§-Modern History syllabus
WA · SCSA← Modern History
Modern History syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the WA 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: Source Analysis and Historiography
Module overview →How do you construct a clear, sustained and evidence-based historical argument in an extended essay?
The skills of constructing extended historical arguments, including thesis, structure, evidence and addressing the question
How and why do historians interpret the past differently, and how should students use historiography?
The nature of historiography and historical interpretation, including why interpretations differ and how to use historians' views in analysis
How do historians analyse and evaluate sources for meaning, perspective, reliability and usefulness?
The skills of source analysis and evaluation, including identifying origin, purpose, perspective, reliability and usefulness for a historical inquiry
Unit 3: Modern Nations in the 20th Century
Module overview →How did Australia develop as a modern nation between the end of World War I in 1918 and 1949?
The political, economic and social development of Australia from 1918 to 1949, including the Depression, World War II and the foundations of post-war reconstruction
How did China move from the collapse of the Qing empire to the Communist victory of 1949?
The fall of the Qing dynasty, the Republican period, the Nationalist-Communist struggle, the war with Japan, and the Communist victory in the civil war
How did Germany move from the Weimar Republic to the Nazi dictatorship between 1918 and 1945?
The collapse of Weimar democracy, the Nazi rise to power, the consolidation of the dictatorship, and life and persecution under the Third Reich
How did ideologies enable the rise of dictatorship and authoritarian rule in modern nations?
The role of ideology and competing political movements in the rise of dictatorship and authoritarian government in the 20th century
How did India develop from colonial rule under the British Raj to independence and partition in 1947?
The development of Indian nationalism, the Congress and Muslim League, Gandhi's mass campaigns, and the path to independence and partition
How did modern nations experience and respond to internal divisions and challenges to their authority?
Internal divisions, opposition and challenges to authority within modern nations, and the responses of governments to dissent
How did Japan develop from an emerging great power in 1904 to defeat and occupation in 1945?
Japan's emergence as a great power, the strains of the 1920s, the rise of militarism and ultranationalism, imperial expansion, and defeat in World War II
How and why did modern nations develop their distinctive political, economic and social structures in the early 20th century?
The development of the modern nation, including the establishment of political systems, economic structures and the foundations of national authority
How did modern regimes use propaganda, terror and social control to maintain power?
The methods of social control used by modern regimes, including propaganda, censorship, surveillance, terror and the cult of personality
How did Russia move from Tsarist autocracy to Stalinist dictatorship between 1914 and 1945?
The collapse of Tsarism, the 1917 revolutions, the Bolshevik consolidation of power, and the transformation of the USSR under Stalin
How did modern nations pursue national unity and forge a shared national identity in the 20th century?
The search for national unity and the construction of national identity, including the role of leaders, ideology and shared experience
How was the United States transformed by prosperity, depression and war between 1917 and 1945?
The development of the United States as a modern nation through the 1920s boom, the Great Depression and New Deal, and the Second World War to 1945
How did total war transform modern nations and how did the experience of war shape their development?
The impact of total war on modern nations, including mobilisation, the home front, and the consequences of war for the nation
Unit 4: The Modern World since 1945
Module overview →How and why did Australia's engagement with Asia change between 1945 and the early 21st century?
The transformation of Australia's relationship with Asia since 1945, including defence, diplomacy, trade, immigration and identity
How and why did movements for civil rights and human rights develop after 1945?
The development of civil rights and human rights movements since 1945, including the African American civil rights movement and the international human rights framework
How and why did European empires in Asia and Africa give way to independent nations after 1945?
The causes, course and consequences of decolonisation in Asia and Africa from 1945, including key independence movements and their leaders
How did the Asia-Pacific region develop and rise to global significance after 1945?
The transformation of the Asia-Pacific region since 1945, including decolonisation, the Cold War in Asia, economic development and the emergence of new powers
How did Europe change between the end of World War II and the early 21st century?
The division and reunification of Europe, the Cold War in Europe, European integration, and the collapse of communism after 1989
How did the nature of the world order change from bipolar superpower rivalry to a new order after 1989?
The changing nature of the world order from 1945 to 2001, including bipolarity, the end of the Cold War, and the emergence of a new order
How and why did the Cold War develop and end between 1945 and 1989?
The origins, development, key crises and resolution of the Cold War between the superpowers from 1945 to 1989
How and why did the movement of peoples reshape the world after 1945?
The movement of peoples since 1945, including migration, refugees and displacement, and its causes and consequences
How have Indigenous peoples struggled for recognition and rights since 1945?
The struggle of Indigenous peoples for recognition, rights and self-determination since 1945, including the Australian experience
Why has peace in the Middle East proved so difficult to achieve since 1945?
The Arab-Israeli conflict, the wars and peace processes, the role of outside powers, and the obstacles to peace in the Middle East since 1945
How effectively has the United Nations contributed to world order and the protection of human rights since 1945?
The role of the United Nations and international organisations in the search for world order, peace and human rights since 1945
How did the United States develop as a superpower and society between 1945 and the early 21st century?
The United States as a Cold War superpower, domestic change including civil rights, and its role in the world after 1945