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| 1921-1989, Soviet physicist and dissident; helped develop the first Russian hydrogen bomb; advocated nuclear disarmament and campaigned for human rights; worked with Igor Tamm in controlled nuclear fusion which lead to developing the first Russian hydrogen bomb; also helped with the 50MT Tsar Bomba in October 1962, which upon its testing was the most powerful device ever exploded; opposed nuclear proliferation and protested testing the hydrogen bomb in the atmosphere; played a role in the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty; in 1965, he returned to fundamental science, working on cosmology, but still opposed political discrimination. |
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| : born June 20, 1928; French far-right nationalist politician; founder and president of the Front National Party; has run for French presidency 5 times, was upset in 2002 (coming in second) and ran again in 2007 (came in fourth); he focuses on immigration, the EU, traditional culture, law and order, and France’s high rate of unemployment; advocates immigration restrictions, the death penalty, incentives for homemakers, and euroscepticism. |
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| born William Jefferson Blythe III August 19, 1946; 42nd president of the USA; third youngest president; known as the first baby boomer president; one of two presidents to be impeached; before becoming president, Clinton was governor of Arkansas; often described as a New Democrat as most of his policies, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and welfare reform, have been referred to as “centrist”; president during the longest period of peace-time economic expansion in American history; when Clinton won reelection, he became the first democrat to win reelection since FDR; left office with a 65% approval rating; since his time in office, Clinton does public speaking and humanitarian work; promotes international causes such as treatment/prevention of HIV/AIDS and global warming; Clinton campaigned with his wife in her run for the presidency in 2008. |
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| born in 1953, British statesman who became prime minister in 1997 (1997-2007); leader of the labour party from 1994-2007; member of parliament for Sedgefield from 1983-2007; the day we stood down as PM and a member of Parliament, he was appointed official envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East on the behalf of the UN, EU, USA, and Russia; under Blair’s leadership of the labour party, many policies the party has held for decades were abandoned; Blair was the party’s longest serving PM and only leader from the party to win 3 consecutive general elections; Blair was succeeded by his Chancellor of the Exchequer as PM in 2007. |
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| born April 7, 1944; German politician; Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005; member of Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD); led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens; before being a full time politician, he was a successful lawyer; before becoming chancellor, he was minister-president of the state of Lower Saxony; stood down as Chancellor as his party lost in the 2005 general election. |
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| : 1985-89; Gorbachev's system of more "openness" in which he included the right to freely voice opinions and criticize the existing system. In effect he was freeing the people of the USSR to help him reform the country since he knew on his own he could not fight party bureaucracy. If the USSR was to modernize, it would need popular support to do so. Dissent which in the past had been punished and suppressed was now free to help promote a reform movement. The totalitarian control over the political, cultural, and intellectual life of the country was coming to an end. |
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| the Russian republic that emerged when the USSR collapsed in 1991. BORIS YELTSIN became the leader/president. The collapse of Communism was imminent. The USSR dissolved into its component republics and Russia, still in itself a multi-ethnic state, would still remain the largest of the former republics. Single-party Communist states now all but disappeared from Eastern Europe and Asia (except for China, Viet Nam, North Korea and a few questionable other exceptions.) This republic is NOW COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS RUSSIA. |
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| Armenia-Azerbaijan Dispute: |
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1990; this was a conflict over a disputed enclave of Armenians in Azerbaijan. Armenians had been a persecuted Diaspora since the beginning of the century (Armenian Deportations - see WWI IDs). They now constituted about 10% of the population in Azerbaijan - a republic of the USSR. The relaxing of totalitarian controls under Gorbachev's reforms meant that long suppressed ethnic tensions were now being released. NOTE:
EVERY ONE OF THE FIFTEEN FEDERATED CONSTITUENT REPUBLICS OF THE SOVIET UNION BEGAN TO RAISE DEMANDS FOR SOVEREIGNTY, SELF-GOVERNMENT, AND AN END TO CENTRAL CONTROL IN ALL SPHERES, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC. BUT ALSO, IN MANY OF THESE, SMALLER ETHNIC GROUPS WERE CONCERNED THAT THEY WOULD BECOME EVEN FURTHER PERSECUTED UNDER INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC RULE AND BEGAN PREPARING TO SEEK THEIR OWN INDEPENDENCE FROM WHAT WOULD BE NEW, SMALLER REPUBLICS. |
