From the trenches of the First World War to the end of the Second World War, this unit explores global history through the lens of an ‘Age of Catastrophe’. The first half of the twentieth century was an age convulsed by total war, economic depression, nationalism, militarism, ideological conflict, totalitarianism, political violence and genocide. In this unit we engage in historical debates and controversies, and explore the everyday lived experiences of ordinary people in an age of extraordinary change, dislocation and collective trauma. Topics may include the legacy of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression in America, Nazi Germany, Stalinism, the rise of Imperial Japan, the Second World War in Europe and the Pacific, Hiroshima and the Holocaust.