AP World History: 1900 - Present: 'What Students Should Know'

1900-Present What students are expected to know: Major Developments 1. Questions of Periodization Continuities and breaks; causes of changes from the previous period and within this period 2. War and peace in a global context (the World Wars; colonial soldiers in the First World War; the Holocaust; the Cold War; nuclear weaponry; and international organizations and their efforts on the global framework, e.g.; globalization of diplomacy and conflict; global balance of power; reduction of European influence; the League of Nations, the United Nations, the Nonaligned Nations) 3. New patterns of nationalism (fascism; decolonization; racism; genocide; the breakup of the Soviet Union) 4. Effects of major global economic developments (e.g., the Great Depression in Latin America; technology; Pacific Rim; multinational corporations) 5. New forces of revolution and other sources of political innovations 6. Social reform and social revolution (changing gender roles; family structures; rise of feminism; peasant protest; international Marxism; religious fundamentalism) 7. Globalization of science, technology, and culture Developments in global cultures and regional reactions, including science and consumer culture Interactions between elite and popular culture and art Patterns of resistance including religious responses 8. Demographics and environmental changes (migrations; changes in birthrates and death rates; new forms of urbanization; deforestation; green / environmental movements; rural to urban shifts) 9. Diverse interpretations Is cultural convergence or diversity the best model for understanding increased intercultural contact in the modern world? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using units of analysis for the modern world, such as the nation, the world, the West, and the developing world? Major Comparisons and Analysis: Examples Compare patterns and results of decolonization in Africa and India Pick two revolutions (Russia, Chinese, Cuban, Iranian) and compare their effects on the roles of women Compare the effects of the World Wars on areas outside of Europe Compare legacies of colonialism and patterns of economic development in two of three areas (Africa, Asia, and Latin America) Analyze nationalist ideologies and movements in contrasting European and colonial environments Compare the different types of independence struggles Examine global interactions in cultural arenas (e.g.; reggae, art, sports) Analyze the global effects of the Western consumer society Compare major forms of twentieth-century warfare Assess different proposals (or models) for economic growth in the developing world and the social and political consequences Examples of the types of information students are expected to know contrasted with examples of what are not expected to know for the multiple-choice section: Effects of global wars, but not specific battles in the World Wars Cultural and political transformations resulting from the wars, but not French political and cultural history Authoritarian regimes, but not Mussolini’s or Vargas’s internal policies Feminism and gender relations, but not Simone de Beauvoir or Huda Shaarawi The growth of international organizations, but not the history of the ILO Colonial independence movements, but not the resolutions passed by the Indian National Congress The issue of genocide, but not Cambodia, Rwanda, or Kosovo The internationalization of popular culture, but not the Beatles

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