Catlin Gabel

The Modern World: Creative Destruction and Destructive Creations

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Units

Unit	Essential Questions	Content	Skills and Processes	Assessment	Resources
Unit 1: Quality of Life	What is quality of life? How can we measure it? How can we increase it? What are the biggest factors shaping quality of life? What gives your life quality? Why is quality of life consistently so high in certain places and low in other places? Does a high quality of life correlate to a lot of happiness? What is the Malthusian trap and how does it affect quality of life?	Quality of life indices from 2005 and 2011 Overview of basic economic principles, with particular attention paid to Malthus An economic history of the pre-modern world The role of religion in quality of life and happiness Individual interviews	Thinking critically Reading accurately and critically Writing coherently and analytically Speaking articulately Listening carefully and respectfully Selecting quality sources, both print and Internet	Mini-interview and presentation Discussion and debate Student-designed Quality of Life index, establishing a methodology and criteria, and articulating a defense of both	Quality of life indices, produced by the Economist and other sources Excerpts from Gregory Clark's A Farewell to Alms Scholarly journal articles on connections between economic growth, religion, and quality of life
Unit 2: Industrial Revolutions	What was so revolutionary about the Industrial Revolution? How did the Industrial Revolution transform human existence? Why did the IR take place in Britain first? How have humans responded, historically, to technological innovation? Does technological innovation increase our quality of life?	The Agricultural Revolution in England, with particular attention paid to enclosure The technological developments of the Industrial Revolution The reasons for the emergence of the IR in England and the reasons this did not occur elsewhere The social impact of the IR, particularly on the working and middle classes The economic principle of creative destruction and the manifestation of this in the Luddites and elsewhere Creative destruction today	Thinking critically Writing coherently and analytically Reading accurately and critically Speaking articulately *Listening carefully and respectfully	Mini-interview and presentation Article report on creative destruction Formal essay and presentation, based on individual research project Active reading and discussion	Hobsbawm's Industry and Empire Acemoglu and Robinson's Why Nations Fail Weightman's The Industrial Revolutionaries Breunig's The Age of Revolution and Reaction Other excerpted books, primary source documents, and online resources
Unit 3: The Nation-State	What is nationalism? What is the nation-state? Does nationalism increase our quality of life? Are we happier with nationalism? Why did nationalism and the nation-state emerge in France in the 18^th century? How does a people / a state create nationalism? Do you love America? Why / why not?	The French Revolution Conditions preceding the revolution in the 18th century Conflicts between and motivations of the three estates Revolutionary ideologies The French Nation Its origins and construction The role of language, education, and religion Major issues facing it today Nation-State Theory Steps in nation-building Nations as creative and destructive forces Individual case studies Germany, Italy, Canada, Ireland, Venezuela, Turkey, Switzerland, Greece	Academic research Working with academic databases More sophisticated use of google and other mainstream search engines Source evaluation Extrapolation, applying one specific case study to another country Decoding and management of specific terminology (nation vs. state, nationalism vs. patriotism, etc.) Critical thinking about implicit and explicit forms of nationalism in America	Student discussion leaders General class participation Impromptu reading reflections and quizzes Major research project To what extent did the process of nation-building carried out in France recur in other countries? Formal research paper	Primary source documents from Voltaire, Robespierre, and other key revolutionary figures Graham Robb's The Discovery of France David Bell's The Cult of the Nation in France Academic journal articles on nation-state theory and nation-building
Unit 4: Colonialism and Imperialism	What is the difference between colonialism and imperialism? How did industrialization and nationalism influence Europe’s imperialist impulse? To what extent were colonialism and imperialism the product—or the genesis—of racism? Why did countries respond so differently to colonialism/imperialism?	Country Pairing #1: Fall of the Qing Dynasty in China (Opium Wars, Taiping Rebellion, Boxer Rebellion) Meiji Restoration in Japan Country Pairing #2: Boer and British colonization in South Africa British imperialism in the Gambia Europe's shifting attitudes towards Africa Influence of geography From the slave trade to "legitimate" commerce Scramble for Africa	Comparative analysis Establishing and tracking comparisons across place and era Moving beyond similarities and differences to using one country to "unlock" another Historical synthesis Building connections across units Identifying intersection between industrialization, nationalism, and race Multicultural awareness Perspective-taking Going beyond "Western," "Eastern," and "African	Short comparative essay on Western imperialism in China and Japan Cumulative first semester exam, building connections between imperialism, nationalism, and industrialization Student discussion leaders In-class assignments and participation	Primary source documents, including Kang Youwei, Sun Yat-sen, Kipling, Morel, and Kenyatta Kenneth Pyle's The Making of Modern Japan Kevin Shillington's History of Africa Donald Wright's The World and a Very Small Place in Africa Adu Boahen's African Perspectives on Colonialism
