ATS3994 World wars: Asian and European perspectives

The period of global conflict in the first half of the twentieth century defined many of the geographic entities of the contemporary world and reinscribed the differences between the Eastern and Western hemispheres. The impact of World War I was experienced in different ways outside of Europe and the Pacific, including conflicts which are still unresolved till today. In this unit you will use this period of history as a context for comparative analysis, focusing on wartime and post-war phenomena such as decolonisation and mass migrations, the rise of the “Eastern bloc” and Non-Alignment, and the development and codification of concepts of human rights. Through analysing primary and secondary sources, students will develop an understanding of how this period of conflict facilitated and limited global interaction between the East and the West, and what its effects on our contemporary society are.