CH-31 Societies at Crossroads – Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past : Chapter Notes

This document contains Chapters 31 to 38 Chapter 31 Societies at Crossroads CHAPTER OVERVIEW In the nineteenth century, Qing China, the Ottoman empire, the Russian empire, and Tokugawa Japan all faced serious problems, some of which were common to all four. All suffered from military weakness, which left them vulnerable, especially to the industrial powers of western Europe and the United States. All four faced confrontations with these powers, which resulted in incredible opportunities for the western nations. All four nations also faced population pressures and government corruption. During the second half of the century, all faced serious internal turmoil. Internal strife only exacerbated military weaknesses. Sometimes, western powers intervened to protect their own interests. These problems were the source of the “crossroads” in this chapter’s title. Without political, social, and economic reform, these four societies faced continued decline. Vigorous reform movements emerged in all four societies, but the results were very different. Only Japan would enjoy thorough reform by the dawn of the twentieth century; the Ottoman, Romanov, and Qing dynasties faced collapse. THEMES Military confrontations. All four societies fought wars or engaged in military confrontations with industrialized nations. In each case, those confrontations brought the realization of military weakness in the face of these rising powers. Internal weaknesses. All four societies’ internal weaknesses included declining agricultural productivity, famine, falling government revenue, and corrupt governments. With such internal turmoil, success against industrialized nations was practically impossible. Reform movements. All four societies experienced reform movements, but in the Ottoman empire, Russian empire, and Qing China, the ruling classes viewed reform with suspicion; they were determined to keep their privileges. The result was that all three were on the verge of collapse by the turn of the century. The fall of the Tokugawa dynasty in Japan paved the way for reform efforts, which would result in Japan’s emergence as an industrial power. LECTURE STRATEGIES The Emancipation of the Russian Serfs The emancipation of the Russian serfs is a topic with which you can do a lot. Why was Russia struggling with such an antiquated system when it had been phased out of most of the rest of Europe centuries earlier? In what ways was the continuing existence of serfdom emblematic of other areas in which the Russians trailed the western Europeans? Discuss the dangers of a system such as serfdom still existing in Russia after it had already disappeared in Russia’s neighbors. Was Alexander II correct when he stated, “It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait until the serfs begin to liberate themselves from below”? Why did it take the serfs so long to push for better conditions? Why did both sides consider the emancipation incomplete, and what implications did this have for Russia’s future? Compare the concurrent efforts to eliminate serfdom in Russia and abolish slavery in the United States and Brazil. Were there any similarities? What did the abolition of these systems eventually mean for the advancement of the three countries? The Taiping Rebellion Certainly Hong Xiuquan’s Taiping rebellion is one of the most destructive, but also interesting, events in history. What were Hong Xiuquan’s inspirations and goals? How was it possible for him to attract such a large following? It’s easy to assume that the Europeans or Americans were at the root of many problems in colonial or quasi-colonial areas in the nineteenth and twentieth century. In this case the Europeans are at best only distantly related to the Taiping rebellion (i.e., Hong Xiuquan studied a non-Chinese religion). Instead, the Taiping rebellion fed off internal problems and discontent. Do the other countries have similar contemporary problems? Why was the situation in Japan so different? TEACHING SUGGESTIONS The Assassination of Alexander II (You may not wish to use this teaching suggestion in this chapter because Alexander’s assassination is not part of the text, since the chapter ends around 1907. If, however, you would like to discuss the topic now, from the perspective of Alexander’s role in ending serfdom, this teaching suggestion would work well.) Ask the students to consider the meaning of the assassination of Alexander II by the Land and Freedom Party in1881. If Alexander had already freed the serfs, why was it necessary or desirable to kill him? His assassination led to the end of reform in Russia for a long time. Think back to the time of Catherine the Great and her role in reform before and after the Pugachev rebellion. Ask the students to think about the need for reform and the dangers of overly rapid reform. Was this a uniquely Russian problem or are there other examples? Did John Brown’s actions in the United States, for example, hasten the end of slavery or prolong the institution? If the American colonists had failed in the Revolutionary War, would the British have clamped down and imposed the tyranny that colonial thinkers feared in the first place? This discussion will help to set up later examinations of the trials and tribulations of Gorbachev in the Soviet Union and Deng Xiaoping in China. The Meiji Restoration The Meiji restoration is a useful discussion topic. Why was Japan able to turn the tide and begin to modernize successfully when the other states couldn’t? Why did the Japanese cry of “Revere the emperor, expel the barbarians” draw so many more followers and inspire so much more success than did the Chinese Self-Strengthening Movement’s slogan of “Chinese learning at the base, Western learning for use”? Ask the students to think back on earlier sections on Japan and consider in what ways Japan was fundamentally different from the other states. Excerpts from the History of Great Japan might work well here to bring in the topic of Japanese nationalism. Plus, the students have to understand the reason for Japan’s deliberate and selective westernization. Was this westernization carried out because of a love of the western Europeans and Americans, or for other reasons? Ask students to consider this question. Case Studies: Implementing Western Reforms Divide the class into groups. Each group of students will represent a panel of western advisers that includes experts in industry, education, military defense, and constitutional law. Instruct them that they have been invited by the governments of Russia or Japan to recommend a program of moderate reform. Students should then develop a reform program with specific recommendations. (Note: “Improve the status of women” is too general; “primary education for girls” is more specific.) They should prioritize their reforms, and be ready to explain their choices. Be sure students’ recommendations take into account social and political structures and significant cultural traditions of the state they are advising. Warn them that the likelihood of implementation lessens if their suggestions are perceived as too radical or threatening. Chapter 32 The Building of Global Empires CHAPTER OVERVIEW Empire building is as old as history itself and has been a prominent theme for thousands of years. In the second half of the nineteenth century the western Europeans carried imperialism to an unprecedented scale. Equipped with industrial and military might, the English, French, Germans, and Dutch attempted to impose their control over the world on a scale unattainable for earlier conquerors. The United States and Japan joined the imperialist circle by the end of the century. While encouraging global trade, imperialism also exacerbated differences between the few wealthy industrialized nations and the great mass of countries that were reduced to colonial or economic tributary status. Imperialism was both a product of and a generator of virulent racism. The world today, even on the other side of widespread decolonization, is still shaped by the imperialism of the nineteenth century. THEMES Although imperial structures are not new, in the last part of the nineteenth century European nations, later joined by Japan and the United States, used sophisticated industrial technologies to impose their power over many regions of the globe, particularly Africa, southeast Asia, and the Pacific Ocean basin. Elsewhere, such as in China and the Ottoman empire, informal empires were established through domination of trade, investment, and business activities. A variety of political, economic, and cultural arguments were employed to justify these expansions, which soon became known as imperialism. In the wake of rapid conquest, Europeans sought to implement efficient and cost-effective imperial structures. Two models emerged: direct rule, primarily in French colonies, and indirect rule, characteristic of British colonies. Both methods proved flawed and ultimately unworkable. Imperialism and colonialism profoundly influenced subsequent world history. They tightened links between peoples, introduced new crops and agricultural patterns, and encouraged increases in trade and migration, particularly from Europe to the Americas and from south Asia across the globe. However, they also increased conflict and heightened tensions and suspicions, leading to racist policies on behalf of colonizers and resistance to colonial rule by indigenous peoples. Much of twentieth-century global history stems from the effects of nineteenth-century imperial order. LECTURE STRATEGIES The Development of American and Japanese Imperialism The question of the developing American and Japanese imperialism is one that deserves more detail. How were the United States and Japan able to reach the status of imperialist nations so quickly? Was there some fundamental difference in their approach to colonization as compared to the Europeans’ approach? You might want to go back and discuss a little Japanese history and set the stage for the rise of Japanese nationalism. Excerpts from the History of Great Japan