The Connaissance du Monde oral exam took place in MAY whilst the 4hr HG written exam will occur place on Friday 23rd May. The 20min oral exam will take place at EJM Paris between Monday 2nd and Thursday 5th June 2025 at 70 rue de Theatre.
This is the History book for obligatory background reading assignments in each chapter:
This is the corresponding Geography book for each chapter:
T°BFI Syllabus
History
Theme 1: Challenges to Democracy, Rise of Totalitarianism and World War II: 1929-1945
Chp1: Causes and impacts of the 1929 Crisis + Great Depression
Chp2: Totalitarian Regimes (Nazi Germany and Stalin’s USSR)
Chp3: World War Two (Survey of the war, Violence, French Experience)
Theme 2: The Post War Bi-Polar World and Challenges
Chp1: End of WW2 and Emergence of the Cold War
Chp2: A New Geopolitical Order and Emergence of the Developing World
a) Creation of Israel and the Arab Response *
b) Emergence of Mao’s China *
c) Vietnam War, 1955-63
d) French Republic and Nationalist Movements in Africa, 1954-62
e) Castro’s Cuba, 1959-62 *
Theme 3: Economic, Political and Social Changes: 1950s-91
Chp1: International Economic and Political Changes
a) Oil and Political Islam
b) Deng and Reagan
c) The Rise of the EU and Fall of the USSR
Chp2: Domestic Challenges within the USA and France from the 1950s to 2001
Pillar One: The USA
Impact of Vietnam War
Civil Rights Movement
Rise and Evolution of Conservatism
Pillar Two: Protest and Government Responses in the USA and France
1968 and Counterculture
Feminism and Women’s Rights
LGBTQ+ Rights
Geography
Theme 1: Seas and Oceans at the Core of Globalization
-Importance of Maritime Space in globalization
-Unequal integration of territories into globalization
-Tensions between States over the control and use of maritime space (e.g. South China Sea)
–Question spécifique: France and the USA – a comparison of maritime powers
Theme 2: Territorial Dynamics, Cooperation and Tensions in Globalization
-Unequal integration of territories into globalization
-The place of the USA in Globalization
-Examples of Globalization at different scales:
Local, Regional, Global
Question spécifique: France – differentiated international influence and unequal attractiveness in globalization
Theme 3: Complex Dynamics: The European Union and Globalization
– The European Union and Globalization
Question Spécifique – The differential dynamics of cross- border territories of the United States and of France in the EU.
This chapter studies the impact of the global economic crisis on societies and politics in the short, medium and long term. It focuses on the causes of the crisis triggered by the 1929 Wall Street Crash, the transition from an American crisis to a global crisis and the consequences, including unemployment and political instability. It also draws attention to the immediate and longer-term implications of increased federal government intervention in the economy. Thus, it also introduces the rise of neoliberal economic thought (Friedrich Hayek) and Keynesian economic theory foreshadowing the post WW2 debate between a big government welfare state versus the ideology of the invisible hand of the market.
How did the economic crisis of the 1930s pose a challenge to democratic governments?
What were the key economic, social, and political consequences of the Great Depression in the United States?
How did the New Deal transform the role of the federal government in American society?
In what ways were the approaches to the Depression in the USA and France similar and different?
Resources for the Great Depression and the New Deal
The 1929 Stock Market Crash (9m):
The Great Depression Explained in 2 minutes:
Analysis of Ideas of Keynes vs Hayek:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-14366054
KEY IDEAS:
Keynesian economics is a macroeconomic economic theory of total spending in the economy and its effects on output, employment, and inflation. … Based on his theory, Keynes advocated for increased government expenditures and lower taxes to stimulate demand and pull the global economy out of the depression.
Friedrich Hayek believed that the prosperity of society was driven by creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation, which were possible only in a society with free markets.
The Dust Bowl and the Depression (3m41):
Hoovervilles:
The New Deal Explained:
HELP FOR DBQ ASSIGNMENT;
POSSIBLE INTRODUCTION FOR DBQ HOMEWORK: (feel free to copy, use, adapt or not use this introduction)
This essay will assess how the New Deal changed the role of the federal government in the USA. The New Deal was a series of reforms implemented by President Roosevelt following his election in 1933 which were designed to get Americans back to work and jump start the economy in order to help it recover from the Great Depression. These innovations fundamentally altered the role of the federal government by making it more deeply involved in the nation’s economy life. This piece of work examines why the New Deal was needed, the changes it made, and how they led to greater levels of federal government intervention in US economic and social life. (Thesis in bold)
_______________________________________
The subsequent paragraph can describe (briefly) what the Great Depression was (and in so doing demonstrate that the crisis was so profound that a BIG government response was needed).
