9.0 Transitions, Thresholds and Turning Points in Human History
Summary:
Historians “periodize.” That is, they categorize historical time by looking for turning points. Periodizing is an important analytical tool that real historians use. This lesson helps you frame major changes to understand periodization in human history, while introducing you to major changes and trends in the modern era. In this lesson, you’ll think about periodizing the history of the Universe in a way other than using thresholds of increasing complexity. You’ll think about periodizing from the perspective of individuals, and you’ll think about how you would periodize human history to tell a particular story.
9.1 Acceleration
Summary:
For most of the agrarian era, the four world zones operated independently of each other with little or no knowledge of what was going on in the other zones. The world, in effect, was divided into four unconnected regions, none of which was really interested in the others. With the improved transportation and communication technologies developed 500 years ago, humans acquired the means for connecting these formerly independent zones. After 1492, for example, the Americas and Afro-Eurasia were put in regular contact, and the Columbian Exchange saw the transfer of people, ideas, animals, plants, and diseases between these two once separate world zones. Exchanges like these fueled social, political, economic, and intellectual innovation. Within a few hundred years, this more fully connected world saw dramatic acceleration in innovation and population growth, which ushered in the Modern Revolution.
9.2 The Anthropocene
Summary:
For most of the past 10,000 years or so, the biosphere has been a fairly stable and predictable place. Whether you look at temperature, types of vegetation, soils, or sea level, the basic characteristics of the biosphere have remained about the same, having shown only moderate variation at any point within most of that time frame. That type of consistency is what prompted geologists to label the last 10,000 years of geological history as the Holocene Epoch; an epoch that was ushered in at the end of the last ice age. But there are now a number of scientists who view the data from the last 250 years and conclude that the biosphere is showing fundamentally different characteristics from the previous 10,000 years. The rise of carbon dioxide levels, glacial melting, and the shrinking of tropical rainforests are just some of the factors that they cite as evidence that the biosphere has entered a new epoch. Because so much of the change they have identified seems to derive from human activity, these scientists propose that this new epoch be called the Anthropocene to reflect the tremendous impact that humans now exert in the biosphere.
9.3 Changing Economies
Summary:
The Modern Revolution created the world we live in today. This world is very different from the world of 500 or 1,000 years ago, let alone 10,000 or 100,000 years ago. The connection of the four world zones allowed for the creation of a global network of exchange. Though this network was not built overnight, it emerged fairly quickly, and it increased the potential connections and diversity of connections for many members of the network. The result was an acceleration of both collective learning and innovation. Commerce was an important driver of change in this global network. Because commerce began to take on greater significance for many societies, a number of important thinkers began to ask questions about the nature of the exchange of goods, the nature of productivity and efficiency, and the interests of the individual and the state in business. All of this new inquiry gave birth to the discipline of economics. These economic thinkers, like the thinkers in any discipline, shared a set of concerns and questions but often came up with very different answers to those questions. The articulation of the ideas of capitalism and communism were the most influential economic ideas generated in the course of the Modern Revolution.Klik hier om een tekst te typen.
9.4 How Was the Modern World Created? Industrialism
Summary:
A central feature of shaping the modern era was the change in modes of production and energy sources. In this lesson, you’ll learn more about how the modern era was shaped by considering more tangible examples of the impact of the Industrial Revolution, and how much collective learning and new innovations really changed the world. You’ll consider three forces that accelerated the pace of change in the modern world: global exchange networks, competitive markets, and increasing use of energy. Understanding the factors that led to the Industrial Revolution will help you understand many of the dynamics that exist in the industrialized world today.
9.5 How Was the Modern World Created? Modern States and Identities
Summary:
The Age of Exploration and the Columbian Exchange didn’t just change world markets and systems of exchange and trade; they also changed the ways in which people viewed their human rights. The Atlantic revolutions were the result of people’s efforts to protect those rights. One of the outcomes of these revolutions, which were often uprisings against unjust or tyrannical rulers, was increased nationalism. A central feature in shaping the modern era was the change in states and identities generated by these nationalist and democratic movements. Following this, economically strong countries began to colonize the world. The effects of this colonization can still be seen today.
9.6 Crisis and Conflict on the Global Stage
Summary:
The first half of the twentieth century was tumultuous and resulted in global chaos. There were two world wars and a global depression. In this lesson, you’ll learn about the causes and consequences of both world wars and how they relate to the Great Depression. In the activities in this lesson, you’ll learn more about how to use different kinds of data to understand the past. You’ll use primary source material such as propaganda, and data such as population and the gross domestic product to draw conclusions about the world during the first half of the twentieth century. You’ll also evaluate whether or not these kinds of analysis provide enough information to draw reasonable and informed conclusions about the past.
9.7 Acceleration - Demographic, Political, and Technological
Summary:
The modern era has been marked by rapid growth in population and massive political changes around the world. Demography is a useful analytical took for studying these changes, and helps to give us a global perspective on human history. Since the end of World War II, over 50 new nations have developed around the globe. Understanding why and how these nations have emerged is vital to understanding today’s world politically and economically. It also shows the increasing importance of human rights around the world and how people have managed to gain them. In this lesson, students use a variety of primary source materials and data to help understand the accelerating changes we have witnessed in the past 100 years.