CBC Ideas Week: The Shock of the New—The Twentieth Century

Two world wars, the collapse of empires, the birth of new nations - the twentieth century was nothing less than a reset of the entire world order. After tremendous upheaval the political and social orders of the past were remade, replaced by new shapes and structures, new ideas that were supposed to be more equitable, more aspirational. The results are uneven, and our societies today are a work in progress. 

Five years in the twentieth century, five snapshots of great upheaval: Ideas explores the conflicting ideas that have shaped our world today. This CBC Ideas series, hosted by Nahlah Ayed, explores the remaking of social life, the civil rights movement, the AIDS crisis, new gender roles - and the corrupting effects of power.

The Year 1938: The Winds of War

On the eve of WWII, Hitler annexes Austria and escalates the persecution of Jews, Japan wages war on China, the oil industry explodes in the Middle East, and the discovery of nuclear fission sets the stage for disaster.

Panelists:

Deborah Neill is an associate professor of history at York University, specializing in the histories of Germany, France, European colonialism in Africa and the history of colonial medicine.

Joseph Wong is a professor of political science and serves as the Vice President, International, for the University of Toronto. His books include From Development to Democracy: the Transformations of Modern Asia.

Tomaz Jardim is Associate Professor of History at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he teaches courses on the world wars and the Holocaust.