World History

Topics Covered

SCHUMACHER

First Quarter

·  Review of the Middle Ages: Feudalism and the Crusades

·  Renaissance and Reformation

·  Scientific Revolution

·  Early Exploration and Colonization: The Americas, Asia, and Africa

·  The Rise of Nations in Europe

o  England, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia

·  The Enlightenment

Second Quarter

·  The English, American, and French Revolutions

·  The European Revolutions of 1830 and 1848

o  Backlash and the Congress of Vienna, Liberalism vs. Reactionaries

·  The Industrial Revolution and Cultural Revolution

o  Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Charles Darwin

·  Reaction and Nationalism: Latin America, Germany, Italy

·  The Age of Imperialism: India, Africa, Latin America, Modernization of Japan

MIDTERM EXAM

Third Quarter

·  World War I and the Aftermath

o  Russian Revolution

o  Rise of fascism and militarism in Europe

o  Wilson’s Fourteen Points and the failures of the League of Nations

o  Japanese militarism and aggression in the 1930s

·  World War II

o  Failure of appeasement

o  Strategy of the war leaders on each theater of war

o  The US enters the war

o  Yalta and Potsdam

o  The decision to drop the Atomic Bombs

o  Post-war divisions of Europe

·  Cold War Europe spreads to the world

o  Iron Curtain, Red China, Korea, the Space Race, Cuba, Berlin, détente and the fall of the U.S.S.R.

·  Modern Africa

o  Years of colonial rule and struggles for independence

o  Apartheid in South Africa

o  Recent events: Somalia, Rwanda, Darfur

o  Potential of African nations and positive developments

Fourth Quarter

·  Modern Middle East

o  Colonial Era, Balfour Declaration, partition of Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Iran, role of oil as a political tool, The Gulf War, Afghanistan

·  Latin America

o  Colonial Rule, 1940-1990s: Communist groups vs. non-communist groups, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Archbishop Romero, Chile/Salvador Allende, and Augusto Pinochet, Panama and Manuel Noriega, Venezuela Today

·  The Future of the U.S. as a global leader

o  Role now that the Cold War is “over?”

o  European Union and Euro

o  Financial roles/responsibilities

o  Mediator in conflict-ridden areas

FINAL EXAM