might be useful. The role of the United States as an imperialist nation in this context makes an essential counterbalance for American students. Had the United States been an imperialist nation from its origin? Was the period of western expansion just an early, localized version of imperialism? Students also tend to latch on to the Monroe Doctrine as a symbol of American anticolonialism without any sense of the downside of the policy. Finally, this examination of American and Japanese imperialism sets up later confrontations between the two nations. Both countries, from opposite sides of the Pacific, began to expand, and it was only a matter of time before they “bumped” into each other. Their problems certainly go back a lot further than 1941. Geography Lesson This chapter can be confusing to students (especially students who struggle with geography). You need to spend some time with a map to make sense of all of the locations discussed in the chapter. Any discussion of imperialism can come off remarkably Eurocentric, and the problem is magnified if the students have no idea of the location and nature of the different areas. African colonization is central in this instance because it happened so quickly. Twenty percent of the world’s landmass was swallowed up within a quarter century. Take some time to explain the different regions of Africa and which European states were involved in each area. What were the Europeans looking for? This discussion is also a great opportunity to delve into the Berlin Conference and its implications. Discuss the different techniques of the Europeans in regard to conquest and rule. All these issues will be repeated when it comes time to discuss decolonization and nation building in Africa. TEACHING SUGGESTIONS Theories of Imperialism Imperialism is such a natural topic—and there are so many great excerpts in the textbook—that it should not be difficult to spark discussion. Consider Cecil Rhodes’s statement: “We are the finest race in the world and the more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race.” Granted it’s a classic example of British arrogance, but what would have led the English to believe it? What were the reasons? Were the British really any different from any other imperial power at any time in the world? Ask students to think of other imperial powers that might have believed and acted in a similar fashion. Qianlong pointed out to George III that: “Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its own borders. There was therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians.” Was there something more to the imperialism of the second half of the nineteenth century? This discussion offers a good opportunity to bring in samples from Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Man’s Burden” (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: Rudyard Kipling on the White Man’s Burden). There is a reason why it is such a traditional choice. It clearly spells out the European justification for imperialism. The first eight lines are usually enough to sum up Kipling’s point. Ask students to sum up Kipling’s view of the colonies. What was his view of the “white man’s burden”? What makes this piece especially useful, obviously, is that it was written for the Americans and their new colony of the Philippines. What was the Filipino response? Did the Americans need any inspiration to take up the white man’s burden? The Role of Racism in Imperialism The chapter has a great section on the racism that was part of the explosion of imperialism. Ask students to consider the ideas of Gobineau and Spencer (in the section: Scientific Racism). Is it at this point that the Europeans “crossed the line” with regard to earlier forms of imperialism? There is a profound difference between conquering barbarians and ruling over sub-humans. Try to take this topic beyond the boundaries of imperialism. Connect it, for instance, with the ideas of Darwin and the rise of science. Social Darwinism was, and in some cases remains, a powerful force. If we accept Darwin’s theory where the animal kingdom is concerned, why not for human society? Students need to, and usually want to, explore the differences, and this allows you a good opportunity to point out the limits of scientific reasoning. What was the danger in this type of thinking? Look for specific examples in the twentieth century. How would this more insidious negative nationalism play out in World War I, for instance, or afterward? Chapter 33 The Great War: The World in Upheaval CHAPTER OVERVIEW The assassination of Francis Ferdinand on 28 June 1914 started a localized Serbian-Austrian conflict that soon—inexplicably, to many of the participants—grew into a global affair and the bloodiest war in all of history up to that point. Millions of human beings on five different continents found themselves dragged into a war that, for the vast majority, had absolutely no meaning. New concepts such as total war and the home front changed the course of war forever. Massive industrialization provided a seemingly endless supply of destructive new weapons. Over nine million soldiers died and another twenty-one million people were injured. Economic losses soared into the billions of dollars. Four powerful empires disappeared and nine new nations were born. Russian and world history was changed forever by the world’s first communist revolution. The United States stepped tentatively onto the world stage, changed the course of the war, shaped the peace treaty, and then rapidly retreated. Finally, the Europeans, who had stood unchallenged as masters of the world in 1914, brought about their own destruction. THEMES The Great War ushered in a century of violence and upheaval as old empires vanished and were replaced by new nation-states. It was also an unprecedented geographical event, pulling in people and resources from five continents. Total war also characterized the conflict, as governments mobilized every available human and economic resource, and the distinction between combatants and civilians evaporated. Industrial weaponry favored defenders, and contributed to unprecedented brutality and violence. Tens of millions died or were left permanently injured or traumatized, and European dominance of the international economy ended. Many causes underlay the conflict, including national rivalries intensified by imperialism, a struggle for global economic power, expensive naval and land-based arms races, and open-ended collective security arrangements known as alliance systems. The establishment of two opposing alliances—the Central Powers and the Allies—helped expand a Balkan war into a continental and then global one. Imperial nations such as Britain and France forcibly recruited large numbers of colonial peoples to serve the war effort. Millions of Africans, Asians, and residents of British dominions served their imperial masters, a process that ultimately weakened imperial control and encouraged decolonization through the exposure of colonial subjects to the hypocrisy of white racial superiority. In Russia, the strains of the war led to two revolutions in 1917, the first leading to a short-lived representative government, and the second bringing to power radical socialists known as Bolsheviks. The successful seizure of power not only transformed subsequent Russian but also world history. Another shift of global power occurred with the entry of the United States into the war, marking the first time in world history that an American state intervened militarily in Europe. Although involvement in World War I signaled the emergence of the United States as a global power, it later retreated into isolationism, inadvertently setting the stage for an even more destructive and violent global conflict. World War I also spurred the creation of new international organizations such as the League of Nations, a global body designed specifically to prevent future global conflict. Although the League ultimately failed, it served as a model for more robust international institutions, which emerged in the aftermath of the World War II. LECTURE STRATEGIES An In-Depth Exploration of the Great War In a century marked by momentous events, World War I often gets pushed into the background. World War II always seems to capture the popular imagination much more readily than its predecessor. Students usually have some rough idea of the major players and implications of World War II, but they have almost no preconceived notions or even sketchy information about the Great War. Historians are left with the chores of filling in the blanks and building a solid foundation for further study. Background is especially important because World War I gives birth and form and meaning to events and topics such as World War II, the Russian revolution, the horrors of modern war, the bloody history of eastern Europe in the twentieth century, the position of the United States as a world power, and so on. A good explication of the causes and course of the war will also set up the chapter on the “Age of Anxiety.” In some ways the reason for the Great War’s relative “anonymity” is the nature of the conflict itself. World War II was, as Studs Turkel pointed out, the “good war.” It was easy to figure out the good guys from the bad guys, and people knew—or at least thought they knew—what they were fighting for. Americans, especially in light of the Korean and Vietnam wars, have found that knowledge comforting. World War I is much more confusing because it is about heedless nationalist and imperialist fervor and arrogance. Students often have a difficult time understanding these drives. Once you strip away the propaganda (which is an interesting topic in its own right because World War I ushered in the twentieth-century practice of “selling” the war), it is difficult to locate any completely good guys. In the end, however, this difficulty might make World War I more interesting simply because it’s rare in life or history to find anything as clear-cut as World War II. Maybe World War I is more “human” in that sense. The Great War was a lot like Greek tragedy in that it dealt with hubris—and the gods always