The Great Acceleration
Driving Question: Why has change accelerated since 1945?
The world changed quickly after 1945. Examine how technological, health, and food production advances have increased global pressures and impacted the environment.
Learning Objectives:
- Use evidence to analyze how globalization has impacted the environment.
- Create arguments using historical evidence to support claims and communicate conclusions through informal writing.
In the last century, new technologies have reshaped human societies. Is change accelerating as a result, or is this more of the same?
Did you know: The global population reached 1 billion people around 1800. In 1950, there were 2.5 billion of us. In 2022, we numbered 8 billion. That’s a stark illustration of this lesson’s emphasis on acceleration. Most of human population growth has happened very recently.
In this part of the lesson, you’ll explore how rapid population growth and environmental trends reveal the pace of global change. From urbanization to rising resource use, these shifts help explain why the post-1945 era feels so accelerated.
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Guiding Questions
The mummification of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, medieval plague pits, campaigns to stop people spitting in the street—all examples of how humanity’s deadliest pandemics have changed how we understand and fight disease. Explore the history of the deadliest pandemics and the lessons we’ve learned in this blog post.
Are things changing faster than ever before? In these materials, you’ll examine how advances in technology have transformed our world and what this means for the future.
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Guiding Questions
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Guiding Questions
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Guiding Questions
This debate activity is a great way to get students beyond a “technology good/technology bad” binary. The goal here is to get them think about whether human innovation in the last century is solving problems faster than it creates new ones. The Green Revolution and Eradicating Smallpox videos will both serve as important evidence here.
It’s your turn to take a stand! Weigh the evidence and debate a big question: Can innovation keep up with the pace of change? You’ll sharpen your argument skills and deepen your understanding of how acceleration shapes our future.
You’ve explored decades of intense change. Now, it’s time to reflect on its impacts by writing a letter into the past.
