International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) Group 3: Individuals and Societies (History) Syllabus

Group 3: Individuals and Societies (History) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Group 3: Individuals and Societies (History) in International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Prescribed Subjects (Paper 1 Source Work)

   3 topics

   • Rights and Protest
     • US civil rights movement, 1954-1965
     • Apartheid in South Africa, 1948-1964
   • Conquest and Its Impact
   • The Move to Global War
     • Japanese expansion in East Asia, 1931-1941
     • German and Italian expansion, 1933-1940
2. 2

   World History Topics (Paper 2)

   4 topics

   • Causes and Effects of Wars
     • Long-term, short-term, and immediate causes
     • Economic, social, and political consequences
   • Authoritarian States (20th Century)
     • Conditions for emergence and consolidation of power
     • Aims and impact of domestic policies
   • Causes and Effects of 20th-Century Independence Movements
   • Evolution and Development of Democratic States
3. 3

   Regional Depth Study (Paper 3, HL)

   4 topics

   • History of the Americas
   • Colonial Foundations and Independence Movements
   • Nation-Building and Political Development
   • The Americas in the Cold War
4. 4

   Historical Skills and Methods

   3 topics

   • Source Analysis
     • Origin, purpose, value, and limitations
     • Comparing and contrasting sources
   • Historiography and Interpretation
   • Essay Construction and Argumentation
5. 5

   Internal Assessment

   3 topics

   • Historical Investigation
     • Identification and evaluation of sources
     • Investigation and analysis
     • Reflection on methods of the historian
   • Selecting a Focused Research Question
   • Formatting, Word Count, and Academic Integrity

Group 3: Individuals and Societies (History) flashcards for International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB)

25 of 52 cards from the Group 3: Individuals and Societies (History) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In the IB 'Rights and Protest' case study, what were the two main protest movements compared?

   The US Civil Rights Movement (1954-1965) and the apartheid protest movement in South Africa (1948-1964).

2. What 1954 US Supreme Court ruling declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional?

   Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which overturned the 'separate but equal' doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).

3. What method of nonviolent protest did the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott use, and who sparked it?

   An economic boycott of the segregated bus system, sparked by Rosa Parks's arrest; it lasted ~381 days and propelled Martin Luther King Jr. to leadership.

4. What was the Sharpeville Massacre (1960) and its significance for South African protest?

   Police killed 69 anti-pass-law protesters; it led to the banning of the ANC and PAC and a shift from nonviolent protest toward armed struggle (Umkhonto we Sizwe).

5. In the IB 'Conquest and Its Impact' option, which conquests are most commonly studied?

   The Spanish conquest of the Aztec (Mexica) Empire under Cortés (1519-21) and of the Inca Empire under Pizarro (1532-33).

6. Name three factors that enabled the Spanish conquest of the Americas.

   Superior weaponry/horses, exploitation of indigenous rivalries and alliances, and Old World diseases (e.g., smallpox) that devastated native populations.

7. What was the 'Columbian Exchange'?

   The transfer of plants, animals, people, diseases, and cultures between the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) and the New World (Americas) following 1492.

8. What labor systems did the Spanish impose on indigenous peoples after conquest?

   The encomienda (grants of indigenous labor/tribute to colonists) and later the repartimiento and mita systems.

9. In IB 'The Move to Global War,' what two case studies are compared?

   Japanese expansion in East Asia (1931-1941) and German/Italian expansion in Europe and Africa (1933-1940).

10. What was the Mukden (Manchurian) Incident of 1931?

    A staged explosion on the South Manchurian Railway used by Japan's Kwantung Army as a pretext to invade Manchuria and create the puppet state of Manchukuo.

11. Define 'appeasement' in the context of the 1930s.

    The British/French policy of granting concessions to aggressor states (notably Nazi Germany) to avoid war, epitomized by the 1938 Munich Agreement.

12. What did the 1938 Munich Agreement permit, and what did Hitler do afterward?

    It allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia; in March 1939 Hitler occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia, ending appeasement's credibility.

13. What was the significance of the Nazi-Soviet (Molotov-Ribbentrop) Pact of August 1939?

    A non-aggression pact with a secret protocol dividing Eastern Europe; it freed Germany to invade Poland (Sept 1939), triggering WWII in Europe.

14. Distinguish 'long-term,' 'short-term,' and 'immediate' causes of war as used in IB History.

    Long-term: underlying structural causes (e.g., alliances, ideology); short-term: triggering tensions over years; immediate: the spark/precipitating event (e.g., an assassination or invasion).

15. What are the four MAIN long-term causes of WWI commonly taught?

    Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

16. What is 'total war' and how does it affect societies?

    A conflict mobilizing all of a state's resources and population; it expands government control, the wartime economy, propaganda, and often women's labor roles.

17. What were the key political effects of WWII on the global order?

    The emergence of the US and USSR as superpowers, the start of the Cold War, decolonization, founding of the UN (1945), and division of Europe.

18. What three conditions does the IB use to define an 'authoritarian/single-party state'?

    Power concentrated in one leader/party, suppression of opposition and civil liberties, and use of force, propaganda, and ideology to maintain control.

19. List common methods authoritarian leaders use to consolidate power.

    Legal/constitutional manipulation, force and terror (secret police), propaganda and cult of personality, control of media/education, and elimination of rivals.

20. Name three authoritarian leaders frequently studied for IB Paper 2.

    Adolf Hitler (Germany), Joseph Stalin (USSR), and Mao Zedong (China); others include Mussolini, Castro, and Perón.

21. What is a 'cult of personality'?

    The deliberate creation of an idealized, heroic public image of a leader through propaganda, media, and art to legitimize and entrench power.

22. What economic policy did Stalin use to transform the USSR, and what were its features?

    The Five-Year Plans (from 1928): rapid state-directed industrialization and forced collectivization of agriculture, causing famine (e.g., Holodomor) but heavy-industry growth.

23. Identify common causes of 20th-century independence movements.

    Nationalism, the weakening of European powers after the world wars, anti-colonial ideologies, economic exploitation, and the example of other independence struggles.

24. What method of resistance did Gandhi pioneer in India's independence movement?

    Satyagraha (nonviolent civil disobedience), seen in the 1930 Salt March against the British salt monopoly.

25. What is 'decolonization' and roughly when did its main wave occur?

    The process by which colonies gained independence from imperial powers; the main wave occurred from the late 1940s to the 1960s (especially in Asia and Africa).

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