MODERN SOCIETY AND CULTURE

What is “modern” about modernism? How was modernism embodied in architecture, painting, and music in the early twentieth century?

What shared experiences were made possible by cinema and radio? How did political leaders use these new forms of communication to promote their policies?

THE SEARCH FOR PEACE AND STABILITY

What were the key sources of instability in the years following World War I, and how successful were Western leaders at responding to postwar challenges?

What light does the breakdown of cooperation between governments in the 1930s shed on the policies and initiatives of the 1920s?

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

How did the policies and problems of the 1920s contribute to both the onset of the Great Depression and the failure of Western nations to develop a coordinated response?

Compare and contrast the response to the Great Depression in the United States, France, Britain, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries.

MAKE CONNECTIONS

In your opinion, when did the modern age begin? Why did you choose the starting point you did?

What trends and developments in the 1920s and 1930s decreased or increased the probability of a second world war?