Advanced Placement European History
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS, CONCEPTS, AND THEMES
The following questions reflect the general concepts of each category.
A. Renaissance
1. To what extent and in what way may the Renaissance be regarded as a turning point in the
Western intellectual and cultural tradition?
2. What are the similarities and differences between the cultural values of the Enlightenment and
the Renaissance?
3. To what extent is the term Renaissance a valid concept for a distinct period in early modem
European history?
4. How did Italian Renaissance humanism transform ideas about the individual's role in society?
5. How did the development of printing alter both the culture and religion of Europe during the
period 1450-1600?
B. Reformation
1. How did the disintegration of the medieval church and the coming of the Reformation
contribute to the development of nation-states in Western Europe between 1450 and 1648?
2. "Luther was both a revolutionary and a conservative." Evaluate this statement with respect to
Luther's responses to the political and social questions of the day.
3. What were the responses of the Catholic authorities in the 16th century to the challenges posed
by the Lutheran Reformation?
4. How did printing alter both the culture and religion of Europe during the period 1450-1600?
5. What were the similarities and differences of attitudes of Martin Luther and John Calvin
toward political authority and social order?
6. To what extent did the Protestant Reformation promote new expectations about social roles in
the sixteenth century?
C. Commercial Revolution: Emergence of Territorial States
1. Why were the Europeans able to achieve economic and political control over many nonEuropeans between 1450 and 1700?
2. European monarchs of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries are often referred to as
"New Monarchs.” What was new about them? Do their actions warrant this label?
3. How did economic, technological, political, and religious factors promote European
explorations from about 1450 to about 1525?
4. What was the relative importance of the religious rivalries and dynastic ambitions that shaped
the Thirty Years' War?
5. In the 17th century, how did England and the Dutch Republic compete successfully with
France and Spain for control of overseas territory and trade?
6. In 1519 Charles of Hapsburg became Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. What were the
political, social and religious problems he faced over the course of his imperial reign (15191556)?
D. 17th Century Absolutism
1. In the seventeenth century, what political conditions accounted for the increased power of both
the Parliament in England and the monarch in France?
2. Explain how in seventeenth century England the aristocracy lost its privileges but retained its
power while in France the aristocracy retained its privileges but lost its power.
3. How did both the theory and practice of monarchy evolve in England from 1603 to the
Glorious Revolution of 1688?
4. What were the similarities and differences in the conception and practice of monarchy between
Phillip II and Louis XIV?
5. How did Tsar Peter the Great (1689-1725) reform his society and its institutions in order to
strengthen Russia and its position in Europe?
6. What were the military, political, and social factors that account for the rise of Prussia between
1640 and 1786? Hapsburg Charles I of Spain became Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. What
were the political, social and religious problems he faced over the course of his imperial reign
(1519-1556)?
E. The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
1. What was the effect of seventeenth century science on Christianity and how did each react to
each other?
2. How did the developments in scientific thought from Copernicus to Newton create a new
conception of the universe and of humanity's place in it?
3. What was the result of people turning to the new science for a better understanding of the
social and economic problems of the seventeenth century?
4. How did specific intellectual and scientific developments of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries contribute to the emergence of the religious outlook known as "Deism"?
5. Describe the new astronomy of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and analyze the ways in
which it changed scientific thought and methods.
6. How did the social conditions in eighteenth century Western Europe prior to 1788 influence the
ideas of the Enlightenment?
7. In what ways did the Enlightenment thinkers build or make use of the ideas of Newton and
Locke?
8. What are the major similarities and differences between the views of Machiavelli and
Rousseau on human nature and the relationship between government and governed?
9. In what ways did Enlightenment thought address the religious beliefs and social issues in the
eighteenth century?
F. The French Revolution and the Congress of Vienna
1. What were the essential causes and events that led to the French Revolution?
2. To what extent and in what ways was the French Revolution during the period 1789 through
the Reign of Terror (1794) an attempt to create a government based on the Enlightenment ideals?
3. What were the political and cultural policies of Robespierre during the French Revolution and
how were they justified?
4. Was Napoleon a "child of the Enlightenment"?
5. How did the conservative political and social views held by the leaders of at the Congress of
Vienna shape the process and what were the consequences of the peace settlement from 1815 to
1848?
6. What were the differences and similarities in the relationships between the great powers and
Poland in the periods 1772-1815 and 1918-1939?
7. Who were the major social groups in France on the eve of the 1789 Revolution and to what
extent were their aspirations achieved by May 1789 to the declaration of the republic in
September 1792?
G. Industrialism
1. What factors delayed the industrialization of Eastern Europe?
2. What were the social, cultural, political, and economic factors that allowed Great Britain to be
the first nation to industrialize?
3. In what ways did the European skilled craftsman of the mid-eighteenth century and European
factory workers of the late nineteenth century differ in their work behavior and their attitudes
towards work?
4. How did the two types of employment, cottage industry and factory production, affect
employer-employee relations, working conditions, family relations, and the standard of living
between 1750 and 1850?
5. What reforms did social critics and politicians propose in an attempt to solve the problems
industrialization pose for England between 1815 and 1848?
