online sources.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Unit #3: World War I

Welcome to our unit on World War I.  Here are the essential questions for our unit:
  • How did the tensions of the late 19th century lead to the outbreak of the Great War?
  • How did the events of the war impact both the soldiers and their societies?
  • How did World War I challenge the 19th century notions of progress?
  • Why was World War I a "Great War"?

Here are the important documents for this unit:
Interesting websites on World War I:

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Unit #2: Imperialism

Here are the essential questions for our unit on Imperialism:
  • Why did newly industrialized nations seek to dominate other nations around the globe?  
  • How did European nations justify their actions?  
  • What was the impact on imperialized regions?  
  • What are the legacies of European imperialism?
Some helpful handouts for this unit:


Saturday, August 21, 2010

Unit #1: Industrial Revolution

Our first unit is the Industrial Revolution.  Our guiding questions will be:
  • Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in Britain?  
  • How did the Industrial Revolution change industry and technology?  How did it change society?
  • Was the Industrial Revolution more of a scientific/technological or social revolution?  
  • Was it progress?  


Here are some important documents for our unit on the Industrial Revolution:


Welcome to Modern World History I!  An introduction and course overview:

          At the dawn of the 18th century, Europe and the rest of the globe were rural landscapes dotted mostly with small villages and towns; London only had half a million inhabitants.  By the turn of the 20th century, fueled by innovations in agriculture and technology, the belief in “progress”, and the rise of nationalism, the nations of Europe had scrambled to exercise dominion over the peoples in Africa and Asia with marked success, and the shifts in thinking about society and government were dramatic.  During the next fifty years, however, the relative stability that marked the 19th century would be shattered by two world wars and a series of upheavals that would fundamentally redefine global politics and culture.  In this course, we will look to understand the forces of the 19th and early 20th centuries, how they set the stage for the second half of the 20th century, and how they continue to influence our world today.
            Our year will be centered on the themes of identity and conflict.  We will work with your English teachers to use the following questions to understand these themes more deeply: What factors inform our identity? What does it mean to be an “insider” versus an “outsider”?  What does it mean to belong?  How does that belonging impact both the individual and society?  We will also pay particular attention to the variety of perspectives that are necessary to have a deeper understanding of history and certainly make it come alive.