At the Global Turn: World History 1945-Present
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2019
Pages: 370
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2019
Pages: 370
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Neoliberal globalization and technological time-compression have combined to alter the physics of history, breaking down the black box of the nation-state and creating a space for reconsidering postwar history from a transnational perspective. Thematic chapters explore global themes like the Cold War, decolonization and globalization from a planetary scale, while world regional chapters explore how transnational phenomena intersect with local institutions and culture. Arguably this book’s best feature is its accessible narrative and rich illustrations that appeal to the modern student reader.
At the Global Turn: World History 1945-Present:
- uses an interdisciplinary approach that merges international history with cultural, technological and ecological optics.
- utilizes scale and perspective as its principal foci, this text approaches world history from above, below and multiple horizons.
- includes A Window on World History feature that reconciles vignettes from Canadian history and popular culture with the broader forces shaping postwar history.
- features abundant multi-graphics combine timelines, maps, statistics and images to enable students to track global vectors unfurling over an uneven landscape.
- is written from the perspective of the 21st century and incorporates recent events like the Arab Spring, 2008 global meltdown and digital consumer technologies reshaping popular culture.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter Outline
Dawning of the Global Age
At the Global Turn
Conceptualizing the Postwar Era, 1945 to 2010
Our Shrinking World
Towards a Transnational History
A Canadian Perspective
Echoes of the Past
Conclusion
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 2: Dreams for a Better World, 1945 to 1949
Chapter Outline
The Atlantic Dream, 1941 to 1949
Postwar Decolonization Wave, 1945 to 1949
West European Social Democracy, 1945 to 1949
Fall of the Iron Curtain, 1945 to 1949
Birth of Israel, 1945 to 1949
Dissolution of the Grand Alliance, 1945 to 1949
Conclusion: Shape of the Postwar World
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 3: A Revolutionary Wave
Chapter Outline
Decolonization and Development
Clashing Expectations for Decolonization, 1945 to 1955
The Great Unraveling, 1956 to 1966
Quest for National Development, 1960 to 1975
Postcolonial Challenges, 1973 to 1982
Waning of the Revolutionary Wave
Conclusion
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 4: The Global Cold War, 1949 to 1991
Chapter Outline
Introduction: A Cold War
Global Spillover, 1949 to 1953
War in Korea
Towards the Nuclear Brink, 1954 to 1963
Third World in the Cross Fire
The Cold War in Popular Culture
Gorbachev’s End Game, 1985 to 1991
Conclusion
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 5: The Postwar West
Chapter Outline
Introduction
Golden Recovery
Society of Affluence, 1950 to 1969
The Anxious 1960s
Stagflation Crisis, 1973 to 1980
Conservative Resurgence, 1980s
Contemporary Western Society
Conclusion: The West in the Twenty-First Century
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 6: Postwar Latin America
Chapter Outline
Introduction
Postwar Experiment in Populism
Latin America’s Cold War
Postwar Culture and Society
Latin America’s Debt Crisis, 1982 to 1989
The Democratic Wave
Summary: Latin America at the Crossroads
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 7: Postwar Middle East
Chapter Outline
Introduction: The Postwar Middle East
Nasser and Revolutionary Nationalism
The Iranian Revolution
The Soviet War in Afghanistan
Postwar Urbanization and Modern Anxieties
Palestinian Intifada and the Oslo Process, 1987 to 2000
Summary: The Postwar Middle East
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 8: Sub-Saharan Africa
Chapter Outline
Introduction: Postcolonial Africa
Diminishing Hope, 1960 to 1972
Turn towards Kleptocracy, 1973 to 1986
Postcolonial Society and Culture
Democratic Wave, 1987 to 2000
Rwanda’s Tragedy
Conclusion
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 9: Postwar Asia
Chapter Outline
Introduction: Postwar Asia, 1950 to 2000
Asia’s Cold War, 1945 to 1975
Japan’s Postwar Transformation, 1945 to 1991
Mao and China’s Modernization Struggle, 1950 to 1976
The Asian Miracle
The Waking Dragon, 1977 to 2001
Summary: Postwar Asia
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 10: Life and Death of the Soviet Bloc
Chapter Outline
The Fall of Communism
Mysterious Death of Comrade Stalin
Stagnation under Brezhnev
Destruction of the Aral Sea
Gorbachev Takes the Soviet Helm, 1985 to 1991
The Revolutions of 1989
Trauma of Post-Communist Transition
Conclusion
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 11: The Globalization of Capitalism
Chapter Outline
Introduction: Globalization
Our Shrinking World
Digitalization of the Economy
Rise of Transnational Corporations
Neoliberalism and the WTO
Globalization’s Paradoxes and Discontents
Conclusion: Globalization and Capitalism
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 12: Bridge to the Twenty-First Century
Chapter Outline
Introduction: New World Order
Triumphant Liberalism
9-11 and Security in the New Millennium
Kyoto and Tragedy of the Global Commons
Crisis Capitalism and the Great Recession of 2008
The Arab Spring and Digital Populism
Multipolarity and the New Cold War
Conclusion: Bridge to the Twenty-First Century
Questions for Critical Thought
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index
Thomas Boogaart is a long-term appointment professor at the Department of History at the University of Ottawa and inspired by the idea that world history is a precondition for effective citizenry in contemporary society.