Unit 1: Ideas in the modern world

13 dot points, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

How did Cold War ideologies divide the modern world?

Cold War ideologies (1945-1991), including the ideological foundations of capitalism and liberal democracy in the West and communism under the Soviet model in the East, and the global proxy contests through which they competed

Cold War ideologies. The two camps (capitalist liberal democracy under US leadership; Soviet-style communism), key turning points (Truman Doctrine 1947, Marshall Plan 1948, Berlin Blockade 1948-49, Korea, Cuba, Vietnam), and the ideological collapse of communism (1989-1991).

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How has globalisation shaped the modern world?

Globalisation as a defining feature of late modernity, including the economic integration of the late 20th century, the digital revolution, debates about its benefits and costs, and historiographical readings (Hobsbawm, Friedman, Stiglitz)

Globalisation. Periodisation (19th century first wave; 1945-1973 Bretton Woods; 1980-present), institutions (IMF, World Bank, WTO), the digital revolution, debates about benefits and costs (Stiglitz, Rodrik), and the late-modern backlash visible in populism after 2008.

6 min read →

How do historians inquire into ideas in the modern world?

Methods of historical inquiry, including source analysis (origin, purpose, perspective, usefulness, reliability), the use of primary and secondary sources, historiographical awareness, and the writing of evidence-based historical argument

QCE Modern History Unit 1 subject-matter point on methods of historical inquiry. Source analysis using OPCVR (origin, purpose, context, value, reliability); primary vs secondary sources; historiographical awareness; the structure of an evidence-based historical argument.

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How did the Industrial Revolution reshape ideas of society, work and progress?

The Industrial Revolution as a transformation of economic, social and political life from the late 18th century, including key technological changes, urbanisation, class conflict, and the rise of new social ideas (utilitarianism, early socialism)

Industrial Revolution. Periodisation (1760s-1840s in Britain, later in Europe and the U.S.), key technologies (steam, mechanised textiles, railways), social consequences (urbanisation, working class, family change), and the rise of new ideas (utilitarianism, Chartism, early socialism).

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How did Enlightenment ideas shape the modern world?

The Enlightenment as the intellectual origin of modernity, including key thinkers (Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Kant) and the influence of reason, individualism and liberty on 18th and 19th century political revolutions

Enlightenment. The 17th and 18th century intellectual movement, key thinkers (Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Kant, Montesquieu), the core ideas (reason, individual rights, separation of powers, the social contract), and the influence of these ideas on the American (1776) and French (1789) Revolutions.

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How did anti-colonial movements reshape the modern world?

The development of anti-colonial and independence movements in the 20th century, including the Indian independence movement (Gandhi, 1947), the decolonisation of Africa, and the ideas of pan-Africanism, non-alignment and post-colonial nationalism

20th-century anti-colonial movements. Indian independence (Congress, Gandhi, 1947), African decolonisation (Ghana 1957, Algeria 1962, the wave of 1960), pan-Africanism (W.E.B. Du Bois, Nkrumah), the Non-Aligned Movement (Bandung 1955), and the intellectual contributions of Fanon and Said.

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How did fascism and totalitarianism develop in the early 20th century?

The development of fascism as a 20th century political idea, including its origins in post-First World War crisis, Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany, the concept of totalitarianism, and the contrast with liberal democracy and communism

Fascism. Origins in post-1918 crisis, Mussolini's Fascist Italy (1922-1943), Hitler's Nazi Germany (1933-1945), defining features (ultra-nationalism, paramilitarism, anti-Marxism, leader-cult), the concept of totalitarianism (Arendt), and the contrast with liberal democracy and communism.

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How have feminism and environmentalism reshaped modern politics?

The development of feminism and environmentalism as 19th and 20th century political ideas, including suffrage movements, second-wave and third-wave feminism, and the emergence of environmentalism from conservation to climate politics

Feminism and environmentalism. First-wave feminism (Wollstonecraft, suffrage), second-wave (Friedan, de Beauvoir), third-wave intersectionality (Crenshaw); environmentalism from 19th-century conservation (Muir, Pinchot) through Silent Spring (Carson, 1962) to modern climate politics.

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How has liberalism shaped the modern world?

The development of liberalism as a political and economic idea from the 17th century, including its key thinkers (Locke, Smith, Mill), its variants (classical and social liberalism), and its impact on 19th and 20th century governance

Liberalism. Origins in 17th century English political thought, key thinkers (Locke, Smith, Mill, Berlin), the distinction between classical liberalism (limited state, free markets) and social liberalism (welfare state, regulated markets), and the impact on 19th and 20th century governance.

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How have socialism and Marxism shaped the modern world?

The development of socialism and Marxism as critiques of industrial capitalism, including utopian socialism (Owen, Saint-Simon, Fourier), Marx and Engels, the Second and Third Internationals, and the divergence of social democracy and communism in the 20th century

Socialism and Marxism. Early utopian socialism (Owen, Saint-Simon, Fourier), Marx and Engels (Communist Manifesto 1848, Das Kapital 1867), the Second International, the split between revolutionary communism (Lenin, 1917) and democratic socialism (German SPD, British Labour), and the 20th century legacy.

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How did imperialism shape the modern world?

The development of European imperialism and colonialism from the 15th to the 20th century, including the ideological justifications (civilising mission, social Darwinism), the Scramble for Africa (1881-1914), and the consequences for colonised peoples

Imperialism. Defines imperialism and colonialism, traces the early-modern (1500-1750), industrial (1750-1880) and new (1880-1914) phases, identifies the ideological justifications (civilising mission, social Darwinism), and surveys the human and political consequences for colonised peoples.

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How have ideas like nationalism and liberalism shaped the modern world?

The development and impact of nationalism and liberalism as ideas in the modern world, including their origins, key thinkers, and their role in 19th and 20th century history

QCE Modern History Unit 1 subject-matter point on nationalism and liberalism. Origins (French Revolution, Enlightenment), key thinkers (Locke, Mill, Mazzini, Herder), and the role of these ideas in shaping 19th-century European unification, 20th-century decolonisation, and contemporary politics.

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How have revolutionary ideas produced political change in the modern world?

The role of revolutionary ideas in producing political change in the modern world, including case studies of major revolutions (American 1776, French 1789, Russian 1917)

QCE Modern History Unit 1 subject-matter point on revolutions. The American Revolution (1776, liberty and republic), French Revolution (1789, citizenship and equality), Russian Revolution (1917, communism), and how revolutionary ideas shaped subsequent politics.

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