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| congress of people's deputies |
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| In March of 1989, as part of Gorbachev's democratization reform measures, the FIRST OPENLY CONTESTED AND MULTICANDIDATE ELECTIONS WERE HELD IN THE USSR SINCE 1917(for the Constituent Assembly which Lenin promptly dismissed). Admittedly, over half the seats were reserved for the Communist Party and its props, but VOTERS ELECTED THE CONGRESS OF PEOPLE'S DEPUTIES with 2,250 seats and it, in turn, chose a smaller standing legislative body with 542 members. Both bodies were free to debate and initiate legislation. In 1990 the Cof PD created a PRESIDENCY with broad executive powers modeled on the American and French examples. GORBACHEV WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT. |
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| Intermediate range nuclear missiles |
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| : Soviets had deployed these in Eastern Europe in the late 1970s. They had radius of 600 to 1,500 miles. They were seen as a threat to security of Western Europe. NATO (US and Euro allies) made plans to strengthen Europe's defenses and deploy similar missiles targeted on USSR. This touched off big public protests in Western Europe. Demonstrations/sit-ins took place at entrances to missile sites and air bases. Western governments and Reagan held firm. Reagan did not meet with Brezhnev or his two successors (Andropov & Chernenko). Reagan also supported the so-called "STARS WARS" technology R & D plan to build a defensive weapon that would orbit the earth and target missiles after they had been fired and before reaching their destination. It was in this context of US determination NOT TO BLINK and US hi-tech weapon development that Gorbie came to power and recognized that the USSR's economy could no longer sustain the military technology race with the US. |
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| R & D plan to build a defensive weapon that would orbit the earth and target missiles after they had been fired and before reaching their destination. It was in this context of US determination NOT TO BLINK and US hi-tech weapon development that Gorbie came to power and recognized that the USSR's economy could no longer sustain the military technology race with the US. |
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| Reagan-Gorbachev Summits: |
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| Series of 4 meetings in late 1980s (Geneva, Iceland, Washington and Moscow) in which these leaders of the two superpowers talked about nuclear arms reductions. Both agreed to remove the Intermediate-Range Missiles each had installed in Europe(had been much public opposition to the presence of those - especially by environmental groups - "Green" movements). Soviets willing to destroy over four times the missiles US destroyed and allow US to inspect destructions. Also, R & G agreed on the reduction of short-range nuclear missiles and to discuss reduction of long range missiles. |
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| A Treaty between Bush (Reagan's successor) and Gorbachev pledging to reduce the number of nuclear missiles down by about a third. |
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| After Gorbie's introduction of Glasnost, dissidents (those who dissented/disagreed with the govt's prevailing policy) were freer to comment/criticize. They had been harshly suppressed b/4 1985. After that they played an active role in promoting reform. They were the intellectual and human rights activists of the time. They called for recognition of the Helsinki Accords to which the Soviets and East Europeans had subscribed back in the '70s. They wanted an end to party-state dictatorships and the restoration of a "CIVIL SOCIETY" in which people could live their lives with personal freedom. Dissidents PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE ALL OVER EASTERN EUROPE AND THE USSR IN THE LATE 1980s. THEY WERE COURAGEOUS IN TAKING ADVANTAGE OF GREAT FREEDOMS - THERE WERE NOT GUARANTEES THAT THEY WERE PERMANENT AND THERE WERE STILL VERY STRONG COMMUNIST PARTY SUPPORTERS WHO COULD TURN THE CLOCK BACK. |
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| Reformer of Poland back in 1956 who took advantage of Khrushchev's Secret Speech to assert a little more independence from Moscow. However, he disappointed reformers by using troops to put down strikes, persecuting church leaders who presumed too much and permitted anti-Semitic campaigns against a number of Jews still in Poland. Was replaced in 1970 after several severe riots caused by high prices. |
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| 1970-1980; He replaced Gomulka as leader of Poland. He was seen as reform-minded and embarked on an ambitious economic development program, financed by heavy borrowing from the West. Initial results were promising, but had to expand on exports to repay the debts. Heavy interest payments, market shrinkage in the west and the inefficiency inherent in the soviet style central planning system caused conditions to deteriorate after initial improvements. By 1980 there were widespread strikes in Poland in protest of rising food prices. |
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| The freer atmosphere under Gierek made this labor movement possible. It was led by Lech Walesa - shipyard worker in Gdansk, Poland. Workers organized trade unions outside the official structure to create an aggressive independent trade union. Government yielded when the swelling movement demanded legal authorization. Claimed 10 million industrial and agricultural workers ultimately were members. THIS WAS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN ANY COMMUNIST COUNTRY AND THE NUMBERS WERE TOO OVERWHELMING FOR THE GOVT TO EASILY SUPPRESS. |