punish hubris. In 1914 the Europeans stood almost unchallenged in the world, and they brought about their own destruction through their own folly. Thus dealing with the causes of the war as a major lecture theme often leads to a much greater understanding of the consequences as well. The International Implications of the Great War The authors of the textbook do a great job describing the global implications of World War I. Too many texts skim over this part of the war to such an extent that it leaves students wondering why it was called a “world war” at all. You might want to take this theme even further. One proof of the interconnectedness of the modern world is that so many twentieth-century phenomena—ranging from the world wars to the Great Depression to the specter of infectious disease—actually do touch everyone. The section in the text on Gallipoli shows that the horrors of modern warfare were not the exclusive domain of the western front. Make sure the students understand the international side of the war and the consequences involved. Drawing in the African and Asian aspects of the war is a bit more difficult, but definitely worthwhile, as it will illuminate themes like the rise of communism in China, decolonization, and the origins of World War II in the Pacific. The Life of the Common Soldier in World War I The life of the common soldier of World War I is a natural topic. There are so many good sources for bringing this topic home to the students. A traditional but brilliant choice for an outside book for the class is Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. Remarque’s summation of the life of the common soldier is perfect: “We are little flames, poorly sheltered by frail walls from the storm of dissolution and madness.” Why was modern warfare little more than carnage? It made grim sense that a modern war would be driven by modern features such as the witch’s brew of negative nationalism and industrialization. It resulted in a bloody combination of an endless desire to fight coupled with an endless supply of deadly new weapons. The soldiers who—once again from All Quiet on the Western Front—were passing the boots repeatedly from the dead to the living showed that in a modern war it was the soldiers who were the interchangeable parts. Feature films such as Gallipoli and the older versions of All Quiet on the Western Front or The Razor’s Edge can also express this sense of horror and disillusionment. The Russian Revolutions In a war that inspired so many important changes and movements, the historian would still be hard-pressed to find an event that equaled the Russian revolutions in long-term significance. Certainly the political balance in Europe was never quite the same again. It might be argued that the true roots of the cold war stretch back a quarter-century earlier than the Yalta Conference. Whatever the eventual fate of the Soviet Union, Lenin may still be the most important political thinker of the twentieth century. Consequently, after setting up the historical framework and implications of the revolution within the lectures on World War I, it would probably be best to examine the Russian revolution in a separate section. It is also important to explain the differences between the philosophies of Marx and Lenin, just as it will be to draw distinctions between Lenin and Stalin. The Global Influenza Pandemic of 1918–1921 One of the most significant effects of World War I for contemporaries was its encouragement of the global influenza pandemic of 1918–1921, which killed over fifty million people. Linking the war to the pandemic will also show students just how interdependent global food distribution and communications networks already were by the early twentieth century, a topic that reappears over the next several chapters. Use a source like John M. Barry, The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Greatest Plague in History. With the current concern around the globe about the possibility of a new pandemic, and the importance medical researchers place on this earlier global event as a means of trying to prevent a recurrence, this is also a great way to illustrate and reemphasize the links between past and present. TEACHING SUGGESTIONS The Role of Nationalism in the Great War The topic of nationalism’s role in World War I (and in the twentieth century as a whole) is central to the chapter. It is important for the students to understand the difference between the positive nationalism that plays an active role in the formation of states and the negative nationalism that has produced the great dark cloud hanging over the last century—as well as the thin line that separates the two. Start with the Wilfred Owen poem in the text. Ask the students why Owen would have described the line from Horace, “Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori,” as an “old Lie.” Why were the combatants of the Great War so driven by nationalism? What role did it play in the outbreak and course of the war? Why did nationalist fervor make it difficult to end the war? The feeling of fighting for a nation and a greater cause—and then being essentially abandoned by the same nation both during the war and after—left an entire generation feeling “lost.” Negative nationalism continued to haunt the world for the rest of the century. Understanding the Early Belligerents of the Great War Divide students into groups, with each group representing one of the early belligerents of World War I. Ask each group to present its chosen nation’s primary reasons for entering the war, and when all groups are finished, subject all of these arguments to analysis. Based on these discussions, ask students to assign responsibility for the war to one or more nations. Then ask the students to compare their own assessment with those contained within the Versailles Treaty. What does this exercise suggest about the difficulty of reconciling contrasting national historical perspectives? You might also want to bring in a source like Annika Mombauer’s The Origins of the First World War: Controversies and Consensus to flesh out the discussion. Why Was War Viewed as a Positive Instrument of Diplomacy? In dealing with the spread of the conflict in Europe, it is important to understand that many nations and peoples actively desired war in 1914. Ask students why this might have been. Why did people and states view war as a positive instrument of diplomacy during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century? How did technology and the changing nature of warfare affect this perception? Why would Germany in particular have wanted and expected a short war? It is worth pointing out that no one, least of all the generals, expected a long war in 1914. The parallels with modern American wars—Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf—and expectations are noteworthy as well. Ask the students what the prolongation of the war meant, both for the militaries and for the societies involved. How did the perception of technology change when it (repeatedly) failed to provide the key to a rapid victory? First-Hand Accounts of the Great War It’s often said the American Civil War may have been the first war since the ancient world in which a majority of the soldiers knew how to read and write. In much the same fashion it has been pointed out that World War I was the first literate war in that many of the soldiers, although certainly not all, had received a solid education in the new European school systems. This gives the historian a wealth of wonderful firsthand accounts. The poetry of Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, and especially Wilfred Owen are splendid for classroom discussion. Students don’t have to be fans of poetry to feel the horror and pathos of the life of the soldiers. It would be difficult for even jaded, desensitized students not to feel the pain of the Owen poem Dulce et Decorum Est. Besides the work of the great World War I poets, there are some good collections of letters and diaries from common soldiers. You could also assign Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, or Paul Fussell’s seminal The Great War and Modern Memory. Chapter 34 An Age of Anxiety CHAPTER OVERVIEW The end of World War I did not mean the end of upheaval for Europe and the new Soviet Union. Europe was shaken to its core by the carnage of the war. An entire generation of Europeans—those lucky enough to have survived the fighting—was disillusioned by the experience. A tumultuous and disputed settlement to the war left many people uneasy, even when prosperity apparently returned in the 1920s. Scientific discoveries and cultural innovations only added to the anxiety by challenging accepted ideas. The stock market crash and Great Depression displayed the disadvantages of the world’s interdependence by bringing suffering to untold millions. Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler in Germany created totalitarian dictatorships that fed off a fear of chaos. On the other end of the political spectrum, Joseph Stalin built his own dictatorship, one that aimed at destroying the established European order. It was truly an age of anxiety. THEMES The Great War, the term used by contemporaries to refer to World War I, discredited established political and social institutions and European notions of racial and cultural superiority. This encouraged disillusionment with established political structures, such as liberal democracy, and encouraged experimentation with alternative forms of political, social, and cultural organization. Notable among these new movements was the emergence of new aesthetic standards that stressed abstraction over realism, and a recognition and even celebration of the irrational aspects of human and natural behavior. The aftershocks of the economic dislocation generated by World War I led to a global depression by 1929 that destroyed the old capitalist financial system, which was not reconstructed until 1945. Widespread unemployment and social anxiety fed the emergence of new authoritarian political systems. Russian communists, led by Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, created the world’s first socialist society, while in central and southern Europe, as wells in South America and Japan, fascist and conservative nationalists, as well as military dictators, offered similar solutions from the opposite side of the political spectrum. In Italy and Germany, fascist dictatorships emerged that presented fundamental challenges to the postwar global political and diplomatic order. The democratic world’s inability to respond to or repel these challenges by the 1930s signaled the beginning of a second global conflict. LECTURE STRATEGIES Why the “Age of Anxiety”? One of the keys to this chapter is showing how all these scientific discoveries or intellectual reinterpretations or artistic innovations called into question the old order—the traditional way of viewing the world. It was an age almost like the scientific revolution; though narrower in scope, it was nonetheless the creation of an entirely new way of understanding the world and of processing information. Students must understand this change at the human level, and it’s important that you help the students build that bridge. Heisenberg’s “uncertainty principle” is that rare phenomenon: the complex scientific principle that captures the popular imagination or expresses the zeitgeist of an age. If scientists couldn’t explain the world with any certainty, then what hope did the rest of society have of understanding anything? Wasn’t science and progress the new religion? Tie these ideas into the bloodshed and chaos of World War I, and it becomes easier for the students to understand why the “age of anxiety” was an appropriate label. Michael Frayn’s short play, Copenhagen, is an excellent supplement on these issues. Art in the Age of Anxiety Some of the artwork of the age would make a good slide or PowerPoint presentation. Gauguin’s The Spirit of Death Looks On is particularly useful. It is representative of his work and the whole revolution in art, but in other ways it might express the entire age in a profound way. A chronological presentation of “modern art” as it developed after the 1870s can also be a useful tool in showing how technology (the camera, in this instance) could alienate people and lead them to seek new methods of expression. Starting with traditional landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, it is relatively easy to trace this phenomenon through impressionism, cubism, expressionism, surrealism, and abstractionism. Students rarely understand the concept of “modern art,” and a visual presentation is a good way to introduce them to ideas like alienation and anxiety. It is also possible to do this through music—following classical music with impressionist music, atonal music, jazz, and more radical forms—or architecture. The Great Depression Beyond its tremendous significance in shaping the world of the 1930s, the Great Depression is an essential lecture topic for a couple of reasons. First, it’s important that the students understand the economic origins and implications of the stock market crash and the resulting Great Depression. To students who struggle with the intricacies of checkbook balancing, the economic meltdown of 1929 seems completely mystifying. Many lectures on the Great Depression over the years have ground to halt in response to a student simply asking, “But where did all the money go?” The text does a good job of explaining the complex situation, but students might still need help. Second, students have to feel some measure of the enormous human suffering of the Great Depression. Statistics of unemployment or homelessness can only present a partial picture of the calamity. Novels such as John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath or William Kennedy’s Ironweed would be good supplements. TEACHING SUGGESTIONS The “Lost Generation” Ask the students to consider what Gertrude Stein meant when she said to Ernest Hemingway, “You are all a lost generation.” Why was this generation so alienated from its traditional surroundings? What had World War I done to them? Examples from Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and the works of Hemingway, or even F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise, would certainly help. Ernst Jünger’s Storm of Steel presents an alternative view of alienation, one that lent itself to fascism in particular. Still, Remarque summed up the growing distrust of the older generations and the traditional world when he wrote the following: “While they continued to write and talk, we saw the wounded and dying. While they taught that duty to one’s country is the greatest thing, we already knew that death-throes are stronger. But for all that we were no mutineers, no deserters, no cowards—they were very free with all these expressions. We loved our country as much as they; we went courageously into every action; but also we distinguished the false from true, we had suddenly learned to see. And we saw that there was nothing of their world left. We were all at once terribly alone; and alone we must see it through.” Is this response typical in the aftermath of wars? Was there something about World War I that made it unique—so modern and total and destructive—that the experience was completely new? Robert Graves’s Goodbye To All That would also be a good source, as would other World War I poetry. The International Role of the U.S.: From World War I to Isolationism One of the constant themes of the last several chapters has been the expanding role of the United States as an industrial giant and imperial power. The United States entered World War I and decided the course of the war. Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points shaped the debate leading up to and including the peace negotiations. The United States played a dominant role in shaping the Treaty of Versailles and establishing the League of Nations. Even when the United States chose isolation and retreated across the Atlantic, abandoning the League, its influence continued to grow. American absence—outside of its continuing role in revising the system of reparations—ensured that no nation remained that was powerful enough to enforce Wilson’s vision of a postwar world. At the same time, the United States became such an indispensable economic behemoth that its stock market crash dragged the world into the Great Depression. Lead the students through a reexamination of the U.S. role covering the last several chapters. Ask them if it was possible or logical for a world power to live in isolation at that point in time. Relate the U.S. isolationist stance to the rise of Hitler and the later question of appeasement. Will great powers always be dragged onto the world stage? Do nations have to accept this role of leadership? This question is as pressing for American citizens to grapple with today as it was in the 1920s. Group Discussion: Soviet Communism and Fascism Divide the class into two groups. Assign each group the task of supporting either Soviet communism or fascism, and then ask each group to debate the merits of their own ideology’s approach to solving the problems generated by economic depression and the perceived failure of parliamentary democracy. Ask the students to consider ideas such as social cohesion, economic growth, and cultural renewal. Often students have little or no understanding of these ideologies, and struggle to understand their popularity with twentieth-century voters. This exercise allows them to engage with these issues, and to help them understand why, at least to a minority, these ideas still seem appealing today. Chapter 35 Nationalism and Political Identities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America CHAPTER OVERVIEW Though the conflict centered on Europe, the Great War shifted the political, social, and economic landscape of the entire world. In the long run, perhaps the greatest impact was felt in the colonies and former colonies of the great powers. Indians and Africans who fought in the war felt their contributions proved they were ready for independence. China and Japan, which had both been on the margins of the war, now believed themselves on par with the European powers. Pre-existing nationalist and independence movements in these regions were inflamed, and new ones arose. Latin America, on the other hand, found itself faced with a new imperialist threat after a century of independence: the United States. As states in these regions struggled to develop their identities, the global economic crisis of the Great Depression made the challenge even greater. THEMES The Great War and the Great Depression generated enormous upheavals throughout the global system, particularly in non-core areas of the global economy such as Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Resistance to foreign rule, desire for economic expansion and diversification, and desire for national unity prompted the emergence of resistance movements in these regions to continued economic and political domination by Europe and the United States. In Asia, the quest for new national identity and independence profoundly influenced societies such as India, China, and Japan, where struggles over the future shape of nation-states led to conflict and violence. Similar circumstances prevailed throughout much of Africa and southwest Asia, as colonial powers sought to maximize the economic exploitation of their territories. This process destroyed the self-sufficiency of many African economies and increased economic dependence, prompting a new generation of western-educated African intellectuals to advocate the creation of African nations and identities devoid of European influence. Latin America, although independent for nearly a century from direct colonial rule, still struggled with neocolonial restrictions on its economy, as well as periodic military interventions from the new hegemonic power in the region, the United States. In response to these pressures, new nationalist leaders, many of them radicalized by exposure to socialist ideology within Latin-American universities, devised new strategies designed to remove neocolonialist influence in their societies. LECTURE STRATEGIES The Appeal