§-Modern History syllabus
SA · SACE Board← Modern History
Modern History syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the SA Modern History syllabus, with a focused answer for each. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions and links to related points.
Historical Skills
Module overview →How do I analyse and evaluate primary and secondary sources to build evidence-based historical arguments in SACE Modern History?
Demonstrate the historical skills of source analysis and evaluation, considering origin, purpose, content, reliability, perspective and usefulness, and apply them to primary and secondary sources.
How do I plan, research and write the independent Historical Study in SACE Stage 2 Modern History?
Demonstrate the skills of independent historical inquiry by framing a focused question, researching primary and secondary sources, evaluating evidence and interpretations, and presenting a sustained, referenced argument.
Modern Nations
Module overview →How and why did Australia develop as a modern nation between Federation in 1901 and the post-war settlement of the 1950s?
Analyse the creation of the Australian nation at Federation, the search for national identity, the social and economic transformations of war and depression, and Australia's changing place in the world to 1956.
How and why did Mao Zedong transform China between 1949 and 1976?
Analyse the establishment of the People's Republic, the consolidation of communist power, the social and economic transformations including the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, and their human cost to 1976.
How and why did democracy collapse into dictatorship in Germany between 1918 and 1948?
Analyse the challenges to the Weimar Republic, the Nazi seizure and consolidation of power, life under the Third Reich, and the impact of war and defeat to 1948.
How and why did Indonesia emerge and develop as a modern nation between Japanese occupation in 1942 and the democratic reforms of 2005?
Analyse the Japanese occupation, the revolution and independence struggle, Sukarno's Guided Democracy, Suharto's New Order, and the transition to reform democracy in modern Indonesia to 2005.
How and why was Tsarist Russia transformed into a Stalinist state between 1914 and 1941?
Analyse the collapse of Tsarism, the 1917 revolutions, the Bolshevik consolidation of power, and Stalin's transformation of the Soviet Union to 1941.
How and why was the United States transformed from boom to depression and recovery between 1920 and 1941?
Analyse the prosperity of the 1920s, the causes and impact of the Great Depression, the New Deal response, and the changing role of the federal government to 1941.
The World since 1945
Module overview →How and why did Australia's relationship with Asia and the South Pacific region change after 1945?
Analyse the changing nature of Australia's engagement with Asia and the South Pacific since 1945, including defence, trade, migration and regional diplomacy.
How and why have new challenges to global peace and security emerged since 1945?
Analyse the changing nature of threats to peace and security since 1945, including nuclear weapons, terrorism, ethnic conflict and the international responses to them.
How and why did European empires collapse and new nations emerge after 1945?
Analyse the causes, processes and consequences of decolonisation and the emergence of independent nations in Asia and Africa after 1945.
How and why did peoples of South-East Asia struggle for national self-determination after 1945?
Analyse the causes, course and outcomes of struggles for national self-determination in South-East Asia after 1945, including Vietnam, Cambodia and East Timor.
How and why has the global balance of power changed since 1945?
Analyse the changing world order since 1945, including the rise of superpowers, the post-Cold-War unipolar moment, globalisation, terrorism and the emergence of new powers.
How and why did the Cold War develop, escalate and end between 1945 and 1991?
Analyse the origins, key crises, ideological conflict and eventual end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1991.
How and why has the struggle for peace in the Middle East proved so difficult since 1945?
Analyse the causes, course and attempts at resolution of conflict in the Middle East since 1945, focusing on the Arab-Israeli conflict and the search for peace.
How and why did movements for rights and freedoms develop and what did they achieve after 1945?
Analyse the causes, methods, key figures and outcomes of movements for civil, political and human rights after 1945, including the African American civil rights movement and others.
How and why was the United Nations established, and how effectively has it pursued collective security and a global community since 1945?
Analyse the establishment, structure, role and effectiveness of the United Nations in pursuing collective security, peacekeeping and global cooperation since 1945.