Race and Cinema in Modern America (f) 38430 History

38502 Grade Level: 11th - 12th Placement preference will be given to rising Seniors. Prerequisite: None *Fulfills departmental requirement

The years 1914-1945 were the crucible that formed the modern world. These years marked the fall of many great empires (Russian, German, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian), the demise of Great Britain and France in addition to the rise of the United States and Soviet Union as the dominant world powers. Encompassing two world wars, the worst economic crisis in world history, a global pandemic, the Holocaust, and culminating in the rise of the Atomic Age, this period was in many ways the defining period of the 20th century. The course will begin with a review of the factors that led to the start of the Great War and finish with the implications of the U.S. decision to use the atomic bombs on Japan. Special attention will be given to the historical theory that regards this period as one long war (the second Thirty Years War) rather than two separate conflicts. We will also examine the impact of these wars on both America and the world and how they combined to help create the world we live in today.