India · CBSE Learning Outcomes
Class 11 History
Class 11 History: Themes in World History. An in-depth study of early societies, empires, changing cultural traditions, paths to modernisation, the displacement of indigenous peoples, and the Industrial Revolution. Students engage with primary sources and historiographical debate.
Early Societies and the Dawn of Civilization
Exploring the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer groups to settled agricultural communities and the birth of urban life in Mesopotamia.
The biological and cultural evolution of early humans, focusing on tool-making and the migration out of Africa.
Analyzing the shift in stone tool technology and the emergence of cave art as a form of symbolic communication.
The transformative shift from food gathering to food producing and the domestication of plants and animals.
The environmental context of the land between the rivers and how it supported the world's first urban centers.
A deep dive into the social stratification, monumental architecture, and temple-centered economy of early Uruk.
The development of writing from clay tokens to a complex script used for administration and literature.
An analysis of the Code of Hammurabi and the legal structures of the Old Babylonian Empire.
Empires Across Continents
A comparative study of the Roman Empire and the Iranian (Sasanian) Empire, and the rise of the Islamic Caliphate.
The political transition from a senatorial republic to the Principate under Augustus.
The institutionalized nature of slavery and its role in the villa system and urban production.
The period of political instability, civil wars, and economic collapse that nearly destroyed Rome.
The socio-religious context of 7th-century Arabia and the life of Prophet Muhammad.
The expansion of the empire and the centralization of power in Damascus.
The shift of the capital to Baghdad and the dawn of the Islamic Golden Age.
The ideological and political motivations behind the Crusades and their long-term impact on East-West relations.
The military innovations and organizational genius of Temujin (Genghis Khan).
The era of stability that allowed for unprecedented trade and cultural exchange across Eurasia.
Changing Cultural Traditions
The transition from the medieval world to the modern era through the lens of European cultural and religious shifts.
The Black Death, climate change, and the peasant revolts that undermined the feudal order.
The rise of Florence, Venice, and Rome as centers of wealth and artistic patronage.
The intellectual movement focused on human potential and the study of classical texts.
Martin Luther's 95 Theses and the theological break with the Roman Catholic Church.
The Council of Trent and the efforts of the Jesuits to revitalize the Catholic Church.
The shift from geocentrism to heliocentrism through Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo.
The application of scientific methods to society, politics, and economics.
Confronting Modernity
The industrial transformation of the world and the displacement of indigenous cultures by European expansion.
The unique combination of resources, geography, and capital that sparked the Industrial Revolution.
The impact of Watt's steam engine and the development of railways on global connectivity.
The social impact of the factory system, focusing on living conditions and labor movements.
The westward expansion of the United States and the impact on indigenous populations.
The settlement of Australia and the dispossession of Aboriginal peoples.
The impact of gold discoveries in California and Australia on global population movements.
Paths to Modernisation in East Asia
The contrasting experiences of China and Japan as they navigated the challenges of Western imperialism.
The forced opening of China and the decline of the Qing Dynasty.
Japan's rapid modernization and the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
The final years of imperial China and the birth of the Republic under Sun Yat-sen.
Japan's transition from a modernizing state to an expansionist empire.
The Long March and the mobilization of the peasantry against the Kuomintang.
Modern Revolutions and Political Ideologies
The ideological foundations of the modern world, from the French Revolution to the rise of Totalitarianism.
The collapse of the Ancien Régime and the radical experiment of the Jacobins.
The rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and the export of revolutionary ideals across Europe.
The fall of the Romanovs and the birth of the first socialist state.
The post-WWI crisis and the emergence of totalitarian regimes in Italy and Germany.
The global economic collapse of 1929 and its political consequences.
Global Conflicts and the Search for Peace
The two World Wars and the subsequent efforts to create a stable international order.
The causes, trench warfare, and the mobilization of entire societies for war.
The attempt to create a system of collective security in the interwar period.
The theaters of war in Europe and the Pacific and the turning points of the conflict.
The systematic genocide of Jews and other groups by the Nazi regime.
The development of the Manhattan Project and the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Post-War World and Decolonization
The emergence of the Cold War, the end of formal empires, and the rise of new global challenges.
The ideological struggle between the USA and the USSR.
The process of gaining independence from European colonial rule.
The geopolitical importance of the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Gorbachev's reforms and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.
The integration of global markets and the cultural backlash against globalization.
The institutionalized racism of the Apartheid system and the victory of the ANC.
India's journey from independence to a global economic power.
The impact of human activity on the Earth's ecosystems in historical perspective.
The global struggle for gender equality and the evolution of feminist thought.
How the internet and big data are changing the way we record and study history.
Reflecting on the purpose of studying history in an era of rapid technological change.