DISCUSSIONS
- Start a conversation about Cry the Beloved Country! What kind of connections do you find in the novel with what’s being discussed in class, or other topics in Western Civilization history?
- What is going to separate Western Civilization from the rest of the world will be the Industrial Revolution? How has the Industrial revolution changed the United States? How would the United States look today if the Industrial Revolution had not changed our world?
- In this chapter, we discuss ideology and political ideologies. What are the inherent drawbacks to Socialism? What are the positives associated with Socialism? Why do you think the young people in the US today are interested in Socialism?
- The Women’s movement actually began in the French Revolution but did not have results until after World War I. Why were men so adamently opposed to women voting? Why was the power to vote so important? Why were the women in Europe so much more violent and confrontational than in the US?
- Chapter Six-Imperialism is one of the most important chapters in this course. How does the European Imperialism effect the world today? Why has India been able to become the economic and technologic center that it currently is? Why has Africa struggled since Imperialism ended?
- The First World War was one of the most impactful events in the history of the world. Why was this war so divastating and why did it effect the psyche of the Europeans so much? If this war was so horrific, why was there not a more concentrated effort to prevent future wars? If Europe was a predominant Christain continent, where was the role of faith in this chapter?
- If we agree that Adolph Hitler was a very evil man, how did he gain the support of the German people to do the horrific things that were done? If Germany was a Christian nation, considering faith, reason and justice why did peope of faith not rise up to stop him?
- The Holocaust was a horrendous event in World War II. Why did the United States not try to end the exterminations? What are the important lessons to be learned from the Holocaust? Why is there still antisemitism in the world today?