6. What issues and ideas were debated in Europe between 1750 and 1846 over the proper role of
government in the economy?
7. What were the effects of the industrial economy on Western European peasant women and
working-class women from 1830-1914?
8. What types of physical transformation did European cities experience in the second half of the
nineteenth century and what were the social consequences of these transformations?
H. Conservatism, Liberalism, Nationalism, Radicalism, Democratic Socialism
1. What caused the decline of aristocracy in Western Europe? When did the decline occur, what
forms did it take, and what factors caused it?
2. What were the origins and evolution of European liberalism as a political movement during the
nineteenth century?
3. To what extent was nineteenth century romanticism a conservative cultural, intellectual
movement?
4. What are the similarities and differences between socialism and liberalism in nineteenth
century Europe?
5. What steps were taken between 1832 and 1918 to extend suffrage in England and what groups
and movements contributed to the extension of the vote?
6. To what extent did Marx and Freud each challenge the nineteenth century liberal belief in
rationality and progress?
7. How and in what ways did the writing of Karl Marx draw on the Enlightenment concepts of
progress, natural law, and reason?
8. What were the differences among Utopian socialists, Marx, and Revisionist socialists in their
critiques of nineteenth century European economy and society?
9. What were the effects of nationalism on Italian, German, and Austro- Hungarian politics
between 1815 and 1914?
10. In what ways were European Jews affected by and respond to liberalism, nationalism, and
anti-Semitism in the nineteenth century?
11. What were the similarities and differences of the women' suffrage movements of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with European feminist movements of the 1960's and
1970's?
I. Pre-World War One
1. What were the major social, political, and technological changes that took place in European
warfare between 1789 and 1918?
2. What were the essential features of the tsarist regime under Nicholas II?
3. To what extent and in what ways did intellectual developments in Europe in the period 18801920 undermine confidence in human rationality and in a well-ordered, dependable universe?
4. What were the long-term social and economic trends from 1860-1917 that prepared the ground
for the revolution in Russia?
5. What were European colonial policies regarding Africa between 1871 and 1914?
J. World War One and Between the Wars
1. What were the long-term and immediate causes of World War One?
2. What aspects of Russian society and institutions were most changed and what aspects least
changed by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917?
3. In what ways does the period 1914-1918 mark a turning point in the intellectual and cultural
history of Europe?
4. Why did Germany's experiment with parliamentary democracy between 1919 and 1933 fail?
5. Compare the rise of fascism in Italy and Germany.
6. What were the similarities and differences in the roles of the peasantry and of urban workers in
the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution of 1917?
7. How did the Treaty of Versailles contribute to the Second World War?
8. To what extent did the First World War accelerate European social change for work, sex roles,
and government involvement in everyday life?
9. How and in what ways did European painting and literature reflect the disillusionment in
society between 1919 and 1939?
10. In what ways did dictators in twentieth century Europe have much greater control over culture
and society than divine right monarchs?
11. Identify four specific changes in science and technology and explain their effects on Western
European family and private life between 1918 and 1970.
12. Was Joseph Stalin a "Westernizer"?
13. How could one account for the responses of the European democracies to the military
aggression by Italy and Germany in the 1930's?
K. World War Two and the Aftermath
1. To what extent and in what ways has twentieth century physics challenged the Newtonian view
of the universe and society?
2. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the economic recovery of Western Europe between
1945 and 1970?
3. In what ways did the Cold War affect the political development among European nations from
the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961?
4. In what ways has technology been an issue in European social activism from 1945 to 1970 in
the areas of environmentalism, peace movements, student protests, women's movements, and
worker's movements?
5. What are the similarities and differences toward science and technology held by the
enlightenment thinkers with the various attitudes held by European artists and intellectuals of the
twentieth century?
6. What were the common political and economic problems facing Western European nations in
the period 1945-1960 and what were their responses?
7. Describe and analyze the resistance to Soviet authority in the Eastern bloc from the end of the
Second World War through 1989.
The following is a list of themes appropriate to various concepts. They could apply to some,
none, or possibly all categories.
A. Political and Diplomatic
1. The development of political democracy and parliamentary governments.
2. The rise of the modem state in its various forms.
3. The development -of political parties, programs, and ideologies.
4. The rise of egalitarian nationalism.
5. Forms of political dissent, reform, and revolution.
6. The extension and limitation of individual civil liberties.
7. Relations between Europe and other parts of the world: colonialism imperialism, decolonization, and global interdependence.
B. Social, Intellectual, and Cultural
1. The scientific revolutions: attitudes, concepts, and consequences.
2. The visual and performing arts and literature as statements of cultural values and as historical
evidence.
3. The developments in social and philosophical thought and their relationship to traditional ideas
and institutions.
4. The formation of popular cultural values and attitudes in developed and emerging mass
societies.
