|
|
 |
|
|
|
The End of History? An AP European History Teaching Unit
|
|
| |
by David Gould
Durham Academy
Durham, North Carolina
|
|
| |
This article is an expanded version of a paper delivered at a session on AP European History at the 2004 annual conference of the National Council for the Social Studies.
The chronological syllabus for the present AP course in modern European history ends with the period from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. This era encompassed many great changes fomented by the implosion of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the rise of a more inclusive European Union. These changes suggested the emergence of a new historical paradigm -- one that promised to be as profound as that initiated by the First World War.
Over the last several years I have felt frustrated for leaving my students with very little knowledge about or appreciation of the ramifications of those changes. The present war on terrorism is, no doubt, one of those ramifications. As a result of my frustrations, I have instituted a unit entitled "Fukuyama or Friedman: The End of History or a Globalized New World Order?" Because I teach seniors and their course concludes with the AP Exam, I can only spend one week on the unit. For those who teach sophomores and seniors who have to return to class for several weeks after the exam, this unit can easily be expanded to several weeks.
Outlined for you below is a summary and rationale for my unit, an example of the syllabus I use for my one-week unit, and a bibliography for that unit. Because each text I use is rich, it would be relatively simple to expand the one-week version. Included in the bibliography is an article written by me and two colleagues about the need for a new look at teaching history in the post-Cold War world.
Summary and Rationale for the Unit
During the 15 years since the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet Union, the world has witnessed a series of political, economic, and social transformations. Those of us who teach history have pondered the significance of these changes and how best to address them in the classroom. Responding to this profound transformation, Francis Fukuyama proclaims in a controversial essay published in the journal The National Interest 16 (summer 1989) that "history had ended." He suggests that the end of history as a single, coherent, evolutionary process was within sight: liberal democracy and free market capitalism had triumphed over the socialist/communist model. The beginning of a new era in human relations was now assured.
Several years later, Fukuyama presented a more detailed analysis of his thesis in his book The End of History and the Last Man (1992). He suggests that the individual's struggle for recognition and dignity were driving forces behind the emergence of liberal democracy during the last two hundred years. In the future, nations might experiment with different extremes of totalitarianism, with socialist models, and with dictatorships, but trial and error would inevitably lead these nations to realize that the only viable option that could provide economic, social, and political stability would be one based on the capitalist, liberal democratic model, and in particular, the kind of democratic system practiced by the United States.
Fukuyama's suggestion that we have reached the "end of history" implies that the great ideological confrontations that have shaped the development of the modern world are literally a "thing of the past." As the list of nations that have accepted liberal democracy continues to grow, those nations that have not followed in these footsteps will eventually be left with no other alternative than to join the ranks of the democratic states, or face the possibility of economic and political isolation.
While Fukuyama contemplates what we might call the larger forces shaping history -- the struggle between systems of government and economics -- he pays less attention to the cultural, ethnic, religious, and regional differences that now appear to be shaping the world in the post-Cold War era. These differences are considered by Samuel Huntington in his Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (1996). He argues that we can no longer depend on old paradigms to create necessary historical understanding. Somewhat like Fukuyama, Huntington suggests that the world is about to embark on an entirely different adventure. This adventure, however, will not be based on ideological struggle -- pure power politics and the emulation of Hegel's grand statist scheme. Rather, it will be based on a multipolar, multicivilizational world during the twenty-first century. "Fault lines" will appear based on civilizational and cultural differences, becoming the new and primary reason for conflict. He suggests that the twenty-first century will be defined by "core civilizations," such as those in the Middle East and China, and that it is imperative that the newly minted U.S. hyperpower understand that acceptance and respect for these civilizations is critical to the future good health of the world. Fear (and/or distaste) for systems with different economic models, culture, and religion is not only reprehensible but highly dangerous.
Along similar lines, both Benjamin Barber's Jihad vs. McWorld (1996) and Thomas Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree (2000) suggest that any understanding of the post Cold-War world must be based on a broad and intimate knowledge about the globalization of capital, economics, trade, and technology. Barber, a professor of political science at Rutgers University, points out that while "Jihad" (his term for an almost continual cultural war between differing civilizations) and "McWorld" (his term for economic and technological forces that demand global integration and uniformity) are antithetical in nature, they are both indifferent to civil liberty. Jihad tends to promote difference and particularism, and it is rooted in culture. McWorld promotes uniformity and greed, and it is rooted in consumerism and economics. In other words, he suggests post-Cold War history may be based solely on cultural tribalism and universal consumer secularism.
Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, expands on Barber's ideas and focuses on the growing tension between globalization and culture in the emerging world economy. Globalization, or "the Lexus," which has its own defining structure, is based on free market capitalism and the integration of ideas, technology, and capital with speed in a rapidly shrinking world. Cultural mores and values, or the "Olive Tree," that are critical to any stable civilization are under constant threat from ever-encroaching global trends. Maintaining cultural identity and values while simultaneously accepting a faster moving and interdependent world is an already vexing problem that will tend to get worse. We need to find a workable balance between these two polarities.
These four authors give us an idea of what European history has created in the last 15 years. They make clear that technological innovation and an international trade market have significantly decreased the size of our economic and political world. Because nations are becoming absolutely interdependent, it seems logical to both try to understand the cultural distinctions that define us and begin discussing the role that the western world should play in this transformation. The students in our classes will be living in this new world and will soon be making decisions that impact it. It makes good sense to introduce them to the problems that face the world today and those that may affect it in the future, as well as teach them the real historical connections that may have helped create these dilemmas.
Unit Outline
"Fukuyama or Friedman: The End of History or a Globalized New World Order?"
Six classes, each 50 minutes
Day 1. Reading: Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: "The World is Ten Years Old," pp. xi-xii.
General introduction to the four authors and their ideas.
Day 2. Reading: Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man: "By Way of an Introduction," pp. xi-xxiii; "Our Pessimism," pp. 3-12.
Reading: Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order: see maps, pp. 22-27, for overview of twentieth century.
Day 3. Reading: Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order: "Civilizations in History and Today," pp. 40-48; "The New Era in World Politics," pp. 19-33.
Multipolar vs. multicivilizational world.
Day 4. Reading: Barber, Jihad vs. McWorld: "The Old Economy and the Birth of a New McWorld," pp. 21-32; "Jihad vs. McWorld or Jihad via McWorld?" pp. 155-168.
Is international consumerism incompatible with cultural values?
Day 5. Reading: Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: "The New System," pp. 3-16; "The Golden Straitjacket," pp. 101-111.
The role of technology in the new world order.
Day 6. Reading: Barber, Jihad vs. McWorld. "Securing Global Democracy in the World of McWorld," pp. 169-292.
Reading: Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: "Shakers, Adapters, and Other New Ways of Thinking About Power," pp.194-211.
Is civilizational stability possible in a globalized world order?
There are many other readings from these books that one can use in such a unit. All books may be obtained in paperback and are quite readable (Barber and Friedman especially so because of the anecdotal evidence used). All four authors divide their books into easy-to-read chapters, and each book has a complete and useful index. Used together, these books provide good insight into the vast political, economic, and cultural changes of the 1990s.
For an overview of the challenges facing teachers who are interested in this era, an analysis of some problems being created in the post-Cold W, and suggestions about different approaches to teaching about this era, see my coauthored article in The History Teacher.
Unit Bibliography
Barber, Benjamin. Jihad vs. McWorld. New York: Ballantine, 1996.
Forsyth, Louise, David Gould, and David Lawrence. "History Didactics in the Post Cold War World: Central Asia, The Middle East, and China," The History Teacher 33, no. 4 (August 2000): 425-448.
Friedman, Thomas. The Lexus and the Olive Tree. New York: Anchor Books, 2000.
Fukuyama, Francis. "The End of History?" The National Interest 16 (Summer 1989): 3-18.
-----. The End of History and the Last Man. New York: Avon, 1992.
Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996.
David Gould earned an AB in history from Hamilton College and an MA in international relations from the School of International Service at American University. After several years in international banking and a stint in freelance journalism, he began his teaching career in 1969 in Sydney, Australia, where he taught at several local colleges. From 1982 to 2000 he was the History Department chair at Durham Academy in Durham, North Carolina. He presently teaches AP European History at the Durham Academy, where he is also the director of special programs. He has been a consultant in various capacities to ETS since 1985.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Course Home Pages