Pluscachange

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

During recent times on the local, national and international levels, grave events have occurred. Chinua Achebe writes of a society that "crashed." His critics state that he is "equally objective in describing the benefits of European civilization and the shortcomings of Ibo traditions."

Which is it? Does change require chaos or is it that the more things change the more they stay the same?

Consider the topics below:

Fall of the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe

Collapse of the Soviet Union

Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia

Eradication of Disease / Health-sanitation revolution

The Dot Com bust

Global financial Crisis 2008-2009

Automation of repetitive/menial tasks

Growth of Global Marketplace

9/11

Iraq War
Fidel Castro resigns as present of Cuba
Christians flee Iraq and Gaza
Muslim and Christian Interfaith dialogues get serious
Anglican Church continues to implode
Air security and terrorist threats
Al-qaeda
The Kyoto protocol
The tobacco industry and world health
Africa's struggle with AIDS

Northern Ireland
Internet revolution
European Union/ European integration
Economic meltdown in Iceland
Zionism and Palestine / Israel and the Middle East
The Taliban in Afghanistan
Congress passes the emergency economic stabilization act of 2008
Kosovo declares independence from Serbia
Russia and Georgia go to war
Terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India
Oil hits $100 a barrel / Gas at pump $4 a gallon
Hurricane Katrina
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is impeached for impropriety
Mugabe “wins” reelection in controversial Zimbabwe election

Reference resources:

History in Dispute, REF 904 HIS
History Behind the Headlines, REF 904.7 HIS
The Modern World, REF909.08 HIS
Great Events, REF 909 GRE
World Eras, REF 909 and other numbers

...and others

Database resources:

ABC CLIO World History: Modern Eras
Gale databases
History Resource Center US and World
Global Issues in Context
Historical Newspapers
SIRS Decades
...and others