Unit 5: The 20th Century in Poland and Yugoslavia	In what ways did the major developments of the 19^th century—industrialization, nationalism, and imperialism—continue to shape the course of events in the 20^th century? How do two crossroads countries—Poland and Yugoslavia—serve as microcosms of the broader trends in 20^th century Europe? Why is violence, in many different forms, one of the dominant storylines of 20^th century European history? How did the tension between communism and capitalism shape both Poland and Yugoslavia? How can a multi-ethnic state build a single, inclusive national identity and avoid ethnic tension?	World War I Origins of WWI in Bosnia: Serbian nationalism and the Black Hand WWI as culmination of imperialism, nationalism, industrialization Creation of Poland and Yugoslavia at Versailles World War II Rise of fascist, totalitarian states during interwar years Origins of WWII in Poland Poland: Anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, and resistance Yugoslavia: Chetniks, Partisans, and Ustasha Cold War Ideological foundations Poland: Abandoned to Soviet Union, communist rule Yugoslavia: Rise of Tito Post-Cold War Rise of a new world order Poland: Pope John Paul II, Lech Walesa, and a new democracy Yugoslavia: The Balkan Wars, ethnic cleansing, and the end of Yugo	Developing extended historical narratives within specific countries, tracking major trends and identifying causal relations Extending the comparative analytical skills emphasized in Unit 4 Foundations of ethnic studies, identifying key characteristics of specific ethnicities and applying those principles in Yugo and Poland Mastering key ideologies of 20th century, including fascism, socialism, and communism	Major formal essay on the challenges of maintaining a multi-ethnic state Requires extensive integration of sources (at least eight) Student discussion leaders Reading quizzes and in-class activities Treaty of Versailles roleplay	Primary source documents Secondary sources, including: Misha Glenny's The Balkans Martin Gilbert's The Holocaust David Andelman's A Shattered Peace Keith Lowe's Savage Continent Adam Zamoyski's Poland: A History
Unit 6: The 20th Century in India and the Congo	In what ways did the major developments of the 19^th century—industrialization, nationalism, and imperialism—continue to shape the course of events in the 20^th century? How do two formerly colonized countries—India and Congo—serve as microcosms of the broader trends in the post-colonial world? What were the major challenges facing colonies as they pursued independence and then later as they established their own states? How did the tension between communism and capitalism shape both India and the Congo? Why did India and Poland reach positions of cautious optimism at the end of the 20th century, while Yugoslavia and the Congo failed to do so?	From colonialism to independence: India: The British raj and the emergence of Gandhi and Nehru The move towards partition and independent India and Pakistan Congo: Leopold and the Belgian Congo Lumumba's MNC The challenges of independence India: Establishing an independent state Indian democracy and the rise of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty The License raj Nonalignment in the Cold War Congo: The birth of Zaire The persistence of extractive political and economic systems From Lumumba to Mobutu The impact of the Cold War The post-Cold War world India: Globalization and industrialization The persistence of democracy and corruption Gendercide and gender inequality Congo: From Mobutu to worse The Rwandan genocide as trigger The Great Congo War(s)	Preparing for the different segments of a major history exam, including: Historical IDs--learning to distill a person/event/idea down to its key elements Quote identification--learning to recognize style and content typical to the writing/speech of historical figures Essay--building a comparative essay between Poland/Yugoslavia and India/Congo The role of collaboration in the review process Online tools: Prezi and Haiku Analyzing primary source documents	Second semester final exam Impromptu debates on the causes of partition in India/Pakistan Use of Prezi software to understand geography of Congo and India Student discussion leaders	Primary source documents from Gandhi, Nehru, and Lumumba Secondary sources, including Yasmin Khan's The Great Partition, Didier Gondola's The History of the Congo, Shashi Tharoor's India from Midnight to the Millennium, and Martin Meredith's The Fate of Africa Comtemporary work, including Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat, Vandana Shiva, and Jason Stearns's Dancing in the Glory of Monsters