of Socialism and Communism A common thread that runs across these regions during this time period is socialism or communism. This presents a great opportunity to look at the theory and appeal of the doctrine in a non-European setting. It is important to place this in context. You will probably have to go back over the Russian revolution and perhaps even the basic theory of Marxism to start with, but once the students have decent foundation, this is really an intriguing topic. The early Russian revolution—before Lenin and Stalin gave communism a bad name—held a great deal of promise for minorities; many African-Americans actually moved to Russia in the early 1920s. One of the major questions for students, since they are used to viewing communism as a bankrupt idea, is why a doctrine that evolved in nineteenth-century industrial Europe was utilized in places as diverse as Mexico, China, and Africa. Ask the students why nationalist leaders might be drawn to these ideas. Was this a matter of using the Europeans’ own weapons against them, or was there some other reason they chose socialism? How different were these places from nineteenth-century Europe? How could places that were not industrialized use socialism? Was there any real possibility socialism might succeed in any of these areas? Why would the Europeans, who had adopted so many socialist ideas already, oppose socialism in these areas? You might profitably use the art of Diego Rivera to convey some of the sentiments Latin Americans, at least, were trying to express. The Long March The Long March is a great episode to build a lecture around. Without going into much detail beyond the general background of communist relations with the Guomindang up to 1934, it is easy to unravel the threads of the Chinese revolution simply by tracing the development of this event. Start with the decision to retreat to the countryside and Mao’s re-working of communist doctrine to fit Chinese circumstances. Once the march is underway, a review of Mao’s tactics and the code of behavior for the Red Army reveals a great deal about how the Chinese communists gained popular support during this time. Trace the route on a map, highlighting the physical and mental obstacles that the communists had to overcome. Compare what Mao was doing with what Jiang Jieshi did, and put this in the context of Japanese attacks on China. One of the concluding episodes to the Long March, where Jiang’s own generals kidnap him and force him to sign a treaty with the communists against the Japanese, speaks volumes about the success of the Chinese communists even before World War II was over. There are some fabulous propaganda images of the Long March available online. Comparative Case Study: Political Leaders Given the amount of material in the chapter and the disparities between the regions and movements, you will probably want to give the students a comparative framework in which to make sense of it all. Focusing on the leaders in Asia is one approach. It is rather easy to draw comparisons between the goals and methods of Gandhi, Sun Yatsen, and Mao Zedong, for instance. Then contrast them with the leaders who emerged in Africa—mostly European-educated urban elites—and Latin America. Why were some of these leaders and movements more successful than others? What conditions, in general, lead to the success or failure of movements? Building a matrix through question-and-answer is good way to draw the class into this analysis. A second approach is to use a more general framework based on the degree of external influence and control in each area. How, for instance, did Japanese aggression in China work both for and against the communists and the Guomindang? How did American interference, or perceived American interference, affect the regimes and resistance movements of Latin America? Did European colonial governments have the same effect in Africa? In either case, it is important to tie together the experiences of all three regions. TEACHING SUGGESTIONS Gandhi Gandhi is usually an easy topic to get students started on, because they know something about him. Ask them why Gandhi is looked upon as the “father of India.” Why was he successful in creating a sense of Indian nationalism while African leaders failed? What methods did he use, and how did the facts of British rule work in his favor? Many students will know something of Gandhi’s methods because they were used by American civil rights leaders in the 1950s and 1960s. Why, though, didn’t other leaders besides the African National Congress in South Africa adopt them in the regions under consideration? Why did the ANC adopt these tactics? Finally, you might ask the students if Gandhi, for all of his popularity and fame, really succeeded. With independence, after all, came partition. Gandhi himself, moreover, was assassinated, and India continues to be torn by sectarian and regional strife to this day. On what grounds can we say Gandhi achieved his goals? Why did he fail to meet some of them? Nonviolent Resistance as an Effective Vehicle for Social Change Divide the class into small groups. Ask each group of students to consider what elements needed to be in place for Gandhi’s strategy of satyagraha, or nonviolent resistance, to be an effective vehicle for social change. As a group, they should then draft a list of eight to ten preconditions that would be essential to the effective use of nonviolent resistance, and explain why each is important. List these in order of their importance. You can then ask them whether or not they believe these elements were present in British India and in Great Britain in the 1920s and 1930s. African Nationalism The question of African nationalism is a good one. Were there any nations in Africa at this time? Had there been nations prior to the arrival of the Europeans? Before Islam arrived? What makes a nation? Once you have worked out some answers to these basic questions, you can move on to explore the idea of nationalism as it arose between the wars. Why did African leaders seize on the idea of nationalism? Was African nationalism any different from European nationalism, in either a positive or a negative sense? How did they attempt to define their nations? Is the notion of an African nation realistic? How is the idea of pan-Africa (a single African nation) related to the slave trade and the African diaspora? Where do Marcus Garvey and the “Back to Africa” movement fit in? At this point, you can bring up Liberia and Sierra Leone, the two states in Africa that were specifically created as homelands for repatriated African-Americans and British Africans. Were they more successful than other African states? What problems do you think they faced? Why were the Europeans so reluctant to recognize African independence, especially in light of the Africans’ contributions in the Great War? Finally, point out that the question of nationalism is still not settled in Africa. Why has it lingered past the formation of independent states? The U.S. “Good Neighbor Policy” The United States’ “Good Neighbor Policy” is a natural topic for discussion. Many students are willing to take it at face value, and it is important to tease out all of the implications of this policy. Why did the American government adopt the idea of “dollar diplomacy” in the first place? Were there any benefits for Latin Americans? Why did Latin Americans tend to see these policies as imperialist? Did they have any reason to be wary of American intentions? Bring in the Monroe Doctrine. Why did the United States make this declaration? Was it even realistic in 1823? How was the nature of the Monroe Doctrine altered by the Roosevelt Corollary? Now, how were “dollar diplomacy” and the “Good Neighbor Policy” related to these ideas? Finally, did America really control Latin America then? Does it do so now? Class Debate Break the students up into pairs or small groups and assign each of them one of the following topics (or another of your design) to present as a debate in class: Africa, one nation or many? Should Latin America welcome “dollar diplomacy”? The partition of India into Hindu and Muslim states: a good idea? European control of Africa: was it beneficial or harmful? Is nonviolence the best or the only way to win independence? Chapter 36 New Conflagrations: World War II and the Cold War CHAPTER OVERVIEW From the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the late summer of 1945, the people of the world suffered through fourteen years of horrible war and devastating deprivation. To an even greater extent than the Great War, the World War II was truly a global conflict. Unfortunately, the number of dead and wounded would also be much greater in the second confrontation. Civilians also suffered to a much greater extent. Relations between imperialist nations and their colonies were strained, finally, to the breaking point. Gender relations were transformed once again by international warfare. To the horror of many, the end of World War II led directly into the uncertainty of the cold war and the ever-present nightmare of the atomic age. The United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies faced off in a fundamental struggle to shape the postwar world. It was a contest based on power politics, competing social and economic systems, and differing political ideologies that lasted over fifty years and touched every corner of the globe. THEMES Between 1931 and 1945, a global struggle occurred between revisionist powers, who sought to revise or reorder the global structure established after the end of World War I, and those powers who sought to preserve and maintain the status quo. Conflict between these two positions led to all-out war by 1931 between Japan and China, a conflict that became global by 1941, with two opposing alliances, the Axis and Allied powers, engaged in a total struggle for global dominance. Characteristics of the conflict included notions of racial superiority that motivated brutal warfare and occupation campaigns directed against civilians, who died in far higher numbers than did combatants. Unprecedented demands led to the rapid expansion of state power and