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| : Led the Solidarity movement in 1980. He was seen as militant leader and a national symbol of protest. He was imprisoned in 1981 along with other labor leaders. Solidarity banned. US imposed economic sanctions on Poland after Walesa imprisoned. He became a hero to the Poles and the West. However, Polish govt released him after it seemed that Soviets would not intervene - Brezhnev era (when Russians sent in tanks to keep East European soviet regimes propped up) coming to an end. Polish govt even started some gradual reforms. Walesa honored by Pope John Paul II(who was himself Polish) and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983. He would ultimately become President of Poland after Soviet system fell. |
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When the Russian Soviets saw Solidarity taking off in Poland they put heavy pressure on the Polish govt to curb this renegade labor union and oust Gierek - installing in his place the steely General Jaruzelski as party leader and premier. In 1981 he imposed martial law, imprisoned Walesa and other labor leaders and banned Solidarity. However, he did introduce reforms and released Walesa once it became evident that Russian tanks were not coming to re-establish order. After Gorbie came to power in USSR, Jaruzelski allowed more reforms and finally allowed contested parliamentary elections for a portion of the seats and freedom of worship. The first ELECTIONS OF 1989 GAVE SOLIDARITY VICTORY IN ALL CONTESTED SEATS so Jaruzelski allowed for a coalition. DIKE IN EASTERN EUROPE WAS BREACHED. New govt allowed for restructuring of economy on free-market lines - ALL AT ONCE - ECONOMIC SHOCK THERAPY. Other East European countries - NOTING THAT MOSCOW DID NOT SEND IN THE TANKS - started their own movements for economic and political reform.
WALESA HAS, IN RETROSPECT, PRAISED JARUZELSKI FOR THE BRILLIANT WAY HE WALKED THE TIGHT ROPE BETWEEN NOT PROVOKING MOSCOW (AS NAGY AND DUBCEK HAD) AND YET GIVING THE REFORM MOVEMENT SOME FREEDOM. |
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| Ruled Hungary from 1956-1988. During his rule the party encouraged a degree of private enterprise, turned to the West for capital investments, and relaxed hold on the country. By doing this, the standard of living rose and the economy expanded. Sometimes referred to as Ghoulash Communism - Ghoulash is an Hungarian stew - mixture of ingredients - just as this slowly evolving system ended up being a mixture of economic styles. Practice with capitalist activities would give the Hungarians an advantage after Communism finally fell at the end of the 1980s and allowed them to make the transition fairly smoothly. ALONG WITH POLAND AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC, HUNGARY'S ECONOMY HAS RESTRUCTURED & RECOVERED ENOUGH FROM COMMUNISM TO PERMIT THEIR ENTRY INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION. |
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| Ruled in German Democratic Republic/GDR/East Germany from 1961 to 1989. In 1970, after having rejected a reform movement, was willing to accept the closer economic and political relations with west German (Ostpolitik), but remained adamant against relaxing controls at home. He gambled to allow free travel for the country, thinking that they wouldn't seek to leave the GDR. In reality, many workers fled and by 1989 350,000 East Germans had fled. |
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| Formed after the Helsinki Accords. It was an organization of intellectuals in Czechoslovakia. Sought to promote the human rights standards designated at Helsinki. It played a big role in the struggle for democracy and against dictatorship in 1989. |
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| What Havel and his followers sought and eventually achieved. They sought the overthrow of communism in Czechoslovakia and the establishment of democracy. This included a market-oriented economy and a pluralistic democracy. |
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| a term used to describe the peaceful Czech revolution of 1989 which occurred without bloodshed and successfully liberated the country from the communistic regime. |
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| this was a political group of which Vaclav Havel was the leader. It played a big role in the original revolution in 1989. Taking note of how successfully the Poles had established their independence from Moscow and become democratic, Civic Forum worked hard to achieve the same. It became the dominant party of the Czech Republic in 1993 when Czechoslovakia divided peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. |
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| He was the outspoken playwright who had stood openly against the communist dictatorship in Czechoslovakia at great personal risk. As a political dissident he had been imprisoned and persecuted by the govt. The dissenters and other revolutionaries looked to him for leadership. In 1989 after riots caused the resignation of the communist govt, Havel was overwhelmingly supported for position of provisional president. Once a constitution was written, he was popularly elected as president and permitted the division of the country in 1993 even tho' he personally hoped that could be avoided. He has observed the democratic principles for which so many suffered and died. He remains one of the BEST RESPECTED STATESMEN of our times. Even tho' he suffered persecution, he has spoken repeatedly for forgiving old enemies and rebuilding according to human rights (Lockean) principles. Under his leadership, Czech Republic has recovered well from the effects of communist oppression and is now accepted into EU and NATO membership. |
