Monash College Handbook

THE MODERN WORLD (MCD1590)

Purpose

This unit forms the preparatory component to the Part 2 elective Contemporary Worlds 2.

This unit aims to introduce its students to the political, economic, religious, and social ideas that shape the modern world. This unit will equip its students with the knowledge and understanding to make sense of what is happening in the world around them.

This unit will examine the relationships between social forces, including: the Enlightenment, democracy, liberalism, capitalism, communism, fascism, secularism, and globalisation, as well as the relationships between the three ‘religions of the book’: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This unit will focus particular attention on the role played by the mass media and the Internet in establishing and disseminating the ideals of modernity and the modern world around the globe.

This unit will also engage its students in thinking about the myriad of problems confronting the modern world, and how these problems make sense in terms of the conflicts between the ideas listed above. The unit will examine questions such as: What does it mean to be a ‘modern person’? Why are democratic countries always capitalist? Why is oil important in global politics? Why are Israelis and Palestinians fighting? What is the cause of terrorism? and, To what extent are democracies democratic?

This unit will encourage its students to develop effective critical thinking skills in the way that they think about the way the modern world functions, and about their place, as modern individuals, in the modern world.

Prerequisites

Nil

Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. define and discuss the key ideas and historical events that have shaped the modern world
2. critically analyse the conflicts between the ideas defined above
3. demonstrate through oral and written presentations, as well as classroom interaction, a heightened awareness of how these different ideas have lead to the development of different cultures around the world
4. discuss the ethical issues involved in dealing with people from other cultures
5. demonstrate how contemporary events and issues in the modern world can be explained through the ideas examined in this unit
6. critically reflect on their own place in the modern world, and on what is asked of them as 'modern' individuals in the modern world

Assessment

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