authority over all areas of society, as each side pressed its peoples for ever greater levels of sacrifice and commitment in pursuit of victory. Women and minority groups experienced immense challenges and suffering throughout the war, either as recruits into the armed forces or munitions industries, or as targets of state-directed policies of genocide and sexual domination. Despite these challenges and privations, and the temporary nature of women’s economic empowerment, the human spirit endured. Ultimately World War II became a war of numbers, as the greater resources of continental states such as the United States and the Soviet Union proved too much for the smaller Axis powers. These two nations would emerge as superpowers after the conflict, and their competition for control of global resources and ideological supremacy would generate the decades-long standoff known as the cold war. This rivalry gave rise to a new set of global relationships and encouraged the formation of military and political alliances. The cold war encouraged military confrontation by proxy, particularly as local conflicts became integrated into the wider bipolar struggle. Korea and Cuba are the most obvious examples of these proxy wars. By the late 1960s, however, despite challenges to their authority from both allies and enemies, the U.S. and Soviet Union entered into a period of détente, prompting a new spirit of cooperation. LECTURE STRATEGIES World War II from the Soviet Perspective Approaching the war and its aftermath from the Soviet perspective gives a fresh and invigorating feel to the topic. The role of the Soviet Union in the interwar years, during World War II, and in the early stages of the cold war, is a topic that really needs to be discussed. Even now, in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many students are still operating within the framework of a definite cold war mentality. Granted, the Soviets were as guilty as the United States, if not more so, of generating propaganda that reduced the international economic and political world into a struggle of good versus evil. To make the situation even more complicated, the American propagandistic portrayal of Stalin alternated radically in the years before and after World War II. The fact that Stalin could be Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year” twice (in 1939 and 1942) speaks volumes about the confused image presented in the United States. Students have to understand the extraordinary Soviet sacrifice and loss of life in World War II and the Allies’ belated moves to open a second front in Europe if they are going to comprehend both the nature of World War II and the Russian paranoia that played such a role in the origins of the cold war. The Grand Alliance and the Widening Gulf between the U.S. and the Soviet Union It is important to make sure that students understand that many of the origins of the cold war can be found in the dying days of World War II. What problems were tearing apart the Grand Alliance? Was it an alliance doomed from the very beginning? Did the roots of this split really go back to the Russian revolution and the Treaty of Versailles? A couple of quotes can help the students gain an appreciation of the delicate nature of the Grand Alliance and the widening gulf between the Soviet Union and the United States. Winston Churchill’s great quote about saying something nice about the devil in the House of Commons if Hitler invaded Hell helps to show the students what a marriage of convenience the alliance was in the first place. Finally, as Hitler waited out the end in the bunker in Berlin, he pointed out in his last political musings that the United States and the Soviet Union would come out of the war as superpowers and thus be driven by historical forces to a trial of strength. The War in the Pacific It is almost impossible to over-emphasize the scope and scale of World War II. Most of the focus, for students, is on Europe and the Nazis. While these topics certainly deserve attention, the war in the Pacific should not be overlooked. It was, if anything, more brutally racist on both sides than were the European conflicts. All too often, students see the attack on Pearl Harbor as merely senseless and unprovoked without understanding the background. Exploring the reasons for and development of the Japanese drive to dominate Asia and the Pacific can be an enlightening topic—especially when framed in the context of European and American imperialist aspirations and practices. You might begin by re-examining the Meiji restoration and the rise of militarism in Japan before moving on to the long-standing conflicts between the Japanese and the western powers over China and the rest of Asia. While it cannot excuse them, this might help students understand actions like Pearl Harbor and the Rape of Nanjing as well as clarifying why the war in the Pacific took on the harsh racial overtones that led to the Bataan Death March and the internment of Japanese Americans. A source like John Dower’s War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War is a good place to start, for it shows that racist ideas shaped both sides’ perceptions of the conflict. The Emergence of Genocidal Policies and Actions The emergence of genocidal policies and actions during World War II is a harrowing but necessary topic. Consider examining the various historical arguments behind Nazi Germany’s and imperial Japan’s occupation policies in China and European Russia, and then in a comparative way chart the course of the development of these policies during the war. Much historiographical debate still surrounds these issues, but it is important to emphasize to students that both policies emerged (at least partially) gradually, in response to contingent circumstances, rather than part of some grand nefarious scheme. Thinking about the “final solution” or Japanese actions in China in this way also helps students understand why genocide has become increasingly prevalent in world history since World War II. TEACHING SUGGESTIONS The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb and World Reaction The decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is an important, if unpleasant, topic for discussion. Certainly the Japanese, especially in the infamous Rape of Nanjing, had been guilty of unspeakable atrocities. The war in the Pacific was brutal and racist on all sides. Still, it is important for students, especially American ones, to grapple with this issue. Most Americans don’t understand that the United States, even today, is associated with this event in the minds of millions of people around the world. First, ask the students why the bomb was dropped in the first place. What were the obvious reasons? After Okinawa, what were the military concerns? Could the bomb have been meant as a display for someone else’s benefit? Were there other reasons that dealt far more with hate and revenge than national policy? Second, you will want to deal with the issue of world reaction to the atomic bombing. Start the discussion with a line from the Hermann Hagedorn poem The Bomb That Fell on America, “The bomb that fell on Hiroshima fell on America too.” What did Hagedorn mean by that line? Why does the legacy of that decision still haunt the United States today? The Crazy Iris and Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath collection, edited by Kenzaburo Oe, would make a great supplement, as would Hiroshima by John Hershey. The Holocaust No subject is more likely to move students, often profoundly, than a discussion of the Holocaust. Discussion can be initiated through any number of great sources: from books such as Elie Wiesel’s Night and Art Spiegelman’s Maus to films such as Schindler’s List and Sophie’s Choice (both also great books). How are human beings capable of such hate and of committing such atrocities? What does the Holocaust say about the balance of good and evil in human nature? Why didn’t anyone do something to stop this tragedy? Walter Laqueur’s The Terrible Secret is a great source in this discussion. Probably the important thing is to keep the discussion from turning into a mere recounting of horror stories. Instead, center on the more profound implications of this dark chapter in human history. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum maintains an excellent website that includes tools and suggestions for educators on this topic: http://www.ushmm.org. Actions against Women in the War Actions taken against women during World War II are also a disturbing but important topic for discussion. After an examination of the plight of groups of Asian women forcibly coerced to serve the Japanese military as “comfort women,” ask the students to consider why, in the aftermath of the war, the newly-formed United Nations declared rape a war crime. What, if anything, does this suggest about longer-term trends in world history pertaining to women’s power and status? Has this criminalization helped deter more recent attacks against women in places like the Sudan or the Balkans? Why or why not? The Films of World War II If World War I is a great topic for history instructors because of the wealth of literate and despair-laden letters and poems, then World War II is equally exciting because of the mass of films available for viewing. Nazi propaganda films, ranging from the brilliant and controversial Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will and Olympia to the more scurrilous The Wandering Jew and Life Unworthy of Life, are sure to inspire discussion. Frank Capra’s Why We Fight series, complete with animation from Walt Disney, shows the students how Americans made use of propaganda. The Battle of Russia from the Why We Fight series is probably better than 95 percent of the movies ever made. The extraordinary Grand Illusion perfectly sums up the disillusionment and pacifism of the interwar years. Sections from Charlie Chaplain’s The Great Dictator are alternately hysterical and horrifying. Ask the students to consider why Chaplain’s career was almost destroyed by making the film. Popular films such as Casablanca, How Proudly We Serve, North Star, and