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| - MEANING THE OUTCOME IN 1989 WAS COMPLETELY THE OPPOSITE OF '89 WHEN THE BREZHNEV DOCTRINE CRUSHED THE PRAGUE SPRING. |
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| Communist ruler who ruled for 24 years in Roumania starting in 1965. He had early on broken from Moscow and created his own foreign policy. He promoted a cult of personality about himself and his family which, along with his personal body guard and police state, kept him successfully in office for so long. He wanted to form a modern industrial society out of Roumania's backward agrarian society regardless of human cost. He had his security forces kill hundreds of demonstrators in Timisoara in 1989. Eventually the security forces were defeated by revolutionaries and Ceausescu and his wife were hurriedly tried and executed on Christmas day of 1989. |
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| this was the question of what would happen to Germany at the end of WW II. It resurfaced after the fall of Communism in the GDR, concerning the reunification of Germany i.e. bringing the East and West parts of Germany together. Since no final peace settlement had been signed it was necessary for the Four Allied Powers to come together and approve the settlement. France and Britain were a little hesitant about the creation of an even larger and potentially more powerful Germany. However, the FRG's commitment to democracy and the thoroughness of the Basic Law re human rights issues eased those concerns. The US also argued that 45 years after the war it was difficult to deny a people's self-determination and Kohl was in favor of a quick reunification. The Four Powers, including USSR, gave their approval and the merging took place on October 3, 1990. It was agreed that the new capital would ultimately be Berlin. HELMUT KOHL and the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) overwhelmingly won the next election but then faced the enormous task of modernizing the decayed East German economy. THE GERMAN BUNDESBANK - KEEPING INTEREST RATES HIGH TO WARD OFF INFLATION IN THIS TIME OF TURMOIL - HAD AN IMPACT ON THE REST OF EUROPE WHICH STRUGGLED WITH HIGH UNEMPLOYEMENT RATES IN THE '90S. YOUNG PEOPLE WERE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE IN THIS RECESSION. IT WAS SOON RECOGNIZED THAT MUCH OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT WAS NOT JUST CYCLICAL BUT STRUCTURAL I.E. THAT THE STRUCTURE OF ECONOMIES WAS CHANGING AND LABOR REQUIREMENTS WERE BECOMING MORE HI-TECH AS MANUFACTURING JOBS MOVED TO COUNTRIES WITH LOWER LABOR COSTS. |
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| This was Gorbie's plan to free prices and move more swiftly toward a market economy as well as to curtail the military budget and give broad economic powers to the republics; it was abandoned in the autumn of 1990 when Gorbie, who had walked a tightrope between the old hard-line communists(now on the RIGHT since they resisted change) and the pro-democracy/capitalism reformers(now on the LEFT), unexpectedly, he started moving more to the RIGHT. He perhaps felt the reform movement was getting out of hand and tried to counter-balance. |
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| He was Gorbie's foreign minister and closest political associate. Having spent much time in the West he was very familiar with the successes of democracy and capitalism and supported Gorb's reform track. He resigned his post as foreign minister when Gorbie started moving toward the RIGHT. He would later become president of Georgia when it ultimately broke from the Soviet Union and declared its independence. |
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| He was the political figure to whom democratic reformers turned for a leader; he was not an intellectual, but he knew the party and its secrets -- he had been the party boss in Moscow and a member of the Politburo. He was dismissed from his posts, vilified by the press, and sent into political wilderness in 1987 when he attacked the privileges, perquisites (perks), and incompetence of the party. He was converted by democratic reformers into an opposition leader. He was elected to all-Soviet legislature in March 1989 and to the Russian legislature in 1990; he became the chairman. He was elected president of the Russian Republic in June 1991 -- the first president in Russian history to be elected by popular vote. He pressed for the independence of the Baltic States and the self-govt of Russia and the constituent republics of the Soviet Union. |
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| voters in Leningrad decided to change its name back to St. Petersburg at the same time that Boris Yeltsin was elected in order to return to its roots before Communism; this was the city's name before 1914 when it became Petrograd - then Leningrad after Lenin's death. |
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| 8 hard line communists acted to seize power the day before the "Union Treaty" was to be signed. This treaty would have given more self-rule to the republic and ended domination by Moscow. The August coup was carried out by these 8 in order to prevent the abandonment of the Soviet Union. These men were high-ranking party and state functionaries, including the head of the KGB and the commander of the Soviet land forces -- all were Gorbie appointees. 3 arrived at Gorbie's summer home in the Crimea and tried to win him over to their cause; after their failure, they proclaimed the Committee of State Emergency to replace him. Gorbie disavowed them and Yeltsin rallied the Russian legislature in his defense. An assault of military force never came, and the coup failed in 4 days. |
