HIS 270 Top in Global Hist, 1950-Pres

The course deals with the 'contemporary' era of the last sixty years, and focuses on the economic and cultural integration of the globe in the period since the end of the Second World War. The era from World War II to the present is characterized by rapid technological advances: nuclear weapons, satellites, computers, televisions, contraception, and bioengineering. The world seems a much smaller place than it once was - a global village. The rising public alarm about the destruction of the environment and the call for universal respect for basic human rights tests the limits of all previously existing human communities and are the overarching concerns of this course. We will study rival models that developed during the Cold War for establishing a world order, the social impact of the world market, and the growing interdependence of the global community. We will pay particular attention to the themes of human rights, labor migration and ecology. Fulfills diversity requirement. (4 credits) (L03)