Compare and contrast revolutionary movements with reform movements.
Examine De Fronzo’s five “critical factors” that he believes must be present for the success of a revolutionary movement and assess the extent these factors were present on the eve of the French, Russian, Chinese, Iranian, 1989 Eastern European, and South African revolutions. In additon, students will assess Islamic revolutionary movements and the 2011 Arab spring uprisings in the Middle East in light of these factors.
Analyze to what extent Crane Brinton’s “natural history of revolutions” (stage process of revolutions) was followed in the French, Russian, Chinese, Iranian, 1989 Eastern European and South African revolutions.
Analyze how theories of revolution including Marxist, systems, modernization, and structural theories apply to the revolutions studied.
Assess how Allan Todd’s and Crane Brinton’s conclusions about the causes and outcomes of revolutions apply to the revolutions studied.
Evaluate what revolutions ordinarily accomplish and what specifically the French, Russian, Chinese, Iranian, 1989 Eastern European, and South African revolutions accomplished.
Examine how Enlightenment, democratic, Marxist, Stalinist, Maoist, and other ideas spread from country to country, and how successful revolutions fostered both the spread of revolutionary ideology and actual revolutions around the globe.
Assess the role of religion and secular ideology in revolutions, and how formal religion was affected by the revolutions studied.
Analyze the roles women played in revolutions and how they were affected by the revolutions studied.
Apply revolutionary theories, as well as De Fronzo’s, Brinton’s, and Todd’s ideas of revolution to contemporary societies to determine what may be anticipated in current revolutions in the Middle East and to forecast which societies have symptoms of coming revolutions.
Evaluate revolutionary theories, De Fronzo’s “five factors,” Brinton’s and Todd’s “natural history of revolutions,” and justify which one(s) s/he supports.
Demonstrate skills in web site analysis and evaluation.
Apply historical research methodology and the theories / ideas studied by conducting library and web research on one revolution that occurred within the last 90+ years, and create a well-written paper.
Conduct a “values analysis” of revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries for the revolution chosen to research.
Know the meaning of globalization and how cultural, political / economic globalization applies to the revolutions studied, as well as the revolution chosen to research.
Employ critical thinking to formulate discussion answers and comments.
MLA Students:
Apply the theories/ideas given in the Goldstone book articles to the revolutions studied.
Apply insights learned from Ebadi’s book to the Iranian Revolution or from Ghonim’s book to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.
Conduct in-depth research, using a substantial number of primary sources on a revolution that occurred within the last 100 years, and create a well-written paper.