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| Gorbie, intent on keeping the country and union intact began negotiations with president of the republics - most of whom wanted independence. He agreed to surrender more and more autonomy to the republics including substantial control over economic and financial resources that Moscow had always tightly guarded. Baltic republics demanded full independence so refused to participate, but in August the Russian republic and 10 other constituent republics agreed to sign. |
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| committee of state emergency |
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| for the old guard hard liners the "union treaty" was the final straw. When they attempted the August Coup they formed this Committee, took over broadcasting facilities and declared themselves in charge. Thanks to Yeltsin and outrage of reformers - the coup failed. |
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| what remained of the earlier framework of the party-state regime. Consisted of the presidents of the constituent republics over which Gorbie continued to preside. One of its first acts was to recognize the independence of the 3 Baltic republics. |
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| Ukranian SSR had taken over leadership of nationalist movement. The state proclaimed itself an independent Ukraine immediately after the August Coup. |
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| the new name for Byelorussia. Yeltsin announced that Russia would not stay in the union w/out Ukraine. Therefore, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus dissolved the union. Gorbie resigned as president, and Yeltsin took office. |
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| commonwealth of independent states |
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a loose organization consisting of Russia and 10 other republics that came into existence after the dissolution of the union. The Baltic State did not join and Georgia did not until 1994. However, the CIS has been largely ineffectual.
NOTE: of the former republics, Russia is the largest in area and population AND HAS ASSUMED THE SOVIET UNION'S PLACE ON THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL |
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| Yeltsin turned to a Western-oriented economist as a key adviser. Belief in swift transition to market economy as the least painful course led to a flood of decrees deregulating prices, ending or cutting subsidies to state owned industries and collective farms and moving forward with privatization of state owned businesses. The effect of such a rapid transition was a serious decline in living conditions for most Russians. Only a few entrepreneurial, ambitious types made money. Many of these were exploitive in their approach. This shock therapy had worked reasonably well in Poland but less so in Russia. Hence the govt received much criticism from its newly elected legislature and there was much obstruction of reform measures and calls for insurrection. |
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| : Yeltsin issued orders for dissolving the legislature and electing a new one in hopes of more support for reform measures. Some lawmakers denounced the order and would not leave the parliament building. They urged demonstrators to seize the town hall and central television center. People were killed when soldiers repelled them. On October 4, 1993 the tanks surrounded the legislature and set it ablaze. The legislators evacuated the building and were arrested. 140 people were killed in this conflict and many others injured. New elections were held and a new constitution adopted. THIS CONSTITUTION UNCONDITIONALLY GUARANTEED THE SANCTITY OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS - IN CONTRAST TO THE SOVIET CONSTITUTIONS WHICH HAD SUBORDINATED ALL SUCH RIGHTS TO THE PARAMOUNT INTERESTS OF THE PARTY. |
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| popularly elected lower house, named for its pre-soviet roots. It replaced the Congress of the old constitution. Reform party did not do so well. The Communist party - now reformed and legally recognized - won some representatives but the most popular vote went to an ULTRANATIONALIST BY THE NAME OF VLADIMIR ZHIRINOVSKY. HE PROMOTES REUNITING THE OLD RUSSIAN EMPIRE, REVIVING RUSSIA'S MILITARY MIGHT AND TAKING BACK ALASKA!!! HE IS ALSO AN AVOWED ANTI-SEMITE. |
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| ULTRANATIONALIST HE PROMOTES REUNITING THE OLD RUSSIAN EMPIRE, REVIVING RUSSIA'S MILITARY MIGHT AND TAKING BACK ALASKA!!! HE IS ALSO AN AVOWED ANTI-SEMITE. |
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| fall of communism led to ultimate break-up of Yugoslavia as constituent republics sought independence. Serbia resisted this and revived ancient ambitions of a Greater Serbia. See H/O for details. |
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| et al. One-time communist party official who took up pan-Serb cause in late 1980s and was LARGELY RESPONSIBLE, as a DEMAGOGUE and DICTATOR, for the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the more recent conflict in KOSOVO. Milosovic had been on trial at The Hague in the Netherlands on war crimes charges. He died, in March of 2006, before his case was concluded. |
