Journal

2019-2020 Modern World History (Clark)
2nd Semester Final “Past Meets Present” Assignment (final journal)

Op-Ed Past Meets Present: Modern World History Final Assignment

“If you want to understand today, you have to understand yesterday.”

So much of what happens in the world today can be traced to movements and events that began centuries ago. In our class, Modern World History, we have covered some of the major events of the 19th and 20th centuries that have shaped our world. For this assignment, we want you to find a link between a specific historical moment, ideology, or concept that occurs within the era we have covered this semester (World Wars 1-2, the Interwar Years, the Cold War, and Decolonization) to a current event. Your past event must come from 1900–1960 and your current event can come from 2015-2020.

A. Choose your Focus
1. Think about something we studied this semester in Modern World History that interests you or a current event that interests you.

2. Either trace the current event backward in time to a historical moment we covered this year, or trace your historical event forward in time to a current event. **

3. You will need to submit your historical event and current event for APPROVAL on Google Classroom (No later than Friday 5/22 before 3pm) before moving forward which should state the link you are going to explore?

4. The link below is to the Lib Guide that Ms. Covintree compiled for all of the Modern World History Sections. Feel free to utilize this resource as an aid to helping you find information about a past event as well as a current one.

https://prescottlibrary.wheelerschool.org/mwhfinal

Example #1: Charlottesville “Unite the Right” Rally (Current Event) and Beer Hall Putsch 1923/rise of Nazi Germany (Historical Event)

Example #2: Coronavirus Pandemic 2020 (Current Event) and the Spanish Flu Pandemic 1918 (Historical Event)

B. Gather Evidence
Learn more about your past and current events – what happened? Why? What are the connections between the past and the present? Refresh your memory about the historical event you’ve chosen. What are the similarities and differences between your historic event and your current event? There may be 1-2 pivotal moments that you will need to look into as well.

Research Expectations:
○ At least 2-3 newspapers or magazine articles (from reputable news sources) about your current event. These articles should be:
■ published within five years of the start of the academic year (September 2019)
■ at least 400 words in length
■ news, Op-Ed, or feature articles that have depth and connections towards history.
○ Two Secondary sources (these could be print or video)
■ One of these sources should be material we’ve used in class.

C. Connect the Dots: Make your connection/argument: Explain the connection between the historical event and the current event that you have picked. The key to this project is to identify and explain the causation and correlation of the events you have chosen to explore. Now that you’ve connected the dots what picture has revealed itself? What are your takeaways?

D. Writing (final journal)
Your final project will take the form of a final essay/journal.
Be sure to reference as needed specific events, people, movements, readings and/or other materials from one or more Modern World History units.
(See attached Rubric for specifics).

Due Date: No later than Monday, June 1st (Day of History Exam) at 3pm
** Reminder: assignment is worth one quiz grade