Modern World History Events that Fostered Globalization History Essay
The Final Exam will be a cumulative, reflective take home essay in which students will be asked to formulate an argument about central themes of modern world history.
These will be formal papers:
A thesis will be presented and argued through use of primary historical sources
Proper citation of sources will be required (use Chicago manual of style).
This final reflection will provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate the skills of document analysis, article analysis, synthesis, and argumentation that you have developed over the course .
It is tempting to think about world history as teleology – a story in which things are always moving in the direction of progress. But sometimes events happen – like the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupt our sense of progress. Some historians, however, have suggested it is useful to twentieth century world history as shaped by forces of integration (bringing people together) and fragmentation (driving people apart, sharpening local identities or religious, cultural, racial, national or other identities), punctuated by contingencies or ruptures, events such as war (or a pandemic) which sharpen or accelerate these dynamics. The textbook itself is organized along such lines, emphasizing events which have brought the world together or divided it by race, religion, class, gender, geography, politics, rights, and other phenomena.
WHAT TO DO: In 1500-1750 words, identify and analyze some of the ways that we might think of modern world history this way, as a set of phenomena and forces bringing people together and giving them common experiences, goals, etc. (integration), while at the same time fragmenting the world along other lines (nation, race, religion, left/right, rich/poor, etc.). Are any of these forces connected? If so, how? How do they change over time (are some forces slowing, speeding up, or spreading at some moments), and where? Are there events, or dynamics (such as globalization, technological transformations, revolutions in communication, transportation, etc.) that have served to accelerate or intensify these dynamics in one direction or another? You can choose to focus broadly on several dynamics that highlight these ideas, or to focus on one or two.
WHY: This is a chance for you to reflect on what you feel you have learned and how your thinking may have changed over the last 5 weeks. It is an opportunity to practice an important historical skill: synthesis - taking things you have learned from the textbook, articles, chapters, documents, and assembling them in support of an argument you make.
HOW: Go back and read the Geyer and Bright article from week 1. How has your thinking changed? Look through the chapters in WTWA, and other articles, chapters, documents we have and think about the themes they raise, and how they point to fragmenting or integrating dynamics in modern world history. Take notes. Build a timeline. Think about evidence that supports (or challenges) your argument. See if more than one author employs evidence in support of arguments you want to make (about the power of nationalism, communication technology, war, or whatever).
We would especially like to encourage you to spend a paragraph or two reflecting on how the coronavirus has shaped the way you think about these questions (certainly a few weeks ago your instructor would not have considered pandemic disease and global public health as important as he does now). How has the COVID-19 pandemic illuminated some of the forces of integration and fragmentation that we have read and talked about over the course of the semester?
Please do not use anything other than the course textbook, lectures, and other associated materials provided through Husky CT. You can use any material that has been provided through the learning modules and in class - articles, websites, documents, videos, lectures, powerpoint slides, images, etc. Do not, however, conduct any outside research for this final exam. The material we have used so far will be more than enough! This essay is an exercise in argument and interpretation, not recitation of facts, so make sure to advance one!
B. Evaluation Rubric: Excellent essays will do a few things:
-They will be comprehensive and synthetic, and cover events spanning the entire twentieth century (rather than just one part of it), and range widely geographically (rather than referring, for example, just to Europe or Asia). Excellent essays (earning an A- or better) will incorporate material from all 5 learning modules.
- Incorporate a range of sources from the course, including the textbook, journal articles, primary sources, course affiliated websites, lecture notes and videos, or other sources. Excellent essays (those earning an A- or better) will incorporate evidence from the textbook, journal articles/chapters, and primary sources (documents, etc.), rather than just relying on one or two sources.
- Provide citations for ideas, data, or interpretations supporting your argument (in other words, use evidence supported by footnotes or endnotes).
- Be written in polished prose, and demonstrating good writing, grammar, and punctuation.