Mrs. Miniver display the propagandistic role that Hollywood-type movies played. The Best Years of Our Lives can show the difficulty of the soldiers returning from the war and can provide images that could pertain to almost any veteran coming home from any war. Show snippets from these movies and ask the students to determine the message in the film. What were the goals of the propagandists? How successful were they? Do nations still use film to accomplish the same goals today? All these films, as well as countless others, give the students something to think about and allow you an opportunity to alter a traditional approach. Was it Really a “Good War”? More than any other recent conflict, World War II has been seen as a “good war,” in which good and evil are easily identified, and the good guys won. However accurate this perspective may be, in many ways it has directed our attention away from some of the more ambivalent effects of the war, particularly on American society. Using a source like Michael Adams’s The Best War Ever: America and World War II, encourage the students to challenge this traditional perspective. This discussion is sure to provoke many students and generate a lively discussion about the merits and liabilities of the “good war” approach, and about the utility of mythology in general as a source of historical memory. The Anxiety of the Nuclear Age: The Cuban Missile Crisis It would be hard to overstate to students today the anxiety of growing up in the nuclear age. For all their complexity in their own lives, today’s students never had to live through long stretches with the fear of being vaporized. It created an otherworldly experience. Center on the Cuban missile crisis, which students tend to know almost nothing about. The Cuban missile crisis illustrates a time in history when the fate of the world was being determined on a second-by-second basis—and the world could follow along via radio and television. Compare the students’ experience with terrorism to their parents’ or grandparents’ experience in the Cuban missile crisis. In the worst case scenario, no one in the entire world stood to benefit (or even survive). How would other nations living in the shadow of the missile crisis view the Americans and Soviets? How does this help explain the move toward nonalignment and independence in the rest of the world? This subject is pertinent because recent Russian reports indicate that the situation in Cuba was even more dangerous than the Americans feared at the time. The notion that “rogue nations” might be able to hold the world hostage certainly links back to this crisis. Chapter 37 The End of Empire CHAPTER OVERVIEW Challenges to superpower hegemony arose around the globe. Internal and external forces questioned the legitimacy of Soviet and American actions. Nations in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia underwent profound transformations. The cold war came to an end (more or less) with the collapse of the communist regimes in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Suddenly the bipolar political system that had dominated world politics for a half century no longer existed. New opportunities arose, but they were joined with new, more unpredictable problems. THEMES The emergence of dozens of new states since the end of World War II has dramatically increased the scale and complexity of international relations. Decolonization in Asia encouraged African independence movements, and by 1970 virtually all colonial possessions in these regions had gained their independence. Frustration followed for many in these regions, however, as national governments proved unable to provide either economic or social stability, encouraging older ethnic and sectarian tensions to resurface. Additionally, the end of the bipolar system created by the cold war has left uncertain the future shape or nature of the international system. While older powers, such as the United States, have retained considerable influence, new actors such as China, India, and Brazil have signaled the emergence of a multi-polar world system, which continues to evolve. LECTURE STRATEGIES Decolonization and State Building in Africa The process of decolonization and state building in Africa is an important lecture topic. Obviously, one of the biggest problems is the complexity of the African political landscape. You will need to spend a lot of time making use of maps or transparencies. First, it is probably a good idea to remind the students of the colonial structure of Africa—in other words, the incredible diversity of Africa; which European nations were powerful in what regions; the varying nature of their colonial policies; nationalistic or religious problems; and so on. Second, the political writings and theories of first- and second-generation African nationalists need to be studied. Third, it is necessary to distinguish between the differing policies of decolonization of the European nations; for example, the British transitional period versus the French Charles de Gaulle-inspired popular referendum. Fourth, you have to make clear to the students the multitude of inherent problems that each new nation faced. Fifth, the class has to understand the slow process, often interrupted by periods of military rule, of the stabilization of civilian rule. It would be great if you had the time to study the rise of every new African state, but you probably don’t have time in a world civilization class for much detail. Unfortunately, that means you must pick and choose representative states, such as Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa. Still, it is important to use the example of these countries to set up important trends that can then be carried over (even if only very briefly) into other new African states. Finally, it is essential for you to examine the complicated process of state building and democratization. The fact that the new African states struggled with the implementation of stable civilian rule, and oftentimes took a step back in the form of military coups, doesn’t mean that democracy was unworkable on the African continent. Remind the students of the complexity of the European-designed political borders (which paid no heed to ethnic or religious difficulties) and the centuries-long process of democratic revolution that the English and French fought through. The Nature and Complexity of the Islamic World The nature and complexity of the Islamic world would be an extraordinarily useful lecture for this section. The American media today has such a jaundiced view of the Islamic world, and students will never be able to get beyond it if all they have is a nightly news sound bite image of fundamentalist Islamic terrorists. That image is a gross misrepresentation of the lives of one billion Muslims. At the same time, it is necessary to make sure the students understand the problems plaguing the various Islamic nations. Why did a particularly powerful and inflexible sect of Islam develop at this time? Why is it so popular in certain segments of the world of Islam? How does this religious view relate to the general tolerance of Muhammad, as expressed in the Quran, and of so many Islamic states over the centuries? Why would fundamentalist Islam become such a central part of certain nationalist movements? Are there economic factors at work here as well? In what ways does Islam serve as a unifying agent in some parts of the Arabic world but also act to cause trouble between Sunnis and Shiites in places like Pakistan? Do some world leaders, as has been the case throughout history with different rulers and different religions, exploit Islam for their own political agendas? TEACHING SUGGESTIONS Twentieth-Century India The birth and bloody twentieth-century history of India should make for a good discussion topic. For some reason students seem to know more about Gandhi than any other Asian figure, which might mean that they have some background on the independence of India. You can use this knowledge as an inroad to examining the important questions of Indian history. Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence was covered previously, so at this point it will be more useful to center on his view for the future of India. Ask the students to consider Gandhi’s plan for an independent India. Would India be able to survive? Why didn’t Gandhi want India to industrialize on a European model? Why did some of his own followers, most notably Nehru, question his philosophy? Would it truly be possible to create a sense of common purpose out of the astonishing diversity of India? Do all nations go through this transitional period before reaching the consensus necessary to rule? These are all key questions because, as students are always amazed to discover, India is the world’s largest democracy. Is it possible to have a stable democracy in a country this large and this diverse? At this point you might take the discussion back to thinkers such as Rousseau or Montesquieu or even Jefferson who were, in their own way, asking similar questions. Bring in Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the question of Pakistan. What were Jinnah’s goals? Why didn’t he feel that India’s Muslims could receive fair treatment as a minority population? Finally, why was Gandhi so afraid of the “vivisection” of India? In what ways was Gandhi a nationalist? It might even be possible to compare this section to the Austrian fears on the verge of World War I or the concerns of the northern states before the American Civil War or of Gorbachev as the Soviet Union crumbled. Are there any similarities? Draft a Resolution Supporting the Government of South Vietnam Form students into groups representing teams of American military advisors sent to South Vietnam in1965. Their task is to draft a resolution to President Lyndon Johnson arguing that the United States should continue to support the government of South Vietnam against the communists of North Vietnam. They have to make use of the history of the cold war to support their argument, without going beyond the relevant time frame. Draft a Resolution Denouncing Continued Support of the Government