VCE | HISTORY

History involves inquiry into human action in the past, to make meaning of the past using primary sources as evidence. As historians ask new questions, revise interpretations or discover new sources, fresh understandings come to light. Although history deals with specific individuals and key events, the potential scope of historical inquiry is vast and formed by

YEAR 10* or 11

UNIT 1 - Modern History

Students explore the events, ideologies and movements of the period after World War I; the emergence of conflict; and the causes of World War II. They investigate the impact of the treaties which ended the Great War and which redrew the map of Europe and broke up the former empires of the defeated nations. They consider the aims, achievements and limitations of the League of Nations.

They then focus on the social life and cultural expression in the 1920s and 1930s and their relation to the technological, political and economic changes of the period. Students explore particular forms of cultural expression from the period in one or more of the following contexts: Italy, Germany, Japan, USSR and/or USA.

UNIT 2 - Empires

Students investigate the foundations of empires and the significant global changes they brought to the wider world in the early modern period. Empires at their core were expansionist, dominating trade and political influence in their regional or global contexts. Through a range of key factors, empires played a role in the ambition and quest for power, prestige and influence over rival and competing states.

Students focus on the features of empires and what contributed to their rise. They analyse how different rulers and conditions shaped an empire’s quest for expansion. Students will explore the impact of how power and influence led to advancement into newly explored parts of the world.

the questions that historians pursue and the availability of sources. VCE History reflects this range of inquiry by enabling students to engage with a range of times, people, places and ideas. By doing so, students gain a greater understanding of the foundations of the modern world.

YEAR 11* or 12

UNIT 3-4 AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

Students develop their understanding of the foundational and transformative ideas, perspectives and events in Australia’s history and the complexity of continuity and change in the nation’s story. Students come to understand that the history of Australia is contested and that the past continues to contribute to ongoing interpretations, debates and tensions in Australian society.

UNIT 3 - Power & Resistance

Students investigate the debates and perspectives about Australia’s participation in World War I and World War II. Students analyse the ways in which social, political and economic cohesion of the nation was influenced by the impacts of these conflicts, including different perspectives on participation in war and conflict, enlistment and conscription and the ways that different groups experienced the war.

UNIT 4 - War and Upheaval

Students investigate the ways in which the colonisation of Australia began as a complex story of the exercise of power and resistance to authority. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples confronted the challenge of colonisation in a variety of ways, from frontier battles and conflicts that resisted the dispossession of their land, to adaptation and attempts to coexist, survive and preserve their culture.

Please note: Optional trip to Canberra for students who have not previously attended the Canberra trip. Estimated cost $1000. Time impact three days – Wednesday to Friday.

* Acceleration is possible in this subject. See page 13 for information on acceleration.

YEAR 12

UNIT 3-4 REVOLUTIONS

Unit 3 and 4 Revolutions students examine the following questions: What causes a revolution? What are the consequences of a revolution? Revolutions represent great ruptures in time and are a major turning point in the collapse and destruction of an existing political order which results in extensive change to society. Students construct arguments about the past using historical sources (primary sources and historical interpretations) as evidence to analyse the complexity and multiplicity of the causes and consequences of revolution, and to evaluate the extent to which the revolution brought change to the lives of people. Students analyse the different perspectives and experiences of people who lived through dramatic revolutionary moments, and how society changed and/or remained the same.

UNIT 3 - The Russian Revolution

For centuries, Russia was governed by a monarchy, with a Tsar at the helm. However, the 20th Century brought about a seismic shift, with the forced abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917 and the subsequent rise of the Soviet Union. Students will analyse the contributions of events, ideas, individuals, and popular movements that precipitated this revolutionary situation, and the bloody compromises made to consolidate power afterwards. Students will explore the impacts of the Russian Revolution and the ensuing Civil War, focusing on key figures like Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. Furthermore, they will analyse the consequences of the revolution and evaluate the extent of continuity and change between pre- and post-revolutionary Russian society.

UNIT 4 - The Chinese Revolution

Experience a transformative era in the 20th Century when the fall of the last emperor ushered in the dawn of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Explore the crucial events, radical ideas, and key individuals like Sun Yat-sen and Mao Zedong that ignited this societal shift. Probe into the enduring consequences that not only recharted China's course but also recalibrated the global political compass. Evaluate the profound changes and continuities that marked the post-revolutionary Chinese society. The Chinese Revolution is not merely a historical event, but a pulsating narrative of endurance, upheaval, and rebirth. Students will analyse the consequences of the revolution and evaluate the extent of continuity and change between pre- and post-revolutionary Chinese society.