Unit 2: Movements in the modern world

13 dot points across 13 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did the anti-apartheid movement end racial rule in South Africa?

The anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, 1948-1994, including the formal apartheid system, the African National Congress, the Sharpeville Massacre (1960), Nelson Mandela, the armed struggle, international sanctions, and the negotiated transition to democracy

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 dot point on anti-apartheid. The apartheid system after 1948, the African National Congress, Defiance Campaign (1952), Sharpeville Massacre (1960), the armed struggle (uMkhonto we Sizwe, 1961), Mandela's imprisonment (1962), Soweto uprising (1976), international sanctions, and the negotiated transition to democracy (1990-1994).

7 min answer →

How did anti-war and counterculture movements reshape 1960s Western societies?

The anti-war and counterculture movements of the 1960s and early 1970s, including the US anti-Vietnam War movement, the May 1968 events in Paris, the Australian Moratorium marches (1970-1971), and the cultural shifts of the period

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 dot point on anti-war and counterculture movements. The US anti-Vietnam War movement, Free Speech Movement (Berkeley 1964), Tet Offensive (January 1968), May 1968 in Paris, the Australian Moratorium marches (May 1970), and the counterculture's cultural and political effects.

6 min answer →

How do historians analyse causation and change in the modern world?

Methods of analysing causation, continuity and change in historical inquiry, including the distinction between short-term and long-term causes, contingent vs structural factors, and the writing of evidence-based historical argument

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 subject-matter point on causation and change. The distinction between short-term and long-term causes; contingent vs structural factors; continuity and change as analytical lenses; the writing of multi-causal historical argument.

8 min answer →

How have environmental movements changed politics?

The development of environmental movements from the 1960s, including Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), the first Earth Day (1970), the Australian campaigns over Lake Pedder (1972) and the Franklin Dam (1983), the formation of green parties, and contemporary climate activism

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 dot point on environmental movements. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), first Earth Day (1970), Greenpeace (1971), the Australian campaigns over Lake Pedder (1972) and the Franklin Dam (Tasmania, 1983), the rise of green parties, and the development of contemporary climate activism through IPCC, Kyoto, Paris and Greta Thunberg.

6 min answer →

How did the global human rights movement develop after 1945?

The development of the global human rights movement, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Helsinki Accords (1975), Amnesty International (founded 1961), Human Rights Watch (1978), and contemporary international criminal justice institutions

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 dot point on the global human rights movement. UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), International Bill of Rights (1966 covenants), Helsinki Accords (1975), founding of Amnesty International (1961) and Human Rights Watch (1978), the Rome Statute and International Criminal Court (1998-2002), and Australian human rights institutions.

6 min answer →

How did nationalist and independence movements transform the 20th century world?

Nationalist and independence movements of the 20th century, including the Irish independence movement (1916-1921), Indian independence under Gandhi and Nehru (1947), and African nationalist movements such as those in Ghana, Kenya, Algeria and South Africa

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 dot point on 20th-century independence movements. Irish independence (Easter Rising 1916, War of Independence 1919-1921, Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921), Indian independence under Congress (Gandhi, Nehru, partition 1947), and the African wave (Ghana 1957, Algeria 1962, Kenya 1963).

6 min answer →

How have Australian Indigenous rights movements pursued justice?

The Australian Indigenous rights movement from the 1930s, including the Day of Mourning (1938), the 1967 referendum, the Wave Hill walk-off (1966), the Aboriginal Tent Embassy (1972), the Mabo decision (1992), and the development of the Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017)

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 dot point on Australian Indigenous rights. Day of Mourning (1938), FCAATSI, the 1967 referendum, Wave Hill walk-off (1966-1975), Tent Embassy (1972), the Mabo decision (1992), Native Title Act (1993), Bringing Them Home (1997), national apology (2008), and the Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017).

7 min answer →

How have labour and trade union movements shaped the modern world?

The development of labour and trade union movements from the 19th century, including the Chartist movement, the rise of mass unions and the Labour Party in Britain, the Australian Labor Party (1891) and Harvester Judgment (1907), the New Deal in the United States, and the late-20th century decline of organised labour

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 dot point on labour movements. Chartism (1838-1848), mass unionisation, the British Labour Party (1900), the Australian Labor Party (1891), the Harvester Judgment (1907), the New Deal (1933-1939), the postwar settlement, and the late-20th-century decline of organised labour.

7 min answer →

How did the LGBTQ rights movement develop in the late 20th century?

The development of LGBTQ rights movements from the late 1960s, including the Stonewall riots (1969), the decriminalisation of homosexuality across Western democracies, the AIDS crisis (from 1981), and the global progress toward marriage equality

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 dot point on LGBTQ rights. Origins in the homophile movement (1950s), Stonewall riots (June 1969), decriminalisation across Western democracies (1967 UK, 1972-1997 Australian states), the AIDS crisis (from 1981), and global progress toward marriage equality (2001 Netherlands; 2017 Australian postal survey).

6 min answer →

How have social movements pursued rights and recognition in the modern world?

Movements for civil and political rights in the 20th century, including the US Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968), second-wave feminism, anti-apartheid movement, and Indigenous rights movements

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 subject-matter point on rights movements. US Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968), second-wave feminism (1960s-1970s), anti-apartheid movement (1948-1994), and Indigenous rights movements in Australia (1967 referendum, Mabo 1992).

8 min answer →

How did peace and anti-nuclear movements shape the Cold War world?

Peace and anti-nuclear movements from the 1950s, including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Aldermaston marches, the international peace movement of the 1980s, and Australian protests against US bases and French Pacific nuclear testing

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 dot point on peace and anti-nuclear movements. Origins in the late 1950s (CND, Aldermaston marches from 1958), the Greenham Common protest (1981-2000), the 1980s European peace movement, the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior (1985), Australian protests against US bases (Pine Gap) and French Pacific tests, and post-Cold-War legacy.

6 min answer →

How did the postwar world order shape the second half of the 20th century?

The postwar world order from 1945, including the United Nations, the Cold War, decolonisation, and the major shifts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 subject-matter point on the postwar world order. Covers the United Nations (1945), the bipolar Cold War (1945-1991), decolonisation, the end of the Cold War (1989-1991), and the early 21st century shifts to multipolarity.

8 min answer →

How did the US Civil Rights Movement transform American society?

The United States Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968, including Brown v Board of Education (1954), the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956), the Civil Rights Act (1964), Voting Rights Act (1965), the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr, and the contesting visions of Black Power

A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 2 dot point on the US Civil Rights Movement. Brown v Board of Education (1954), Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956), Greensboro sit-ins (1960), Birmingham campaign (1963), March on Washington (1963), the Civil Rights Act (1964), Voting Rights Act (1965), Selma (1965), and the rise of Black Power and the Black Panthers.

7 min answer →