unit 9 (1900-present)

Question 1

The Age of Fossil Fuels

Answer 1

Twentieth-century shift in energy production with increased use of coal and oil, resulting in the widespread availability of electricity and the internal combustion engine; a major source of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change.
Coal usage increased 700%, then by the end of the 20th century oil was more popular
This powered power stations which made electricity available for commercial use

Question 2

Communication Revolution

Answer 2

Modern transformation of communication technology, from the nineteenth century telegraph to the present day smartphone
These new technologies occurred because of electricity, vacuum tubes, integrated circuits, and more

Question 3

Economic Globalization

Answer 3

The economic entanglement of the world’s people, especially since 1950; accompanied by the spread of industrialization in the Global South and economic growth after WWII; the process has generated inequality and resistance

Question 4

Asian Tigers

Answer 4

Nickname for the East Asian countries South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, which experienced remarkable export driven economic growth in the late 20th century

Question 5

Bretton Woods System

Answer 5

Name for the agreements and institutions (including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund) set up in 1944 to regulate commercial and financial dealings among major capitalist countries

Question 6

Transnational Corporations

Answer 6

Global businesses that produce goods or deliver services in many countries at once
These companies tend to dwarf the economies of nations, by 2001 the 51 top economies were not countries, but were TNCs
These companies can easily remove their factories in search of lower costs and regulations, causing unemployment and disrupting the lives of workers.

Question 7

World Trade Organization

Answer 7

An international organization with 149 members; negotiates rules for global commerce and promotes free trade; its meeting have been the subjects of many anti-globalization protests since 1999

Question 8

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Answer 8

Free trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the US; established in 1984
This agreement, like economic globalization, has caused competition between farmers; Mexican corn farmers were put out of business by corn coming from the US while avocado farmers have thrived

Question 9

Consumerism

Answer 9

A culture of leisure and consumption that developed during the past century with global economic growth; emerged in the West then spread

Question 10

Export-Processing Zones

Answer 10

Areas where international companies can operate with tax breaks and other benefits, offered as an incentive to attract manufacturers

Question 11

Service Sector

Answer 11

Industries like government, medicine, education, finance, and communication that have grown due to increasing consumerism, population, and communication technology

Question 12

Informal Economy

Answer 12

Also known as the “shadow” economy; refers to unofficial, unregulated, and untaxed economic activity

Question 13

One-Child Policy

Answer 13

Chinese policy for population control; used financial incentives and penalties to promote birth control, sterilization, and abortions in an effort to limit families to a single child

Question 14

Women’s Department

Answer 14

An organization known as Zhenotdel within the Communist Party that promoted equality for women in the 1920s with conferences, publications, and education

Question 15

Second Wave Feminism

Answer 15

Women’s rights movements that revived in the 1960s with a different agenda than earlier feminism; equal rights for women in employment and education women’s right to bodily autonomy, and the end of patriarchal domination rather than voting rights
The movement gained international traction; the UN declared 1975 as Women’s year, and the next decade the Decade for Women
By 2006 183 nations ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which committed them to promote legal equality for women, end discrimination for women, and protect women’s human rights
It has generated some pushback from religious forces such as the Vatican and Islamic governments, as well as religious fundamentalist groups and African governments

Question 16

Feminism in the Global South

Answer 16

Distinct from Western feminism because of its focus on issues such as colonialism, racism, and poverty
Many saw Western feminism as too materialistic, and not aligned with many of their needs; Western feminism could have easily been seen as a new form of imperialism
In the Global South many groups provided support for women during weddings, births, funerals, organized soup kitchens, craft workshops, and shopping collectives for economic survival
In some places feminism overlapped with struggles for independence, such as in Chile when they overlapped with the struggle against dictator General Augusto Pinochet

Question 17

Global Electrification

Answer 17

The use of fossil fuels made electricity available for commercial use and electrical grids brought electricity to 85% of the world in 2014
Electricity was cheaper than oil and gas, allowing people to stay up later and therefore study/play longer (changing ways of life)
Electric motors powered industrial technology, more effectively than steam engines
Therefore electrical grids became an important part of planning for development or new cities

Question 18

Transportation Breakthroughs

Answer 18

The invention of the combustion engine and the wider availability of fuel allowed cars to be produced for the mass market
Car ownership conveyed status, freedom, individuality, and personal empowerment
It also linked rural areas to the whole nation, facilitated the growth of suburbs, and caused traffic jams, increased greenhouse gasses, and increased traffic fatalities

Question 19

How communications technologies changed personal life

Answer 19

Radio: has enabled remote towns to learn of national and international events
- Both authoritarian and democratic governments used this: Hitler used propaganda to take power, Franklin Roosevelt used “fireside chats” to reassure the public during the Depression
- It also contributed to the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union
TV:
- has informed, educated, and entertain
- many critique the domination of the West as eroding local cultures
- others critique the effects of TV on children, and its portrayal of minorities
Technology has also changed education with “smart” classrooms

Question 20

E-Commerce and Social Effects of Technology

Answer 20

Computer applications have become extremely important for business
Mobile banking has given more access to financial service
Many businesses have grown in online presence, some shipping worldwide
Online dating, social media, and online games have all grown
People feared being bullied by peers, monitored and controlled by governments, and manipulated by corporations
Hacking and cyber security have become pervasive in the 21st century

Question 21

Population Explosion

Answer 21

An extraordinarily rapid population growth in the 20th century that quadrupled human numbers. Experienced primarily in the Global South.
Occurred due to lower death rates from improved medical technologies, such as vaccines, x-rays, antibiotics, disinfectants, and more

