World history

I. Identification. (15 points each for a total of 60 points; approximately 150-200 words per ID.)

Choose 4 of the items below. Identify them by explaining who/what/when/where and, most importantly, why it matters in the context of this course.

Woodrow Wilson Margaret Thatcher

Benito Mussolini The telegraph

Mohandas Gandhi The Warsaw Pact

Kwame Nkrumah

II. Short Essay. (40 points; approximately 400-450 words.)

Write a response to the question below in a clear, intelligible, and persuasive manner. Your response should be in a narrative form, not an outline or bullet points. As with the identification, please be as specific as possible and be sure to respond in terms that we have developed in this course. Include historical examples/evidence from the course materials.

By 1914, Western empire had claimed control of most of the world’s people, either formally or informally, and had justified this power on the basis of the West’s technological, economic, and political superiority. After two catastrophic world wars, the confidence in Western superiority was shaken. The growth of global economic inequality, environmental destruction, and nuclear proliferation in the 20th and 21st centuries have only deepened the doubt that the West is a model for the rest of the world to follow.

Choose one of the time periods below. Make an argument that the technological, economic, and political events of the period you chose give evidence for the claim that Western history in the modern period is not a story of progress.

1869-1914 1914-1920 1920-1937

1937-1945 1945-1975 1975-2020