Courses

Modern History

Year 11 and 12 ATAR Pathway|Humanities and Social Sciences

Modern History

Matt Hildebrandt
Curriculum Leader – Humanities and Social Sciences

Modern History

Tilly Spadaccini

A study of Modern History can develop citizens who are culturally enriched, aware of their place in time and equipped to recognise and question myths about the structure and values of their society. The Modern History course is very dynamic and has been tailored to satisfy students’ interests and address relevant educational outcomes. The course allows students to gain insights into current practices, problems and values of their own society and will continue to foster and develop historical literacy skills of critical thinking, research, analysis and effective written communication.

Courses

Year 11 ATAR Course

Unit 1 - Capitalism: The American Experience (1907-1941)

This unit examines developments of significance in the modern era, including the ideas that inspired them and their far-reaching consequences. In particular, students will examine the triumphs and turmoil associated with capitalism in the United States between the wars. Students will also develop an understanding of:

  • The main causes of the rise of capitalism in the USA, including: the expansion of the railways; post Civil War reconstruction; immigrant labour; discovery of oil; and mass production
  • The role and impact of significant individuals in the period, with particular reference to Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, F. D. Roosevelt, J. D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford
  • Key ideas of capitalism, laissez-faire, consumerism, individualism (including “rugged individualism‟), limited government, economic liberty, and the American Dream
  • The impact of WWI, the 1920s, and WWII until 1941, on: American capitalism; the growth of consumerism; and the shaping of American values, for example, film and fashion, prohibition and the ‘Jazz Age’
  • The causes of the Great Depression, the consequences for different groups and the effectiveness of political responses, including the New Deal, and the impact on capitalism
  • The impact of capitalism on different groups within American society and the aims and beliefs of different groups, for example, African Americans, urban workers, rural workers, immigrants, industrialists, and members of Indian Nations; and the consequences of divisions
  • The significance of capitalism in this period, including a comparison with other key economic ideologies, in particular, communism
Unit 2 - Nazism in Germany (1918-1945)

Through a detailed examination of one major 20th century movement, students investigate the ways in which individuals, groups and institutions have challenged existing political structures, accepted social organisation, and prevailing economic models, to transform societies. In particular, students will develop an understanding of:

  • The economic, political and military circumstances in Germany at the end of WWI and how those circumstances contributed to the rise of Nazism
  • The democratic changes under the Weimar Government and reasons for its failure to deal with social, political and economic problems
  • The reasons for the Nazi Party’s rise to power, including: the Treaty of Versailles, the impact of the Great Depression; the nature of Nazi ideology and hostility to communism; the ability of Hitler and the Nazi Party to utilise popular fears; and the Party’s organisational and tactical skills
  • The nature and effects of key aspects of the Nazi state, including military mobilisation, Lebensraum (living space), propaganda, terror and repression (SA and SS), the Hitler Youth, social policies on religion, women, education, trade unions, and the nature of opposition to the Nazis
  • Nazi policies of anti-Semitism and the promotion of the Aryan race, resulting in efforts to exterminate minorities in German-controlled lands and the Holocaust
  • The role and impact of significant individuals in Weimar and Nazi Germany, for example, Adolf Hitler, President von Hindenburg, Leni Riefenstahl, Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Göring and Albert Speer
  • The legacy of Nazism after WWII
Assessments

  • Students will be assessed in two outcomes which will enable students to develop the knowledge and skills required for the successful completion of the Modern History course. The types of assessment will include:

     

  • Document Study - Analysing Historical Sources
  • Explanation – Essays, Short Answer and Extended Answer Tests
  • Historical Inquiry – Research Work
  • Examination

Year 12 ATAR Course

Unit 3 - Australia (1918-1955)

This unit examines the characteristics of the Australian nation in the early part of the 20th century. In particular, students will investigate the crises that challenged the stability of government, the path of development that was taken and the social, economic and political order that was either established or maintained. Students examine the ways in which the nation dealt with internal divisions and external threats. They will emerge with a deeper understanding of:

  • the significant ideas of the period, including mateship and the Anzac legend, unionism, communism, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander activism, and nationalism
  • the adjustment of national priorities in the 1920s, including: the tensions between urbanisation, industrialisation and rural development; the difficulties of soldier settlement; the exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples; and the changing role of women
  • the impact of the Great Depression on different groups within Australian society; the political responses to the Great Depression; and the effectiveness of the political responses to the crisis
  • the changing politics of the period, including ‘Men, money, markets’; the rise of the Country Party; the Depression and the Labor Split; the formation of the Liberal Party; the Light on the Hill; and the ALP/DLP Split
  • the changing nature and significance of Australia’s foreign policy from 1918–1955
  • the nature and scope of Australia’s war effort in Europe, Asia and the Pacific (1939–1945) and on the home front
  • the key features of post‐war reconstruction, including: industrialisation, suburbanisation and immigration; the provision of social welfare; and attitudes and policies towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, migrants and women
  • the impact of the rise of communism, its influence on the election of Robert Menzies and the Coalition in 1949, and the contrasting economic and social policies offered at the 1949 election, the 1951 referendum, and the Petrov affair and its impact on the ALP
  • the role and impact of significant individuals in the period, including political, military and social/cultural leaders
Unit 4 - The Cold War in Europe (1945-2001)

This unit examines some significant and distinctive features of the modern world within the period 1945–2001 in order to build students’ understanding of the contemporary world – that is, why we are here at this point in time. In particular, students will come to an understanding of:

  • An overview, as background, of the nature of the origins and early development of the Cold War to 1948, including: the ideological, cultural and political differences between the United States and the Soviet Union; and the significance of the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and Berlin Blockade.
  • The significant ideas of the period, including communism, capitalism, democracy, containment, peaceful coexistence, détente, glasnost and perestroika, nationalism, and re-integration.
  • The evolving nature and character of the Cold War in Europe from 1948 through to détente, including: the impact of the arms race, the space race, and threat of nuclear war; the 1956 invasion of Hungary; the Berlin Wall; the Cuban Missile Crisis; the Prague Spring and the Brezhnev Doctrine; the new Cold War of the 1980s; and the collapse of communism 1989–1991.
  • Developments that followed the end of the Cold War in 1989, including: the break-up of the Soviet Union and the resultant changes in the politics and economics of the Soviet Union; the reunification of Germany (the Two Plus Four Treaty 1990); the break-up of the former Yugoslavia; and the changing role of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) from Cold War Alliance to the NATO-Russia Council.
  • The development of European governance and extension of the “European Union”, including the European Economic Community (EEC) (1958), the European Union (1993), the Eurozone (1999)
  • The changing nature of world order in the period 1989–2001, with specific reference to the place of Europe and the European nation states within that world order and the role of significant political leaders throughout the period
Assessments

  • Students will be assessed in two outcomes which will enable students to develop the knowledge and skills required for the successful completion of the Modern History course. The types of assessment will include:

     

  • Document Study – Analysing Historical Sources
  • Explanation – Essays, Short Answer and Extended Answer Tests
  • Historical Inquiry – Research Work
  • Examination