Modern (1800 CE - 1950 CE)

Long Teaching Module: Border Changes of the Soviet Union
Border changes have been a central part of 20th century European history. This lesson will examine a few key maps and documents that explore the creation, expansion, and dissolution of the Soviet Union.

History of NATO Expansion Map
This map shows the expansion of NATO over time. Have students identify the most recently states to join NATO. Which states have joined NATO after the collapse of communism? Which of these newer NATO states had been Soviet satellite states as opposed to full republics of the Soviet Union?

Cold War Europe Military Alliances Map
This map illustrates which states in Europe belonged to NATO or the Warsaw Pact military alliance. The white states were neutral. This map illustrates the infamous Iron Curtain and the split between West and East. Which of these states belonged to the Warsaw Pact?

Map of Europe, 1918
This map illustrates European borders prior to the start of WWI in 1914 with black lines and new states formed by the First World War in red. As the map illustrates, a number of states became independent from Tsarist Russia. What new states were these?

Primer: A Global History of Higher Education
Histories of higher education tend to focus on a single institution – the university biography – or address the subject within the context of the nation-state.

“The South African College and Its ‘Old Boys,’” 1886
The 1886 article, “The South African College and Its ‘Old Boys’,” provides an example of how universities extended their influence within an empire (or globally) through alumni and their expertise.

Map of Land Grant for Cornell University, 1877
Similar to the New Zealand land grant, yet within a distinct political context, the development of land-grant universities in the United States followed and encouraged an institutional financing model based u

Map of Land Grant for New Zealand University, 1873
Depicting the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, this map outlines the lands that surround the Kimihia and Hakanoa Lakes in the Waikato Region. Small plots of land, 50 acres each, are demarcated and assigned to various landholders.

Short Teaching Module: Nineteenth-Century American Trade on Zanzibar
Although American merchants often fade from historical narratives after the eighteenth century, they remained influential actors in the United States and abroad.

Outward Cargo Manifest of the Rowena, 1841
Cargo manifests and other shipping records offer a tangible glimpse into expansive commercial networks, reminding observers of the physical goods underwriting long distance trade.