of South Vietnam Divide the class into small groups. Tell each group of students that they are student activists in 1967 who oppose American military action in Vietnam. Their job is to draft a resolution that argues why the United States should not be fighting in southeast Asia. Their argument can include moral and political principles, but should also be based on recent history in the region. Why Does Africa Remain “Backward”? A touchy question well worth asking is: why does Africa remain “backward” and who is to blame? Students often adopt the position of The Economist’s famous cover in 2000 that Africa is “hopeless”—though they are not always willing to state this out loud. They look at African history as non-existent, or at least not worth studying, until the west arrived in Africa bearing the “gifts” of “civilization.” The flip side of that view is that any continuing “hopelessness” can be and often is ascribed to the meddling, even today, of the colonial powers—i.e., the west. Examining cases like Algeria, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa closely can help bring these issues to the fore. To what extent are the colonial powers responsible for the situation of those nations after independence? What effect did the manner of independence have in the various African nations, for instance? Did it matter whether independence came peacefully or not? What role did the cold war play, if any, in shaping national or transnational consciousness in these places? In what ways are Africa and India similar or different? How does Latin America compare? Chapter 38 A World without Borders CHAPTER OVERVIEW The cold war came to an end (more or less) with the collapse of the communist regimes in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Suddenly the bipolar political system that had dominated world politics for a half century no longer existed. New opportunities arose, but they were joined with new, more unpredictable problems. Distances between countries came to mean little or nothing in an age of rapid cultural and technological change. Cultural integration was fueled by television, computers, and the Internet. Women worldwide strove to improve their conditions and expand their opportunities. A population explosion called into question the sustainability of human life on earth. The people of the planet tentatively stepped into a world without traditional boundaries. THEMES The end of the bipolar system created by the cold war has left uncertain the future shape or nature of the international system. While older powers, such as the United States, have retained considerable influence, new actors such as China, India, and Brazil have signaled the emergence of a multipolar world system, which continues to evolve. One characteristic feature of this system is the unprecedented level of contact and interdependence between all human societies, driven by greater economic integration and interaction, known as globalization. Forces driving this movement in the world economy include advances in communications technology, enormous increases in international trade, and the emergence of new international organizations, particularly global corporations that favor market-oriented economics. Global cultural patterns have also become increasingly homogeneous, characterized by the rise of consumptive practices linked to globally homogeneous products and consumer goods. Greater global integration has also heightened awareness of contemporary global problems, such as terrorism, environmental degradation, population growth, resource competition, and climatic change. All these problems highlight the contemporary era as borderless, more than at any point in modern world history. LECTURE STRATEGIES Who Won the Cold War? It might be time to put the board away, count up the pieces, and determine once and for all who won the cold war. Ask the students their opinion on the matter. Considering the general backslapping of the late 1980s and early 1990s it is almost certain that the students will say the United States won the cold war, and by a certain definition, they may have. Now ask the students the bigger question: What has the United States won? Were the billions of dollars spent and millions of lives altered (including those in the United States) worth the struggle? From either point of view, was the perceived threat actually legitimate? Maybe a better question, at this point in the discussion, is not who won the cold war but rather, did anybody win the cold war. Is it possible that someone other than the United States or Soviet Union was the real winner? What did the cold war do to foreign policy? What did the cold war do to domestic policy? How much worse off were the lives of the workers in the Soviet Union because of the decades-long battle to spread the workers’ revolution? In the quixotic pursuit of international liberty, did the United States sacrifice liberties at home? For that matter, has the left really disappeared? With the homogenization of the centrist parties (seen so clearly in the United States) and the seeming lack of any powerful voice to stand up for the workers, will there be a crying need for a leftist alternative in the new millennium? A Sustainable Society The notion of a sustainable society is a natural lecture to give at the end of a world civilization class. By this time the class has seen several societies, some dating all the way back to the dawn of ancient civilization, that have destroyed themselves through careless mismanagement of the environment. The collapse of the Maya through a combination of constant warfare, overpopulation, and ecological degradation could not be more pertinent in today’s world. From here you can go in a myriad of directions to examine important issues that relate to humans’ ability to survive. Acquaint them with Thomas Malthus’s predictions much earlier in history, and follow the developments in that direction. Make connections between famines and revolutions. This is a great chance to bring science in, since fertilizers and new agricultural methods—including genetic crops and aquaculture—are making it look like the population ceiling could be much higher. The possibilities are numerous. The Americanization of Global Culture The Americanization of global culture would be a fantastic topic for discussion, especially since it has the potential to be one of the last topics in the second half of a world civilization sequence. Often, it never occurs to American students how utterly pervasive American culture is around the world, and even if they acknowledge the fact, they probably see nothing wrong with it. You could show the class pictures of urban areas from around the world that would include American chain stores and restaurants and ask the students to identify the city. Often the students will not be able to do this. What would be the significance of such a homogeneous landscape? Ask the students to consider ways in which the United States, maybe more so than any empire in all of history, has spread its cultural and financial influence around the world. Even if the influence is at times indirect, it’s certainly not unplanned. Why would many people around the world be almost horrified by the pervasive nature of American culture? Students can understand that there might be a backlash in parts of the Islamic world (even if they aren’t exactly sure why), but they are often mystified by the responses in places like Europe or New Zealand. Why is Euro-Disney the butt of a million jokes in France? Has the United States surpassed all previous empires in imposing its worldview on the entire globe? Consider using a source like Benjamin Barber’s Jihad vs. McWorld as a starting point. The Status of Women in the World You might want to again examine the status of women in the world. By this time you and your class have probably discussed the changing position of women in societies a few times, and the students should have enough knowledge to analyze the question intelligently. What are the major problems facing women today? Are American or western European women immune to gender oppression? The concepts of, if not the practice of, a “glass ceiling” and the “mommy track “in business are still common, after all. In what ways are women in the United States exploited by the capitalist system? TEACHING SUGGESTIONS Addressing Contemporary Global Issues Divide students into small groups. Assign each group a contemporary global issue, such as terrorism, global poverty, population growth and demographic movements, or climate change, and ask them to come up with suggestions designed to address and resolve these challenges. Then ask them to consider some of the obstacles standing in the way of their suggestions. Ask them to consider whether or not they believe existing international institutions have the capabilities and resources they need to address these circumstances, or whether they believe nation-states can work together effectively in a world without borders. Imagined Conversations Divide students into small groups. Assign each group one of the following debates to prepare for a class presentation. In each case, they should imagine a conversation between the two individuals (or groups) on the topic assigned. This exercise will entail some research and preparation. Ask the students to present this dialogue to the class, taking care to develop a thorough argument for each position. Mao Zedong and the Club of Rome debating the dangers of population growth Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill debating the concept of “crimes against humanity” Representatives from Greenpeace and the WTO debating the need for strict environmental regulations of industry Saddam Hussein and Nelson Mandela on the virtues of economic sanctions as a strategy for forcing a nation to change its policies Adam Smith and Fidel Castro on the benefits of free trade Ho Chi Minh and Mohandas Gandhi debating the use of violence as a strategy for national liberation Instructor Manual for Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past Jerry Bentley, Herbert Ziegler, Heather Streets Salter 9780073407029, 9780076700691