Australia · ACARA Content Descriptions
Year 11 Modern History
Year 11 Modern History: an in-depth study of the forces that shaped the modern world from the late 18th century to the mid-20th century. This course covers the Enlightenment, Industrial Revolution, Imperialism, World Wars, and the rise of new political ideologies.
The Enlightenment and the Age of Revolutions
Investigating the intellectual and political upheavals that challenged absolute monarchy and birthed modern democratic ideals.
The impact of Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau on traditional authority and the concept of natural rights.
The struggle for independence and the practical application of Enlightenment principles in the New World.
An analysis of the Three Estates, the fiscal crisis, and the collapse of the Ancien Régime.
The radicalisation of the revolution under Robespierre and the eventual rise of Napoleonic authoritarianism.
How the Age of Revolutions and Enlightenment "Rights of Man" often excluded Indigenous populations globally.
The Industrial Revolution
The transformation of the global economy and the social consequences of mechanisation and urbanisation.
Why Britain became the first industrial nation, focusing on resources, capital, and technology.
The rapid growth of cities and the resulting public health and social challenges.
The reality of the factory and mine systems, focusing on the experiences of women and children.
The rise of workers' movements and the ideological response to industrial capitalism.
The evolution of transport and communication, from canals and railways to the telegraph.
The long-term ecological consequences of coal-based industrialisation.
Imperialism and Colonialism
The expansion of European empires and the impact on Indigenous societies, with a focus on Australia and Africa.
Economic, political, and "civilising" justifications for imperial expansion.
The colonisation of the Australian continent and the dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Berlin Conference and the partition of the African continent by European powers.
The varied ways colonised peoples responded to imperial rule.
The Opium Wars in China and the Meiji Restoration in Japan.
The long-term social, economic, and political effects of imperial rule.
World War I and the Russian Revolution
The collapse of the old European order and the birth of the first communist state.
A study of the MAIN causes: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.
The stalemate of trench warfare, new technologies, and the experience of soldiers.
Australia's involvement in the Dardanelles and the birth of the Anzac legend.
The fall of the Romanovs and the Bolshevik seizure of power.
The struggle between the Reds and Whites and the consolidation of Soviet power.
The peace settlement and its role in shaping the post-war world.
The Inter-War Years and the Rise of Totalitarianism
Economic crisis and the collapse of democracy in Europe and Asia.
Social change, consumerism, and the "Jazz Age" in the West.
The 1929 Crash and its global economic and political fallout.
The rise of Joseph Stalin, Five-Year Plans, and the Great Purge.
The collapse of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's path to power.
Social control, the Hitler Youth, and the persecution of minorities.
The rise of the military and the invasion of Manchuria.
The "dress rehearsal" for WWII and the struggle between ideologies.
The Munich Agreement and the path to September 1939.
World War II and the Holocaust
A global total war and the systemic genocide of European Jews.
The rapid German successes in early 1940 and the miracle of Dunkirk.
The German invasion of the Soviet Union and the turning point at Stalingrad.
Pearl Harbor, the fall of Singapore, and the threat to Australia.
The transition from discrimination to the "Final Solution".
Jewish resistance, the Righteous Among the Nations, and the liberation of camps.
The impact of the war on civilians, including women in the workforce and rationing.
The decision to use nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Post-War Reconstruction and the Cold War
The division of the world into two blocs and the struggle for global influence.
The division of Germany and the start of tensions between the US and USSR.
The US strategy to stop the spread of communism and the Marshall Plan.
Establishing a new international order to prevent future wars.
The first major "hot" conflict of the Cold War and Australia's involvement.
The development of the H-bomb and the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction.
Decolonisation and New Nations
The end of empires and the emergence of new independent states in Asia and Africa.
The movement led by Gandhi and Nehru and the Partition of 1947.
The fall of French Indochina and the division of Vietnam.
The system of institutionalised racial segregation and the resistance against it.
The 1948 creation of Israel and the resulting regional conflicts.
The struggle for racial equality and Indigenous rights in the 1960s.
The Communist Revolution of 1949 and the leadership of Mao Zedong.
The shift from "White Australia" to multiculturalism and regional engagement.
The technological and economic forces that connected the world in the late 20th century.