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| Europe recognized this as the deep-seated cause of long-term unemployment rather than the temporary unemployment caused by the business cycle. High labor and welfare costs contributed to this problem as restructuring of businesses and industries was done to make economies more competitive in global markets. In post-industrial economies the employment sectors are growing in hi-tech and service industries meaning that workers must be trained for these types of jobs. Many manufacturing, manual/low-skill jobs are going overseas where labor is cheaper. Western countries must therefore train workers for the higher tech jobs and service industry jobs. In Europe in the 1990s one of the ways to deal with these structural changes has been to try to reduce social welfare costs. |
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| IN ITALY: For years the CDs had dominated the political scene in Italy - forming one government after another - Italy has had countless governments since WW II since administrations face frequent no-confidence votes or the inability to keep coalitions together. The practice of proportional representation has meant that coalitions are a feature of Italian political life - inherently unstable/weak. In the 1990s, the CDs were shown to have widespread corruption in govt and business circles. In 1992, official investigations showed officials at highest levels were receiving bribes, kickbacks and payoffs. The party was so tainted by these scandals that it renamed itself the POPULAR PARTY reverting to the name of the Roman Catholic center party of the early 1920s. |
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| the name of Roman Catholic Center party of the 1920ss adopted by the Christian Democrats in Italy after evidence of massive corruption surfaced in the 1990s. The name change was an effort to improve the party's image. |
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| a coalition of right wing parties led by a powerful businessman (BERLUSCONI) in Italy. The coalition included separatist and fascist groups. In 1994, they were elected to govt under a new representative system which modified the old proportional representation system. However, this right wing govt included the NORTHERN LEAGUE that wanted to separate Italy into two new countries - North and South, and a neo-fascist party called the National Alliance, headed by Mussolini's granddaughter. |
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| wanted to separate Italy into two new countries - North and South, and a neo-fascist party called the National Alliance, headed by Mussolini's granddaughter. |
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a neo-fascist group within Forza Italia that looked fondly upon Mussolini and the Fascist era - mid 1990s.
LIKE SO MANY OTHER GOVTS IN ITALY SINCE WWII - Forza Italia also fell upon exposure of corrupt practices by its media magnate leader, Berlusconi, though as of 2009, he is back as prime minister of Italy. |
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| the physicist who developed the QUANTUM THEORY in the 1920s. His work contributed to the development of nuclear technology. |
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| Developed by Max Planck, a German. Modern physics is based on the QUANTUM THEORY. |
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| piece of equipment developed in 1932 at Cambridge University; made it possible to penetrate nucleus of the atom at high speed. |
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| German chemist who discovered in 1938 that when atomic nucleus of the uranium atom was bombarded at high speed, it became unstable and split - releasing energy. |
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| Danish physicist; in 1939 brought news to U.S. scientist about these European developments in nuclear physics. |
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| 1942, Italian refugee in US and with US, British and other Euro refugee scientists brought about the first sustained nuclear chain reaction. This led to secret preparation of atom bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico - the Manhattan Project - and the testing at Almagordo, New Mexico in 1945. The atomic bomb was first used by US vs Japan at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945. |
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| deciphering of this led to synthesizing of DNA, making it possible by splicing genes to alter characteristics of plants and animals. This would be helpful in revolutionizing new crops and conquering inherited diseases. |
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| loosely organized body of ideas -- early origins in work of KIERKEGAARD, 19th century Danish religious philosopher. The "followers" of this movement formed no one school of thought and held no coherent, easily defined body of principles. Among them were both Christians and atheists. Most reflected in their ideas/writings the troubled civilization of the modern world. This world, disturbed by war and oppression, is also a civilization marked by unprecedented material progress and yet moral uncertainties. The concern is that the "individual" will become crushed under the weight of triumphant science, technology and man's modern institutions. Existentialists emphasized that in the final analysis the individual must make choice/commitments on his/her own and bear responsibility for those choices. |
