Part1: After watching the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQAIxOuHnY0, write a one-page essay answering this question: "What historical events formed the ideology of radical Islam? Mention at least four different countries in your answer." Extra points will be awarded for essays that contrast the video's explanation with that of the course textbook. (My personal judgment is that this is a weak area for the textbook, so the promise of extra points is meant to encourage as many of you as possible to watch the video!)
Part 2: Historians understand the years 1945-1990 through the framework of the Cold War; the central question of those years was whether communism or capitalism, authoritarianism or democracy, would prevail.
What is the central question of the years since 1990? How do you think future historians will structure their understanding of our time? Is there a single worldwide struggle going on? If so, what ways of organizing human society are in conflict with each other?