AP European History
Syllabus
Course Description:
This course is designed to prepare students for the AP exam in European History while
increasing their understanding and appreciation of Western civilization from 1450 to 2001.
Through inquiry and analysis of primary and secondary materials, students will expand their
knowledge of the history of the Europe.
In addition to providing a narrative of historical events, the goals of AP European History are to
enhance college level reading and writing skills. These skills will be developed by document
analysis, historical interpretation, essay writing, and the articulation of principal themes in
modern European history.
Text:
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. Thomson Wadsworth, 2009.
Supplemental Materials:
Gregory, Candace. Documents of Western Civilization. Vol. I & II.
Thomson Wadsworth, 2006.
Kosso, Cynthia. Map Workbook for Western Civilization. Vol. I & II. Wadsworth
Thomson Learning, 2000.
Link, Jere. AP European History Exam. New Jersey: Research & Education Assoc.,
2007.
McKay, John P. A History of Western Society Since 1300.
New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006.
William, Williams. DBQ: AP Style Document Based Questions. California:
Social Studies School Services, 2005.
Unit 1: Renaissance, Reformation, and the Age of Discovery
Readings:
Spielvogel chapters 11-14
Supplemental materials
Chapter 11: Review, pp.303-335
 Manor, Feudalism, & Church
 100 Years War & The Black Death
Chapter 12: 337-371
 Making Renaissance Society
 Italian States in the Renaissance
 Intellectual Renaissance in Italy
 Artistic Renaissance
 European State in the Renaissance
 Church in the Renaissance
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Chapter 13: 373-408
 Prelude to Reformation
 Martin Luther and the Reformation
 Spread of the Protestant Reformation
 Social Impact of the Protestant Reformation
 Catholic Reformation
 Politics and the Wars of Religion in the Sixteenth Century
Chapter 14: 410-441
 On the Brink of the New World
 New Horizons the Portuguese and Spanish Empires
 New Rivals on the World Stage
 The Impact of European Expansion
 Toward a World Economy
Unit 2: State Building, Science, and the Age of Reason
Readings:
Spielvogel chapters 15-17
Supplemental materials
Chapter 15: 443-481
 Social Crises, War, and Rebellions
 The Practice of Absolutism: Western Europe
 Absolutism in Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe
 Limited Monarch and Republics
 The Flourishing of European Culture
Chapter 16: 483-508
 Background to the Scientific Revolution
 Toward a New Heaven: A Revolution in Astronomy
 Advances in Medicine and Chemistry
 Women in the Origins of Modern Science
 Toward a New Earth: Descartes, Rationalism, and a New View of Humankind
 The Scientific Method and the Spread of Scientific Knowledge
Chapter 17: 509-537
 The Enlightenment
 Culture and Society in the Enlightenment
 Religion and the Churches
Chapter 18 : 538-569
 The European States
 Wars and Diplomacy
 Economic Expansion and Social Change
 The Social Order of the Eighteenth Century
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Unit 3:
Readings:
The Age of Revolution
Spielvogel chapters 19-21
Supplemental materials
Chapter 19: 571-602
 Background to the French Revolution
 The French Revolution
 The Age of Napoleon
Chapter 20: 604-631
 The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain
 The Spread of Industrialization
 The Social Impact of the Industrial Revolution
Chapter 21: 632-663
 The Conservative Order (1815-1830)
 The Ideologies of Change
 Revolution and Reform (1830-1850)
 The Emergence of an Ordered Society
 Culture: The Mood of Romanticism
Unit 4:
Readings:
The Emerging Modern World
Spielvogel chapters 22-24
Supplemental materials
Chapter 22: 665-697
 The France of Napoleon III
 National Unification: Italy and Germany
 The National State in the Mid-century
 Industrialization and the Marxist Response
 Science and Culture in an Age of Realism
Chapter 23: 698-729
 The Growth of Industrial Prosperity
 The Emergence of a Mass Society
 The National State
Chapter 24: 731-766
 Intellectual and Cultural Developments
 Politics: New Directions and New Uncertainties
 The New Imperialism
 International Rivalry and the Coming of War
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Unit 5:
Readings:
The World at War
Spielvogel chapters 25-27
Supplemental materials
Chapter 25: 768-802
 The Road to World War I
 The War
 War and Revolution
 The Peace Settlement
Chapter 26: 803-827
 An Uncertain Peace
 The Democratic States
 The Authoritarian and Totalitarian States
 The Expansion of Mass Culture and Mass Leisure
 Cultural and Intellectual Trends in the Interwar Years
Chapter 27: 839-873
 Prelude to War (1933-1939)
 The Course of World War II
 The New Order
 The Home Front
 Aftermath of the War
Unit 6:
Readings:
Cold War to the Present
Spielvogel chapters 25-27
Supplemental materials
Chapter 28: 875-908
 Development of the Cold War
 Europe and the World: Decolonization
 Recovery and Renewal in Europe
 Postwar Society and Culture in the Western World
Chapter 29: 909-933
 A Culture of Protest
 A Divided Western World
 The Cold War: The Move to Détente
 Society and Culture in the Western World
Chapter 30: 935-965
 Toward a New Western Order
 New World Order or Age of Terrorism?
 New Directions and New Problems in Western Society
 Western Culture Today
 The Digital Age
 Toward a Global Civilization
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