Era 10: The Contemporary World

Suggested time for instruction: one to two weeks

• SOL Standards
• Macro View
• Focus Questions
• Global Themes
• Resources
• Benchmarks
• Legacies

World History and Geography Macro View

The end of the Cold War led to the emergence of many new centers of economic, political, and military power. New developments in science, technology, and communication both assisted and complicated life. Additionally, the economies of the world have become increasingly interconnected. The distribution of ethnic and religious groups, combined with an unequal distribution of wealth, has resulted in continuing conflict.

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Focus Questions for Era 10

1. What is the geographic distribution of the major religions in the contemporary world?
   
   
2. How did increasing economic interdependence transform human society in the late 20th century?
   
   
3. What are the characteristics of the "New World Order" following the collapse of the bi-polar world?
   
   
4. What do the terms globalization and modernization mean at the end of the 20th century?
   
   
5. What are the effects of and responses to globalization by individuals and societies?
   
   
6. What have been the consequences of late 20th century ethnic, religious, and racial conflicts?
   
   
7. How have the events of the 1990s shaped the contemporary world?
   

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Global Themes for Era 10

• Adaptation to the environment: The increased demand for resources associated with expanding global production has led to significant regional ecological degradation including deforestation, over-fishing, and water shortages. Societies develop different responses to resource scarcity in terms of social and political organization, innovation, and substitution. An expanding population has pushed people into marginal lands with increased vulnerability to natural hazards such as drought, floods, and earthquakes. Greater urbanization and industrialization have resulted in significant losses of productive agricultural land.
  
  
• Development and diffusion of technology: Countries in the late 20th century are increasingly post-industrial as they use technologies in new ways. Some technologies have shifted from industry to information use.
  
  
• Communication and Exchange: As the speed of communication has increased, the global exchange of ideas and information has exploded. Radio, television, telephone, and satellite communications have all contributed to an ever-shrinking world.
  
  
• Belief systems: Religion continues to appeal to societies confronted with rapid change. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism remain the world’s major religions; religion itself remains an important part of individual and social identification.
  
  
• Conflict: With the end of the Cold War, the threat of global nuclear war has diminished although nuclear proliferation remains a serious problem. However, traditional ethnic hatreds, religious animosities, and continued racial strife have generated conflict in several regions. Moreover, the diffusion of military technology poses the possibility of future conflict. Non-traditional forms of conflicts, such as terrorism, have become more prevalent than state warfare. Many governments and international organizations are searching for new forms of conflict resolution. The attempt to manage and mediate conflict has led to numerous internationally sponsored peacekeeping operations. The emergence of these new conflicts challenges the ideas of the traditional state.
  
  
• Political legitimacy and authority: Advances in technology, interdependence, supra-nationalism, and the role of non-state actors have contributed to the evolution of the traditional territorial state. The pace of technological and scientific advancements has threatened to undermine the traditional ability of decision-makers to regulate and manage new developments such as cloning and DNA technology.
  

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Benchmarks:

NOTE: Red Bolded content in the indicators is considered essential and must be taught in all classrooms. Content which is not bolded goes beyond the scope and sequence of the state standards.

Benchmark 10.0: The student will improve skills in historical research and geographical analysis in the contemporary world. (WHII.1)

10.0 Performance Indicators
Students reach the benchmark when they are able to:

1. Identify, analyze, and interpret primary and secondary sources to make generalizations about events and life in the contemporary world.
   
   
2. Use maps, globes, artifacts, and pictures to analyze the physical and cultural landscapes of the world to interpret the contemporary world.
   
   
3. Identify geographic features important to the study of the contemporary world.
   
   
4. Identify and compare political boundaries with the location of civilizations, empires, and kingdoms in the contemporary world.
   
   
5. Analyze trends in human migration and cultural interaction in the contemporary world.
   

Benchmark 10.1: The student will understand the geographic distribution of major religions in the contemporary world. (WHII.14)

10.1 Performance Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Identify the major beliefs of the world’s major religions
   
   Judaism – monotheism, Ten Commandments [moral and religious conduct], Torah [written record and beliefs of Hebrews]
   
   Christianity – monotheism, Jesus as son of God, life after death, New Testament as the life and teachings of Jesus, establishment of Christian doctrine by early church councils
   
   Islam – monotheism, Muhammad, Koran/Qu’ran, Five Pillars, Mecca and Medina
   
   Hinduism – many forms of one deity, caste system, reincarnation, karma [future reincarnation based on present behavior]
   
   Buddhism – Siddhartha Gautama/Buddha, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path to Enlightenment, and the role of Asoka and his missionaries in the spread from India to China and other parts of Asia
   
   
2. Identify the locations of the world’s major religions (Judaism – concentrated in Israel and North America; Christianity – concentrated in Europe, North and South America; Islam – concentrated in Middle East, Africa and Asia; Hinduism – concentrated in India; Buddhism – concentrated in East and Southeast Asia).
   

Benchmark 10.2: The student understands how increasing economic interdependence has transformed human society. (WHII.13)

10.2 Performance Indicators

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Analyze the impact of multi-national corporations, trade agreements (NAFTA), world trade organizations (WTO), and non-governmental organizations (United Nations, International Monetary Fund [IMF], and World Bank).
   
   
2. Analyze the continuing growth of mass consumption of commodities and resources since World War II.
   
   
3. Analyze the importance of black markets, speculation, and trade in illegal products for both national and global markets.
   
   
4. Analyze how changes in the nature of the world oil market since 1970 reflect the extent and complexity of global economic interdependence (OPEC).
   