Question 22

Green Revolution

Answer 22

Innovations in agriculture during the 20th century, such as mechanical harvesters, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and high-yielding crops that enabled food production to keep up and exceed population growth

Question 23

Global Urbanization

Answer 23

The explosive growth of cities after 1900, caused by the reduced need for rural labor, and more opportunities in cities in manufacturing, government, and the service sector

Question 24

Megacities

Answer 24

Very large urban centers with over 10 million people; by 2017 there were 37 megacities on five continents
Cities had huge impacts on the environment; large concentrations of people consumed large amounts of food and energy, produced large amounts of waste, garbage, carbon dioxide, and toxic substances
They also exacerbate inequalities between rich and poor, shown by poorer areas having greater health and ecological effects, while wealthier areas have safe water, sewage systems, electricity, fire/police services, and more

Question 25

Labor migration

Answer 25

The movement of people, often illegally, into another country to escape poverty or violence and to seek opportunities for work that were less available in their own country

Question 26

Influenza pandemic

Answer 26

The worst pandemic in human history; caused by three waves of influenza that swept across the globe in 1918-1919; carried by demobilized soldiers, refugees, and other dislocated peoples returning home from WWI; between 50-100 million died

Question 27

HIV/AIDS

Answer 27

A pathogen that spreads primarily through sexual contact, contaminated blood products, or the sharing of needles; after sparking a pandemic in the 1980s, it spread rapidly across the globe, causing tens of millions of deaths. However the interconnectedness that had spread the disease also helped create its treatment; the disease turned from as deadly one to a chronic, but manageable one, for those who have access to the medicines.

Question 28

Cultural globalization

Answer 28

The global spread of elements of popular culture such as film, language, and music from various places of origin, especially the spread of Western culture to the rest of the world; has come to symbolize inclusion in global culture, modernity, and liberation or rebellion; it has prompted pushback from those who feel that established cultural traditions have been threatened such as the French Academy protecting the French language, or the Soviet Union and Islamic regimes trying to supress Western music
While many currents of cultural globalization have come from Western movies and even English, many have also come from the rest of the world, such as restaurants from many cultures being found in the West, the popularity of yoga and meditation, alternative medicines that are traditional in India or China, and even movies and tv shows such as Bollywood, Kdramas, telenovelas, and soap operas

Question 29

Religious Fundamentalism

Answer 29

Occurring within all major world religions, fundamentalism is a self proclaimed return to the “fundamentals” of a religion and is marked by piety, exclusivism, and a sense of threat from modern secularism

Question 30

Hinduvata

Answer 30

A Hindu nationalist movement that became politically important in India in the 1980s as the BJP; advocated for a distinct Hindu identity and decried government efforts to accommodate other faiths, particularly Islam
The party had a sweeping victory in 2014 and currently holds top positions in all but one state and the prime ministry under Prime Minister Modi (currently up for reelection); this leaves many with questions for Muslims future in India

Question 31

Islamic radicalism

Answer 31

Movements that promote strict adherence to the Quran and Sharia law, often in opposition to key elements of Western culture
Particularly prominent in the 1970s, these movements usually present themselves as returning to earlier expressions of Islam
Some have used peaceful tactics and have come to power through elections, or are simply charity organizations rather than political ones, while others have used violent terrorist tactics such as al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Boko Haram, and ISIS

Question 32

Anthropocene Era

Answer 32

A recently coined term denoting the “age of man,” in general since the Industrial Revolution and more specifically since the mid-twentieth century. It refers to the unprecedented and enduring impact of human activity on the atmosphere, the geosphere, and the biosphere.

Question 33

Holocene Era

Answer 33

A warmer and often a wetter period that began approximately 12,000 years ago following the end of the last ice age. These environmental conditions were uniquely favorable for human thriving and enabled the development of agriculture, significant population growth, and the creation of complex civilizations.

Question 34

Climate Change

Answer 34

The warming of the planet largely caused by higher concentrations of “greenhouse gases,” generated by the burning of fossil fuels. It has become the most pressing environmental issue of the early twenty-first century.

Question 35

Second- wave environmentalism

Answer 35

A movement that began in the 1960s and triggered environmental movements in Europe and North America. It was characterized by widespread grassroots involvement focused on issues such as pollution, resource depletion, protection of wildlife habitats, and nuclear power.

Question 36

Paris Climate Agreement

Answer 36

An international agreement negotiated in 2015 among some 195 countries, 700 cities, and many companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently to avoid a 2° C increase in global temperatures. The United States withdrew from the agreement in 2017.

Question 37

WHO

Answer 37

World Health Organization
Created with many other national and international organizations to curb the spread and destructiveness of diseases as they have spread faster due to globalization
International efforts have tracked and tried to stop the spread of SARS, Ebola, and Zika in the 21st century.

Question 38

Global Citizenship

Answer 38

International economics links and an increasing global awareness of global issues has generated a sense of global citizenship
This idea has had expression in Pan-African and Pan-Arab ideas, as well as the formation of the EU and UN
The movement is symbolized by pictures of the world from outer space
Transnational organizations such as the Red Cross, Amnesty International, sister-city projects, and more also articulate a global outlook

Question 39

Decline of Religious Practice

Answer 39

In many Western nations religious practice has declined due to critical thinking from thinkers in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, including Karl Marx, the spread of scientific thought, and beliefs that religion would disappear with science, modernity, communism, and globalization
Some governments restricted religious practice thinking it would help them modernize such as the Soviet Union which closed churches and mosques as well as several modernizing Islamic nations
This has also gained pushback from fundamentalist movements which are against secularism and often modernity, including the belief of evolution.