World Lit (repost)

Some brief thoughts:

Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o if you're interested in late-colonial Africa and particularly the Mau Mau Uprising.

The Old Capital by Yasunari Kawabata for a good picture of the changes in 20th century Japan (The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai is also a good choice, as is Kokoro by Natsume Soseki, though it is of an earlier era).

A newer novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, is very interesting in it's portrayal of 20th century Malaysia.

The Red and the Black by Stendhal.

Notes from Underground is an short, interesting look at intellectual upheaval in 19th century Russia as long as there is sufficient time to teach background and context.

The Foundation Pit by Andrei Platonov for a harrowing look at the philosophical underpinnings of the USSR (Darkness at Noon is also a good choice; Too Loud a Solitude, too, though that one is Czech, not Russian)