History Writing

Description

1. PAGE 1: The 1960s – the period of time when the “Baby Boom” generation came of age – was shaped by significant social, cultural, and political developments.   In order to characterize the 1960s, you should describe 3 notable developments that give a sense of how life had been changing since the end of WWII in 1945.  A “development” might include a cultural trend, a social movement, the end of formal European imperialism, or the features of post-WWII economic growth and reconstruction.   The optimal response will draw on “A Moral Audit of the British Empire”, “French Resistance and the Algerian War”, “Mods and Rockers”, “Mighty Good”, “All Along the Watchtower”, “Endangered Planet”, “Kraftwerk”, “The Ascent of Woman”, “May 1968”, “A New Normal”, and/or “Immigration into Britain”.  2. PAGE 2:  As a young (14) teenager in 1989, I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent demise of the Communist regime in the (soon-to-be) former USSR as a sort of “happy ending”.  Scholars, pundits, and politicians pronounced the dual triumphs of liberal democracy and capitalism.  Some thought that all the big questions had been answered for all eternity (nothing would change because nothing would need to change).  I particularly recall promises that citizens would be paid a “peace dividend” that would translate (so I naively thought) into less spending on weapons and more spending on quality of life for ordinary people.   Discuss 2 reasons why real life didn’t deliver a “Hollywood-style” happy ending and many people have ended up being discontent with what has unfolded since 1989.  You can deal with what has happened in Russia and other formerly Communist countries of Europe since 1989.  You could also deal with the effects of economic developments that can be traced back to the late 1970s.  It will be helpful to make it clear what people expected (why they were so joyful and optimistic in 1989/1990) and why expectations haven’t matched reality.