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| French writer who developed existentialist thought after WW II in literature and philosophy. Worked in the French Resistance movement in WW II, battled for abortion rights in the 1950s, denounced the French war in Algeria, supported Castro, and declined the Nobel Prize in the '60s - very much a man of action. Controversial - especially in West - but much followed in rest of world as a modern-age philosopher. Books, No Exit, The Flies, The Ways of Freedom. Define ourselves by choices we make. We are responsible for ALL our actions. |
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| 1920s; member of an influential group of philosophers and mathematicians in Vienna who sought to introduce logical positivism. |
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the methodology and precision of mathematics introduced into the study of philosophy as a whole; rejected ambiguities of language and used traditional speculation on morals and values, turning away from non-demonstrable, i.e. "God, death, what is higher"
Wittgenstein's Vienna group faded in 1930s, logical positivism has, however, remained influential. "Most professional philosophers continue to emphasis scientific rigor and linguistic analysis, and some devote themselves more to unresolved human and social dilemmas." |
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| 1960s; French philosopher who explained in broad philosophical terms that work of critic was said to be as much as a creative enterprise as literary or artistic creation itself. |
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| theory which emerged to offer new methods of analysis and criticism; asked readers to analyze ("deconstruct") a given body of writing ("texts" could be any cultural object as well) with no regard for previous interpretations, historical settings, or life of author, but to link it to all related "texts". Supposedly, this process made it possible to reveal class, racial, ethnocentric or sexual assumptions hidden in the language of the work. |
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| group of French historical scholars (Annales was a journal) gained a lot of influence after WW II; focused on long-term elements in historical change. Example: population, economy, climate and natural resources. Relegated politics to a lesser role and avoided narrative of "events." They studied lives of ordinary people of the past and tried to reconstruct the collective outlook of social classes. Special attention paid to the inarticulate and illiterate - ex. American slaves, English working classes and people of Africa. |
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| 1972, book by American architect Robert Venturi and collaborators (ex. of postmodernists who embraced commercialization and materialism of contemporary culture, often with humor.) |
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| tensions between modernism and fundamentalism continued, but many Protestant churches began to reconcile traditional teachings with science and scholarship, minimizing supernatural and dogmatic aspects of faith. They began adapting teachings of gospel to social needs of contemporary/modern world. Two world wars and many other disasters of this century undermined optimism of social gospel. |
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| "revealed religion" Karl Barth, Paul Tillich and other Protestants |
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| attempting to lead Protestantism back to its Reformation roots - fundamentals. Emphasized importance of divine revelation and personal commitment rather than using human reason to properly judge divine revelation. There has been some evangelical Protestantism with "literal" adherence to all aspects of gospel but IN GENERAL, PROTESTANTISM HAS ACCEPTED RELIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP AND THE CHALLENGE OF MODERNISM. |
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| this movement, beginning in the 19th century, was an organized effort to unite many branches of Protestantism, and eventually all Christianity. This made headway after the Second World War. It led to the founding of the World Council of Churches in 1948. Christian churches moved toward closer dialogue with non-Christian world faiths as well. |
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| the Assumption: the literal or bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. This was the only new Roman Catholic dogma to be promulgated in the 20th century. It was part of the Vatican's reaffirmation of dogmatic training and was brought about by Pius XII in 1950. |
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| 1959-63; Succeeded Pius XII and reigned for only 4 years. Proved to be one most innovative popes in modern times. He worked to bring church into greater harmony with contemporary world. Called upon wealthier nations to share resources with less favored. He placed global emphasis upon church's teachings. He wrote PACEM IN TERRIS, which appealed to Catholics and non-Catholics for peace and human rights. A champion of ecumenism, he opened dialogues with other faiths. In 1962 he convened the Second Vatican Council/ Vatican II. |
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| First encyclical ever addressed to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. It appealed for peace and human rights. It was issued by John XXIII in 1963. |