- Make an argument! Please do not just recite a laundry list of events. Help the reader see how you assemble evidence and logic into an argument with a hypothesis and a conclusion. Do not just tell a story, but advance an interpretation of the events and phenomena that you think are most significant for your purposes. Why did you chose the dynamics or events that you did? How are these connected?
Modern world history is often a result of a number of factors that are interconnected in one way or the other. Political and economic factors are common in modern world history and they play a major role in the creation of a globalized world. In our modern world, technology has also played a major role in the creation of a globalized world. Technological innovations taking place at different places within the country have intensified the process of integration that was only achieved through the political and economic means. The process of integration is ongoing and there are a number of world events that can disrupt this process. The current global pandemic for instance has disrupted the societal integration and destroyed the livelihoods of many people. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and analyze the different political and economic events that have played a major role in the creation of an integrated society. Further, the paper will also discuss how technology has hastened the process of integration and finally look at the different factors affecting the process of society integration.
The spread of political ideologies such as communism played a major role in the creation of a globalized society. According to Haberlen (2012), most of the communists during the interwar period aspired to create a global society where people are free to work from any part of the world. As a way of achieving their aspirations, they created the International Workingmen’s Association that was led by bone of the greatest economists Karl Marx in 1864-76. By creating this organization the communists were able to spread their ideologies beyond Moscow which was their place of foundation. In other places across the world, the communist leaders often focused on the implementation of the communist decisions that were made in Moscow. However, over time, this put them into conflict with the local activists since some of their policies failed to match the needs of the local communities. This is illustrated in countries such as China where the leaders openly defied the guidelines from the above and designed their own policies that would match the needs of the people. The role of communism in the creation of a globalized society was also faced with a number of challenges. Apart from the lack of uniformity on how these policies were implemented, there was repression of criticism within communism countries which created tension. As Haberlen (2012), observes, communism was made of people who were critical of the government authorities that were in leadership by then. By joining communism, they were able to express their ideas since they were in a group as compared to doing alone. As a member you were expected to adhere to each of the rules laid down by the communist party in your country and criticism would attract an expulsion. This repression of any criticism within the party made some of the people uncomfortable leading to the creation of tension CITATION Hab12 \l 1033 (Haberlen, 2012).[Haberlen, J. C. (2012). Between global aspirations and ocal realities: the global dimensions of interwar communism. Journal of Global History, pp. 415–437.] [Haberlen, J. C. (2012). Between global aspirations and ocal realities: the global dimensions of interwar communism. Journal of Global History, pp. 415–437.]
The Second World War that took place between 1939-1935 is one of the common historical events that shaped the world and brought about unity of the anti-colonial forces. According to Motadel (2019), the end of the Second World War opened up great opportunities for the anti-colonial people to meet and share their ideas leading to the independence that was achieved later in a number of countries. Berlin in Germany was considered the hub of the global anti-imperial revolutionary activism and people drawn from different parts of the world met in the city to strategize on how they will be able to achieve their independence. These leaders were drawn from India, Europe and the African Continent. They held different congresses where they emphasized the need to liberalize individuals in different countries across the world who were oppressed. These nationalists who convened in Berlin to talk about the future of their countries were drawn from different ethnic, national, and imperial boundaries. As a result of these congresses, Berlin was able to forge alliances with a number of anti-colonial leaders. Some of them such as Anwar al-Sadat who would later become the future Egyptian president was among those who forged alliances and worked in the Germany military as a young man. A number of countries such as India later attained their independence in 1947. African countries were also encouraged to pursue their independence after observing what India had done. A number of challenges were also observed between Berlin’s anticolonial revolutionaries and the regime. The Germans wanted to use the exiles to destabilize the territories of their adversaries while the exiles emphasized on the need for practical assistance so that they will be able to handle their liberation struggles and the recognition of their legitimacy and the sovereignty of their countries CITATION Mot19 \l 1033 (Motadel, 2019).[MacInnes, J., & Díaz, J. P. (2015). Transformations of the world’s population. The Routledge...
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