5. Changes in religious thought and institutions.
6. Secularization of leaning and culture.
7. Major trends in literature and arts.
8. Impact of global expansion on European culture.
C. Economic
1. The origins and developments of industrial technology.
2. The growth of competition and of interdependence in national and world markets.
3. The relationship between private and state contributions to economic growth.
4. The impact of the Industrial Revolution on labor.
5. The role of transportation, communication, and finance capital in economic modernization.
6. Economic theories as the basis for social and political programs.
D. International Relations
1. Interstate conflict: diplomacy, war, and power blocs
2. Attempts to restrain interstate conflicts: balance of power, diplomacy, international law,
international organization, and treaties.
3. The impact of international and intercultural tensions in domestic politics.
4. The rise of major non-European powers and their effect on European powers.
5. The consequences of technology and democracy on international politics.
6. The relations of European states with their former colonies in Asia and Africa.
SKILLS
1. Understand various points of view from historical documents. (POV)(Bias)
2. Analyze how art, music, and literature reflect social values.
3. Make inferences from data.
4. Interpret political cartoons.
5. Write a summary of sentiments from a political cartoon.
6. Interpret graphs and maps.
7. Locate countries, cities, land forms, and bodies of water on a map.
8. Describe how geography impacts culture.
9. Explain European culture in general, for various time periods, country by country,
and changes over time. (COT)
10. Describe, compare, and contrast cultural similarities and differences.
11. Describe class and family structure chronologically
12. Recall key information about fifteenth through twentieth century Europe.
13. Research and analyze significant information for specific persons, places, and things.
14. Assess and utilize a variety of internet resources.
15. Identify key historical leaders.
16. Identify key intellectual leaders and their ideas/philosophies.
17. Analyze key causes and consequences of conflicts through out history.
18. Examine the role of women in history.
19. Draw conclusions based upon charts, graphs, and statistical data.
20. Draw conclusions based on primary and secondary resources.
21. Identify and describe various types of art and music through out the ages.
22. Analyze and critique multiple perspectives of history to make complete evaluations of events.
23. Develop an understanding of cultural values that exist within different countries.
24. Compose and develop essay writing skills and techniques for answering FRQ's and DBQ's.
25. Master the skill of supporting generalizations with specific facts and detail.
26. Develop and refine oral communication skills.
27. Develop organizational and note taking skills.
28. Improve skill of close, careful reading and effective reading strategies.
29. Analyze cause and effect relationships as they pertain to historical periods.
30. Analyze examples of DBQ's and FRQ's.
31. Master use of PERSIA method when answering open-ended questions.
32. Master the use of SOAPS method for analyzing documents and forms of artistic expression.
33. Learn the grading system for the European History AP exam.
34. Master the POV directive for answering DBQ's and FRQ's.
35. Master the COT directive for answering DBQ's and FRQ's.
36. Analyze primary sources in order to determine their component parts as well as examine their
nature and relationships.
37. Assess and evaluate in the attempt of judging the value or character of something.
38. Evaluate positive and negative elements of a document, work of art, etc...
39. Compare and contrast issues, historical periods, people, etc... in an attempt to note the
similarities and differences.
40. Describe people places and things in an attempt to give an account of something or make a
"word picture".
41. Discuss people, places, and things with an eye towards examining by debate for various
points of view. (POV)(Bias)
PRODUCTS, PERFORMANCES, ASSESSMENTS
The instructor will utilize appropriate student products, performances, and assessments from the following:
Teacher developed exams
Quizzes - announced and unannounced
Essays (FRQ’s and DBQ’s)
Research papers and/or projects
Oral presentations and/or debates
Multimedia projects
Creative Projects
Cooperative Learning Projects
Current Event Assignments
Graphic organizers
Homework Assignments
Classroom Activities
Required notebooks
Book reports and film reviews
Class Participation
LEARNING ACTIVITIES/INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
Readings (Novels, Poetry, Primary Sources, Articles, etc.)
Essay Writing
Atlas Skill Activities
Map Labeling Activities
Cooperative Learning Activities
Research Projects
Creative Projects
Hands On Activities
Current Events Analysis
Video Learning Activities
Art Activities
Poster Analysis Activities
Cultural Simulations
Slide Show Presentations
Political Cartoon Analysis
Discussions and Debates
Lecture
Homework assignments
Fieldtrips
Analysis of primary sources
Role playing activities
Structured review
Internet research, web quests, CD-ROM, and other computer assisted learning
Student presentations
°
Guest speakers
Peer editing
Using food, language, and music of the culture
ADAPTATIONS/INCLUSION TECHNIQUES
Instructor may utilize appropriate adaptations and inclusion techniques such as but not -limited
to:
Extra help after school
Adaptations as listed on IEP
Alternate Readings
Extended Time
Test Reader
Oral/modified tests
Provide advance notice of future assignments (Advance Organizer
Note Taker (classmate, aide. And/or teacher for reproduction)
Individual Aide
Modified Assignments
Alternate Assessments
Wait Time
Peer Tutor
Preferential Seating
Audio Taped Textbook and Novels
ENRICHMENT STRATEGIES
Web quests
Novels, Poetry and Other Literature
Primary Source Readings
Independent Study
Tiered Assignments
Fieldtrips
Visit to restaurant that pertains to the culture area under study
Additional reading
After school learning - film and discussion