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| Meeting held in 1962. It reshaped contemporary Catholicism and was instituted under John XXIII. Resulted in reforms: Vatican accepted religious pluralism, accepted principle of collegiality (view that pope must share his authority with prelates of church), revised various practices(mass in vernacular rather than Latin, relaxed dress for priests and nuns, gave laity a bigger role in religious practices, absolved Jews from charge of deicide that inflamed anti-semitism over the centuries). BUT IT RETAINED CELIBACY FOR PRIESTS AND ALLOWED NO ORDINATION FOR WOMEN. |
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| Succeeded John XXIII and carried on his work - though a little more conservative. The Vatican Council concluded its work during his papacy - it accepted religious pluralism; affirmed collegiality; revised liturgy and practices. Absolved Jews of Deicide but still asserted papal supremacy. Mass was to be in vernacular rather than Latin. Dress restrictions for nuns and priests were relaxed but celibacy maintained. Ordination still allowed for men only. Paul VI upheld supremacy of Pope - and still very conservative on moral issues - including birth control. This was during the decade when the "pill" became widely available and there was growing concern about population explosion and the "health" of the planet as a viable biosphere. |
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| Succeeded Paul VI in 1978. Archbishop of Cracow - first Polish Pope and first non-Italian pope in 450 years. He was much admired but sometimes controversial. He was energetic & much traveled – pope-mobile after assassination attempt. He was politically progressive on world issues, but, conservative on Church issues. He continued encouraging ecumenism and reaching out to non-Christians. He encouraged activities of his church behind the Iron Curtain. He supported Lech Walesa in his activities. However, did put an end to "LIBERATION THEOLOGY." This was a movement in Latin America where some Catholic clergy been supporting/sympathetic to political/social movements seeking peasant relief from oppressive military dictatorship. He opposed ordination for women, divorce, homosexuality, etc. |
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| This was a movement in Latin America where some Catholic clergy been supporting/sympathetic to political/social movements seeking peasant relief from oppressive military dictatorship. He opposed ordination for women, divorce, homosexuality, etc. |
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| YOUTH REBELLION OF 1960s - SOIXANTE-HUITE: |
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| Baby-boom generation reached its teen to early twenties in the 1960s. This was a decade of high youth activism. Many rebelled against the multiple injustices of the "establishment." It was particularly high in France in the spring of 1968(soixante-huite). Students went on strike/sit-ins/demonstrations in sympathy with workers. Also in U.S. youth were active in Civil Rights movement and anti-war movements. Some of the youth who participated read neo-Marxist literature like that of HERBERT MARCUSE and became part of the NEW LEFT. |
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Rejected the old revolutionaries of the Soviet Union as stodgy bureaucrats and looked rather to Mao or Third World (Che Guevara) for ideological leadership. It rejected the materialism, affluence, conformity and the power structure of contemporary society. Some even advocated anarchism or nihilism.
This leftward swing of the youth faded by the 1970s - especially with end of the Viet Nam war.
1980s would be a more materialistic decade for youth - preppies and yuppies. |
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| Women's liberation movement took its early inspiration from the writings of this French woman. In her book, The Second Sex, (1949) she described the impact her gender had had on her life. |
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| The tendency to reduce a religion to its most fundamental tenets, based on strict interpretation of core texts. |
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| often referred to as the father of clinical psychology. His extensive theory of personality development (psychoanalytical theory) is the cornerstone for modern psychological thought, and consists of (1) the psychosexual stages of development, (2) the structural model of personality (id, ego, superego), and (3) levels of consciousness (conscious, subconscious, and unconscious). |
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| (Swedish physicist (born in Austria) who worked in the field of radiochemistry with Otto Hahn and formulated the concept of nuclear fission with Otto Frisch (1878-1968)) |
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| (physicist born in Germany who formulated the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity; Einstein also proposed that light consists of discrete quantized bundles of energy (later called photons) (1879-1955)) |
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| acquired immune deficiency syndrome (a serious (often fatal) disease of the immune system transmitted through blood products especially by sexual contact or contaminated needles) |
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| (an international organization based in Geneva that monitors and enforces rules governing global trade) world trade organization |
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| the basic monetary unit of most members of the European Union (introduced in 1999); |
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| (an international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members) |
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