The following paragraphs need to describe and explain what the New Deal was (use the chapter from your summer homework if you want and/or the History Chapter 1 Study Pack) and also show how it was led by the federal government on a scale which had never been seen before. These paragraphs are also where you could bring in a reference to Keynesian ideas (or not).
DON’T FORGET to include a discussion (maybe a single substantial paragraph) of the values and limitations of both documents – this is IMPORTANT!
In the conclusion return to the question and underscore how the role of the federal government had changed (the government was now much bigger in terms of what it did in national life).
THEME 1 Chapter 2
Introduction
This chapter surveys the characteristics of totalitarian regimes (ideology, forms of adhesion, use of violence and terror for coercion and control devices) and their consequences on the European order. You will compare and contrast the characteristics of Stalin’s USSR and Nazi Germany and consider how ‘totalitarianism’ differs from ‘authoritarianism’.
Key Questions
How did totalitarian regimes exploit the economic crisis in order to gain and maintain power in the 1930s?
How important was the role of ideology and coercion in the consolidation of power in Nazi Germany and Stalinist Soviet Union?
How can we explain popular support for the regimes in Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany?
How effective were the regimes in maintaining their power and control?
Compare and contrast the characteristics of the Soviet and Nazi regimes.
Video resource:
Watch this 15 minute video for a clear overview of Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany – it also covers two of the points de passage: the Ukrainian Famine and the Spanish Civil War:
Kristallnacht: Pictures capture horrors of 1938 Nazi pogrom
This chapter examines the defeat of France, and the paths of Collaboration and Resistance that confronted the country during the early 1940s. It also covers the extent and violence of WWII, including the brutality of the war on the Eastern front in order to come to some understanding of the crimes against humanity committed during the Holocaust. An additional component is on the impact of war on the US ‘homefront’, with particular attention to the role of women in defence industries, for example, and the internment of Japanese-Americans on the West Coast. The role of the two atomic bombs in ending the war in the Pacific theatre of conflict, and the circumstance of the end of the war in Europe form important links to the emergence of the Cold War tensions after the war.
Shoah is the Hebrew word for “catastrophe”. This term specifically means the killing of nearly six million Jews in Europe by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Second World War. English-speaking countries more commonly use the word Holocaust, which is Greek for “sacrifice by fire”.
Please visit the Memorial de la Shoah website to learn more, the FAQs are particularly informative:
When Harry Truman became president upon the death of Franklin Roosevelt, the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of World War II were quite different. Hitler’s government was falling apart, and Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, less than a month after Truman took office. In contrast, Japan appeared unstoppable. Bombs and napalm dropped on Tokyo had claimed approximately 100,000 Japanese lives. The ferocious resistance by Japan’s army on the island of Okinawa, where 10,000 American and 100,000 Japanese soldiers died, reinforced the notion that Japan would never surrender.
A committee appointed by Truman soon after he took office in April had a solution to dealing with Japan. It reported that a top-secret weapon, the atomic bomb, would be available soon and should be used without warning. The report offered no alternatives. While the president had agreed in mid-June to plan for a possible U.S. invasion of Japan in the fall of 1945, his lack of experience in office, determination to minimize American casualties, and desire to demonstrate strength to the Soviet Union made him inclined to accept the study committee recommendation. Furthermore, the bombing of civilian populations became an acceptable practice due to the possibility of aerial attacks by all sides in the war. Finally, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 justified any counterattack. On July 25, Truman learned that the bomb had been successfully tested. He ordered military commanders to deploy the weapon at their discretion.
After a final diplomatic attempt to obtain Japan’s unconditional surrender failed, the bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6. Truman was shown aerial photos of the devastation two days later. He was unaware that 80,000 Japanese had been killed and that tens of thousands more would die from ensuing radiation sickness. A second strike on August 9 destroyed the Japanese port city of Nagasaki, killing 40,000 more people. Japan surrendered on August 14.