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Frames in Unit 6
Frames in Unit 6
The First World War is often described as a threshold event—a moment of decisive change. Was it a real transformation or just a blip that briefly interrupted the story of humanity?
As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
Think about the following questions as you watch the video
How did the First World War change the way people organized and saw their communities?
What stayed the same about the way people organized and saw their communities?
How did the First World War change the way things were produced and distributed?
What didn’t the war change about the way things were produced and distributed?
How much did the First World War affect global networks?
: (music playing)
: The First World War feels like a threshold event,
: a moment in which something significant
: changes in world history.
: Now, this may be because of the drama and tragedy
: of millions of deaths.
: But it may also be because something irreversibly changed
: with the events of the First World War.
: It ushered in a new and different era on a global scale.
: Now, we can explore these changes--
: and how transformative they really were--
: by looking at the conflict of 1914 through 1918
: using the course frames.
: For example, we see some huge changes
: in the way people organized their communities
: after the First World War.
: Some huge states,
: like the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires,
: broke into smaller countries.
: Many of these new countries were supported
: by a form of ethnic nationalism.
: At the same time, however, a number of large empires--
: especially the British and the French--
: ended the war seemingly unaffected.
: In fact, they were even enlarged
: as they acquired the colonies of the defeated states,
: such as Germany.
: Yet in many places,
: people's attitudes towards the state changed.
: Disillusioned by the war, people in some countries
: lost their faith in government, rules,
: and even organized religion.
: The First World War was also a threshold
: in terms of production and distribution.
: Many historians refer to it as a "total war."
: The phrase "total war" indicates a war
: in which all of the society's
: political, social, and economic systems
: commit to warfare.
: The combatant countries raised armies in the millions,
: drawing from their colonies, as well as their homeland.
: Meanwhile, production of consumer goods and services
: slowed and almost stopped.
: Instead, the war effort drew in laborers
: and used resources
: to make guns, uniforms, ammunition,
: and rations for the troops,
: rather than goods for civilians.
: This industrialized warfare had never been seen before.
: This total commitment to warfare
: caused enormous casualties on the war front
: and deprivation at home.
: In at least one place, Russia,
: this effort completely discredited the economic system.
: So much so that people overthrew it and replaced it
: by a new, socialist system called communism.
: Yet, not everywhere experienced such large economic change.
: In most places, the economic system continued
: much as it had before 1914.
: Similarly, the First World War
: diminished the global networks overall.
: During the war, of course,
: the exchange of ideas between opposing powers
: nearly came to a halt.
: People had less ability to travel,
: communications were censored and carefully watched,
: and distrust broke apart relationships
: across the battle lines.
: Imperial powers found it harder to stay connected to,
: and in control of, their colonies.
: But at the end of the war,
: surprisingly, networks and exchange grew again.
: Relationships, from the diplomatic to the personal,
: resumed quite quickly.
: Colonialism was rapidly reasserted.
: The question remains:
: was the First World War a real transformation
: or just a brief blip
: that interrupted the human story?
: Or was it something else--
: not a transformation itself,
: but the beginning of something massive and important?