   
5. Explain the emergence of the Pacific Rim economy.
   
   
6. Analyze how South Korea, Singapore, and Indonesia have achieved economic growth.
   
   
7. Trace advances in manufacturing in Brazil, Mexico, and India.
   
   
8. Analyze why economic disparities between industrialized and developing countries have persisted or increased and how both neo-colonialism and authoritarian political leadership have affected development in African and Asian countries.
   

Benchmark 10.3: The student understands the dynamic characteristics of the “New World Order” following the collapse of the bi-polar world. (WHII.13)

10.3 Performance Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Analyze the causes and consequences of the world’s shift from bi-polar to multi-polar centers of economic, political, and military power (expansion of NATO).
   
   
2. Analyze the seemingly divergent trends of growing supranationalism and devolution of political power in terms of new forms of political organization and proliferation of sovereign states.
   
   
3. Analyze religious fundamentalism and resurgent nationalism as exemplified by the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
   

Benchmark 10.4: The student will understand the meaning of the term “globalization” at the end of the 20th century. (WHII.15)

10.4 Performance Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Analyze connections between international markets, advertising, and global culture (role of rapid transportation, communication and computer networks, rise and influence of multi-national corporations, and changing role of international boundaries).
   
   
2. Assess the influence of television, the Internet, and other forms of electronic communication on the creation and diffusion of culture and information world-wide.
   
   
3. Assess the impact of new medical technology (genetic engineering and bioethics) and the unequal access to computers and instantaneous communications.

Benchmark 10.5: The student will understand responses to globalization by individuals and societies in the late 20th century. (WHII.15)

10.5 Performance Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Explain the causes of international migrations at the end of the 20th century (refugees as an issue in international conflicts, and migrations of “guest workers” to European cities).
   
   
2. Analyze dynamic assertions of traditional cultural identity and distinctiveness.
   
   
3. Evaluate the impact of events of the 1990s on literature, art, music, film, and intellectual life around the globe.
   
   
4. Describe ways in which religion has expressed or strengthened national or other communal loyalties.
   
   
5. Define “post-industrial society” and identify its characteristics.
   
   
6. Assess the impact of population pressure, poverty, and environmental degradation on the breakdown of state authority in various countries in the late 20th century (factors affecting environment and society – economic development and rapid population growth; environmental challenges – pollution, loss of habitat, and ozone depletion; social changes – poverty, poor health, illiteracy, famine, and migration).
   
   
7. Analyze the concept of “modernity” and apply it to various societies in the late 20th century.
   
   
8. Analyze how women’s movements and social conditions have affected the lives of women in different parts of the world and compare women’s progress toward social equality, economic opportunity, and political rights.
   

Benchmark 10.6: The student will understand the effects of political, religious, racial, and ethnic discord. (WHII.15)

10.6 Performance Indicators

Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Analyze the causes for dismantling of apartheid in South Africa and the acquisition of political rights by the black majority.
   
   
2. Assess the impact of racial, ethnic, and religious differences on contemporary religious societies (Middle East, Northern Ireland, Balkans, Africa, and Asia).
   
   
3. Assess the effectiveness of international law on the prosecution of genocide crimes.
   
   
4. Analyze the proliferation of terrorist movements and their impact on politics and society.

Benchmark 10.7: The student will understand how the events of the 1990s have shaped the contemporary world. (WHII.15)

10.7 Performance Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Identify new centers of political and economic power in a post-Cold War world and contrast developed and developing nations (geographic locations of major developed and developing countries, economic conditions, social conditions [literacy and access to health care], and population size and rate of growth).
   
   
2. Analyze connections between nationalist ideology and the proliferation of sovereign states.
   
   
3. Analyze the role of NATO and the United Nations in the post-Cold War world (regional integration [European Union/EU]).
   
   
4. Assess the progress of human and civil rights around the world since the 1948 U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.
   
   
5. Analyze the connections among globalizing trends in economy, technology, and culture in the late 20th century and the relationship between economic and political freedom (free market economies produce rising standards of living and an expanding middle class, which produces growing demands for political freedoms and individual rights – Taiwan and South Korea).

Benchmark 10.8: The student will understand the ecological vulnerability stemming from the interactions between humans and their environment. (WHII.15)

10.8 Performance Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:

1. Describe the rise of megacities around the world and assess the impact of this new urbanization on family life, standards of living, class relations, and ethnic identity.
   
   
2. Analyze how population growth, urbanization, industrialization, warfare, and the global market economy have contributed to environmental changes.
   
   
3. Assess the effectiveness of efforts by the government and international agencies to mitigate the effects of natural and man-made disasters.
   
   
4. Assess the effectiveness of government and citizens’ movements to protect the environment.

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Legacies

• Population increases have strained the distribution of planetary resources.
  
  
• Technology in the hands of extremist groups has led to a new kind of terrorism in the contemporary world.
  
  
• Scientific and technological advances like the manipulation of DNA, space travel, the computer, and access to the Internet have redefined political, geographic, social, and intellectual frontiers.
  
  
• Many countries have introduced recycling, pollution control, and resource preservation strategies as a response to 20th century environmental dangers.
  
  
• Population pressures, poverty, lack of economic opportunity, and political turmoil have continued to cause major migrations in the late 20th century.
  
  
• In the late 20th century, human rights and democratic ideals and practices have been advocated around the world.
  
  
• Education, access to employment, and political participation mark major achievements for gender, ethnic, and racial equality but in many parts of the world discrimination continues.
  
  
• New technologies and business practices challenged the sovereignty of the territorial state.
  
  
• Transnational corporations, non-governmental organizations, and supranational political bodies exemplified the rise of the non-state organizations as actors in the international system.
  
  
• The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction have created new regional instabilities.
  
  
• Population increases have strained planetary resources and environmental health.

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