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NSW Curriculum
NSW Education Standards Authority

11–12Modern History 11–12 Syllabus

Record of changes
Implementation from 2027
Expand for detailed implementation advice

Content

Year 11

The shaping of the modern world

Students investigate forces and ideas that shaped the modern world through a study of key events and developments and the meaning of modernity. The historical concepts and skills content is to be integrated as appropriate.

Students study at least ONE of the following options:

  • The Age of Enlightenment
  • The French Revolution
  • The Age of Imperialism
  • The Industrial Age
  • The First World War
  • The Age of Decolonisation
The French Revolution
The historical context
  • The nature of the ancien régime

  • The influence of the Age of Enlightenment

The nature of the French Revolution
  • The immediate causes of the French Revolution

  • The end of the ancien régime, changes to social structure in France, and the revolutionary wars

  • The counter-revolution and the Reign of Terror

  • The Thermidorian Reaction and its consequences

  • The role of individuals and groups in the French Revolution

The significance of the French Revolution
  • The impact of the revolution in France, including the rise of Napoleon

  • The broader influence of the French Revolution on other revolutionary movements

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