Overall, the late-twentieth-century world included less cultural diversity than there had been a century or more earlier; however, most individuals were exposed to a greater level of cultural diversity than individuals had been in earlier times. What factors account for this seemingly paradoxical situation? For what types of people might this statement be inaccurate?

Compare the political changes in the Soviet Union in the 1980s with the changes in South Africa in the 1990s. How was political reform undertaken? What role did individual leaders play in the process, and what other factors were at work? What were the outcomes?

Explore the ways that evolving communications technology has influenced the world economy since 1970. How has this type of technology influenced globalization?

Discuss the ways in which international migration has developed since the 1970s. What factors shaped migration at the end of the twentieth century, and how does it differ from earlier migration patterns?

Explore the ways in which the nation-state lost some of its ability to define collective identity for its citizens in the latter part of the twentieth century. Why did its political and cultural power decline? What other patterns of organization are emerging alongside it?