Cambridge O Level
History (Modern World Affairs)
2134
For examination in June and November 2016
Cambridge Secondary 2
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Cambridge International Examinations 2014
Contents
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 2
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Introduction
1.
Introduction
Excellence in education
Our mission is to deliver world-class international education through the provision of high-quality curricula,
assessment and services.
More than 9000 schools are part of our Cambridge learning community. We support teachers in over 160
countries who offer their learners an international education based on our curricula and leading to our
qualifications. Every year, thousands of learners use Cambridge qualifications to gain places at universities
around the world.
Our syllabuses are reviewed and updated regularly so that they reflect the latest thinking of international
experts and practitioners and take account of the different national contexts in which they are taught.
Cambridge programmes and qualifications are designed to support learners in becoming:
confident in working with information and ideas their own and those of others
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
Introduction
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
Introduction
Prior learning
We recommend that learners who are beginning this course should have previously studied some History or
another Humanities subject.
Progression
Cambridge O Level Certificates are general qualifications that enable learners to progress directly to
employment, or to proceed to further qualifications.
Candidates who are awarded grades A* to C in Cambridge O Level History are well prepared to follow
courses leading to Cambridge International AS and A Level History, or the equivalent.
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
Teacher support
2.
Teacher support
2.3 Training
We offer a range of support activities for teachers to ensure they have the relevant knowledge and skills to
deliver our qualifications. See www.cie.org.uk/events for further information.
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
Assessment at a glance
3.
Assessment at a glance
Weighting
(approx.)
2 hours
66%
This written paper contains five questions on each syllabus content section (A to F).
Candidates answer four questions taken from at least two sections. They must answer
at least one question from Section A: International Relations and Developments.
Each question is structured in two parts: part (a) and part (b). Candidates must answer
both parts of their chosen questions.
Part (a) requires candidates to demonstrate an ability to recall, select, organise and
deploy knowledge of the syllabus content (10 marks)
Part (b) requires candidates to show an understanding of and the ability to analyse and
explain: cause and consequence, continuity and change, similarity and difference; and
the motives, emotions, intentions and beliefs of people in the past (10 marks)
80 marks
Externally marked
Component 2: International Relations and Developments
1 hour 15 minutes
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
33%
Assessment at a glance
Availability
This syllabus is examined in the June and November examination series.
This syllabus is available to private candidates.
Detailed timetables are available from www.cie.org.uk/examsofficers
Please note that Cambridge O Level, Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International Level 1/Level 2
Certificate syllabuses are at the same level.
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
4.
promote the acquisition of knowledge and understanding of human activity in history, linking it, as
appropriate, with the present
ensure that learners knowledge is rooted in an understanding of the nature and use of historical
evidence
promote an understanding of key historical concepts such as cause and consequence, continuity and
change, similarity and difference
encourage the development of analytical skills and the ability to explain historical issues and events
provide a sound basis for further study and the pursuit of personal interest
an ability to recall, select, organise and deploy knowledge of the syllabus content
AO2:
AO3:
an ability to understand, interpret, evaluate and use a range of sources as evidence, in their historical
context
Assessment
objective
Paper 1
(marks)
Paper 2
(marks)
Weighting for
qualification
(approx. %)
AO1
40
33%
AO2
40
33%
AO3
40
33%
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
Syllabus content
5.
Syllabus content
The Treaty of Versailles and treaties of Saint-Germain (1919), Neuilly (1919), Trianon (1920), Svres
(1920) and Lausanne (1923)
The failures of the League of Nations in the 1930s, including Manchuria and Abyssinia
The causes of the war, including Hitlers foreign policy, British and French appeasement of Hitler, the
Nazi-Soviet pact
The main phases of the war: German victory in the west and the survival of Britain, 193940;
Operation Barbarossa and the defeat of Germany in Russia, 194144; the War in the Pacific,
194145; the defeat of Germany, 194445
The Holocaust
The U2 spy plane incident and the building of the Berlin Wall
Dtente
Successes and failures of the United Nations, including the Korean War and the Congo Crisis,
196064
Saddam Hussein, the invasion of Kuwait and the First Gulf War
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
Syllabus content
10
Germany, 191839
Italy, 191839
France in the Second World War: Vichy, the impact of German Occupation
Economic cooperation, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Euratom, etc.
The Maastricht Treaty: the creation of the European Union, the single market and the common
currency
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
Syllabus content
Social changes: the Jazz Age, cinema, womens roles and status
McCarthyism
Kennedys and Johnsons domestic programmes: the New Frontier and the Great Society
Segregation and the situation in the Southern states after the Second World War
The extent of progress made since the 1970s in politics and society
Cuba: Batistas regime, Castro and the Cuban revolution, Cuba under Castro
Argentina: Peron and Peronism, the influence of the military over Argentine politics, rule by Junta
and the Dirty War, the restoration of democratic politics after 1983
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
11
Syllabus content
12
Civil War
Stalinist propaganda
The Great Patriotic War and post-war period under Stalin, 194153
De-Stalinisation
Fall of Khrushchev
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
Syllabus content
Case studies in the struggle for, and achievement of, independence: Kenya, The Congo, Algeria,
Zimbabwe, Ghana
South Africa: the creation and downfall of the apartheid state, 191894
Relations between the races, 191848: land and labour issues, the African National Congress (ANC)
and the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU)
Zionism
The impact of the Second World War, Jewish immigration into Palestine
The collapse of the mandate and the United Nations partition plan
The Palestinians: the emergence and activities of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), moves
towards a Palestinian state
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
13
Syllabus content
Section F: Asia
1
14
China, 191949
The Fourth of May Movement, creation of the Chinese Communist Party, moves by the Guomindang
to establish control over China
The struggle between the Guomindang and the communists to 1937: the Shanghai Massacres, the
extermination campaigns, the Long March, the Xian Incident
The struggle against the Japanese, 193745: different approaches of the Guomindang and
communists
The Civil War, 194649: reasons for the defeat of the Guomindang and communist victory
Post-Mao economic liberalisation: calls for political reform, Tiananmen Square protests
Japan, 1918c.2000
Japanese politics in the inter-war period: the destruction of democracy and the rise of the military
Impact of defeat in the Second World War: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, American occupation, post-war
reconstruction
Moves towards independence, 191947: nationalism, protest and legislation, the role of Gandhi
Relations between India and Pakistan since independence, including the Kashmir conflict
Malaya: moves towards independence, proposals for a Malayan Union, the Malayan Federation and
the achievement of independence in 1957, economic and political development since independence
Indonesia: the struggle for independence post-1945, Sukarnos regime and his removal from power
in 1967, developments in Indonesia under Suharto
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its work: the impact on Southeast Asia of the
1997 financial crash
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
Other information
6.
Other information
Language
This syllabus and the associated assessment materials are available in English only.
Entry codes
To maintain the security of our examinations, we produce question papers for different areas of the world,
known as administrative zones. Where the component entry code has two digits, the first digit is the
component number given in the syllabus. The second digit is the location code, specific to an administrative
zone. Information about entry codes can be found in the Cambridge Guide to Making Entries.
Cambridge O Level History (Modern World Affairs) 2134. Syllabus for examination in 2016.
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