HIS 320 - Topical Studies in Modern World History
3 credits (PREREQUISITE: HIS 101 or HIS 120)
Political, economic, and cultural causes of significant events and controversies in modern world history are analyzed, with emphasis on student research and use of primary sources. Topics include ethnic rivalries in the Balkans just prior to World War I and again after the Cold War; economic and political stresses on the post-World War I governments of Great Britain, France, Italy, and Germany; Marxism, Russian Communism, and Fascism as effective tools of national economic development; the rise of Japan and the internal political struggles within China and India; economic disparities, democracy, and dictatorship in Latin America; and the economic and political consequences of independence movements in Africa. Emphasis is placed on student investigation and reporting in seminar fashion. Students are required to write a major documented research paper and develop a classroom presentation on a crisis confronting a modern state since 1940. G w mc (F, Sp)