1. Understanding ideologies inquiry

Hammer and Sickle  Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Activity

Main inquiry task

In pairs or groups of three, each group will be assigned an ideology that holds significance to the early 20th: communism; imperialism; fascism; capitalism; and Nazism.

Each group will research and construct:

• A definition of their specific ideology.
• 1-3 examples of the ideology’s historical significance.
• 1-3 examples of significant figures/individuals attached to their ideology.
• An example of who was impacted positively by this ideology.
• An Example of who was impacted negatively by this ideology.
• Use and provide a list of websites and sources (at least 2) used to find this information.

Suggested sources for your inquiry

You may find this list to be a helpful starting point; these can be one of your listed resources. See if you can find some others (at least two overall). Bonus points for primary sources – quotes, diaries, photographs, witness accounts, letters, etc.

At the end of the inquiry, the class will come together to share findings and construct an ideology study table which will be returned to the class as a collective study resource. You can consult this chart, revise it, and use it as a continuous resource as the unit continues. This resource will provide a foundational checklist for just some of the main ideas, individuals, and events of the early 20th century.

2. Take a propa-ganda! and café conversations (Facing History, 2023)

I Want You For US Army, James Montgomery Flagg, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Activity

Part 1: Source analysis

Students will be working in the same groups as Activity 1. Each group will be provided with images of propaganda posters aligned or related to an ideology and events significant to the early 20th century. Click on the links for an enlarged view.

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Source 1 – Lindsay N, (1918), ‘Australian World War 1 Poster Public Domain

Source 2

Weston H J, (1931), ‘Smash the Red Wreckers and Save Australia’Public Domain

Source 3

National Archives at College Park, (C. 1942), ‘Keep Punchin’  Public domain

Source 4

Deni V, (1919), ‘Kapital,’ Public domain, Public Domain

Source 5

Partynia, (1944), ‘Parasit,’ CC BY-SA 4.0

Source 6

US Government, (2021), ‘Don’t Speak the Enemy’s Language, Speak American,’ Public Domain

Part 2  Café conversations (Facing History, 2023)

In your groups: Put yourself in the shoes of a civilian at this period, how would these images make you feel?

Think about the different perspectives of civilians from the various ideologies and countries discussed. Use this time to exercise a multiple perspectives discussion, or Café Conversations style discussion strategy (Facing History, 2023). Choose a poster, and imagine you have been seeing this imagery a lot recently – you are meeting friends at a café reflect on the events, conflicts, ideas and individuals that are connected to your chosen image, and put yourself in the shoes of a civilian in the respective country. Are you scared? Proud? Motivated? Shocked? Do you agree with the ideology linked to the image?

Civilian roles to choose from:

• Parent with young children
• Parent with a son of military age
• School teacher
• Shop owner or worker
• Civilian of military age

Think about the period your image belongs to and do your best to remove yourself from viewing history through your current socio-environmental and biased lens and place yourself in their shoes – this is known as presentism; and something we as students of history must do our best to avoid (Allender et al. 2019: xxv).

There are no wrong answers, but thinking historically means we must understand the social and political environments of the periods we study and interpret them with the evidence at hand. If you feel something, try to back it up with some of the evidence we have investigated over the last few lessons. You will get an opportunity to share some of the main points of your discussion with the class through a debrief discussion.

Note on ethical considerations These topics can be very distressing and confronting. Please advise if you are feeling any hesitation or discomfort toward attempting a role-play on these topics.