The study of Modern History Stage 6 challenges students to consider the great social, technological, economic, political and moral transformations from the late eighteenth century to the present. It requires students to analyse the causes, progress and effects of these transformations and, finally, to make judgements about them.
Modern History Stage 6 is especially relevant to the lives of students, as the events and issues that form its content are, in many cases, still current. The study of Modern History Stage 6 also contributes to the development of skills that are of great importance in today's workforce.
Within the Australian context, the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes acquired through a study of Modern History Stage 6 are essential ingredients in the promotion of a democratic, harmonious, progressive and tolerant society. Modern History Stage 6 helps empower students to become responsible and active citizens who will recognise the factors affecting change and continuity in human affairs. This broad understanding encourages students to develop an appreciation of different views and to be aware of how such views contribute to individual and group actions in various local, national and international contexts.
Preliminary Course
Overview of the Content
The Preliminary course is structured to provide students with opportunities to investigate the role of key features, issues, individuals, groups, events and concepts from the eighteenth century to the present using the methods of historical inquiry.
Part I: Case Studies
Principal focus:Students apply historical inquiry methods within a range of historical contexts to investigate key features, issues, individuals, groups, events, concepts and other forces in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Part II: Historical Investigation
The historical investigation is designed to provide opportunities for all students to further develop relevant investigative, research and presentation skills that are the core of the historical inquiry process.
Part III: Core Study: The World at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century
Principal focus:Students lay the foundations for their twentieth-century studies by investigating the forces and ideas for change and continuity that shaped the early twentieth century world using the methods of historical inquiry.
HSC Course
Part I: Core Study: World War I 1914–1919: A Source-based Study
Principal focus:Students use different types of sources and acquired knowledge to investigate key features, issues, individuals, groups and events in the study of World War I.
Part II: National Studies
Principal focus:Students investigate key features and issues in the history of ONE country during a specific period of the twentieth century.
Part III: Personalities in the Twentieth Century
Principal focus:Through the study of a modern personality, students gain an understanding of the role of the individual in a period of national or international history.
Part IV: International Studies in Peace and Conflict
Principal focus:Students investigate key features and issues of ONE International Study in
Peace and Conflict.