AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
School Profile
Brett Coffman
School: Liberty High School
Grades: 10-12
Type: Public High School
Total Enrollment: 2,200
Ethnic Diversity: African Americans make up 8 percent of the student population; Hispanic
Americans make up 5 percent of the student population; Asian Americans make up 2 percent of
the population.
Overview of AP World History
Program: AP World History is offered to sophomores. Students are enrolled in the course on
the basis of teacher recommendations, GPA, and interest in college level history. Students
enrolled in the course are expected to take the AP Examination.
AP Class Size: Varies between 15 and 25 students.
Course Design: AP history is a rigorous course that will ask students to work harder and think
more deeply than a traditional high school history class. The benefits beyond the potential of
college credit are tremendous. Students will obtain a solid foundation in content as well as
skills in researching, note taking, analyzing primary and secondary sources, making inferences,
generalizing, drawing conclusions, and presenting knowledge. The students will gain an
understanding of the integration of political, economical, philosophical, social, and geographical
elements in world history. This course is truly a world history course with a balanced approach
to the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
AP World History meets every day for 50 minutes. The course traces the development of
human history from pre-historic times to the present. The main emphases of the course
include the following major themes in human history:
The impact of interaction among major societies (trade, economy, conflict).
The relationship of change and continuity across the world history periods covered in
this course.
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
The impact of technology and demography on people and the environment (population
growth and decline, disease, manufacturing, migrations, agriculture, weaponry).
Systems of social structure and gender structure (comparing major features within and
among societies and assessing change).
Cultural and intellectual developments and interactions among and within societies
Change in functions and structures of states and in attitudes toward states and political
identities (political culture), including the emergence of nation-state (types of political
organizations).
The basic approach will be chronological, which will allow students to concentrate on the
change and continuity over time, cultural interactions, and the growth and evolution of human
thought. There will be an emphasis on college level critical thinking and analysis while
completing the assigned reading and class discussions. Class assignments can be found at any
time on the class web site www.coffmansclass.com. Students are encouraged to use
technology available at school to present research and present material for better
understanding.
Assignments: Each chapter read comes with an assignment that will help the student examine
the information in the chapter and not simply read it. The assignments also serve as great
resources for studying for class exams and the AP exam in May. The assignments can be time
consuming but are designed to hope you understand and analyze what you read. This is the
first college- level course for all of you and your first advanced-level course in social studies and
comprehending a college text will prove to be challenging. Rather than let you sink into the
abyss of confusion and frustration, the assignments will help guide you in your reading while
requiring you to think at a critical thinking level.
I have included the assignments for the first unit on the syllabus. The assignments for other
units will be handed out as we approach the unit. Completing the assignments on time is
essential so that you do not fall behind and because they are used in class the day they are due.
In addition to chapter assignments, we will also be writing essays in and out of class, reading
other materials that will be used for Socratic Seminars, and doing mini-research projects. None
of these assignments are busy work; they are all designed to facilitate your understanding of
world history and prepare you for the AP exam.
Course Grading:
Unit Exams
Grades will be calculated based on the following percentages:
30%
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Essays
20%
Projects
10%
Semester Exams
20%
Assignments
10%
Portfolio
10%
Examinations are given with each unit of study and at the end of the semesters.
Examinations will simulate actual testing conditions of the AP World History Exam.
Students will have a multiple choice component and an essay portion and the test will
be timed.
Essays will be assigned several times for each unit. Essays will consist of either a
Document Based Question, comparative essay, or a change and continuity over time
essay. Some essays will be timed in class to give the student the opportunity to
understand the format of the AP Exam. Essay’s given as take home assignments are
designed to increase analytical and writing skills.
Projects are assigned twice a semester and are research papers on topics of student
interest that are approved by the instructor.
Semester Exams are given at the end of first semester and before the AP exam in May.
They simulate the AP test to give the student an idea of the rigor and time constraints
that are part of AP testing.
Assignments are given throughout each week of the semester. They include answering
discussion questions for class, mapping assignments, PERSIA and SPRITE charts from the
readings, and analysis of documents, leaders, societies, artwork, and technology.
Portfolio is a collection of assignments that are completed throughout the year. This
will allow the student to look back over the work completed at the end of the year and
see the growth of thought, writing skills, analytical skills, and individual success. There
will be seven portfolio assignments during the course of the year, and students will need
to include five different types of these assignments in their portfolio at the end of the
year.
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Course Materials:
Text
Adas, Michael, Marc J. Gilbert, Peter Stearns, and Stuart B. Schwartz. World Civilizations: The
Global Experience. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (AP Edition 2007)
Supplemental Source Book
Reilly, Kevin. Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader. Vols. 1 & 2. New York:
Bedford/St. Martin's. (2004)
Teacher Background Readings and Student Supplements
A packet will be available in the classroom and in the school library that will consist of primary and
secondary sources relevant to classroom presentations.
AP Exam:
The AP Exam will be May 2009. Students will be expected, but not required, to take the Exam.
Taking and scoring high on the exam is the only way that students can earn college credit for
this course since this class is NOT dual credit. The opportunity to earn college credit as a
sophomore should not be overlooked.
The national exam will be seventy multiple choice questions, one document-based
question (DBQ), one change-over-time essay, and one comparative essay. The exam is three
hours and five minutes in length. The essay is graded on a one-to-five scale. Most colleges
accept a four or five for college credit.
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Topic and Assignment Outline
Unit One: Foundations: 8000 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.
Themes:
The impact of technology and demography on people and the environment.
Systems of social structure and gender structure (comparing major features within
and among societies and assessing change).
Change in functions and structures of states and in attitudes toward states and political
identities (political culture), including the emergence of nation-state (types of political
organizations).
Habits of Mind:
Seeing global processes over time and space while also acquiring the ability to
connect global developments to global ones and to move through levels of
generalizations from the global to the particular.
Developing the ability to assess issues of change and continuity over time.
Enhancing the capacity to handle diversity of interpretations through analysis of
context, bias, and frame of reference.
Overarching Questions:
1. How did the natural environments of two of the following river civilizations influence
the developments in technology, cultural achievements, and religious beliefs?
Mesopotamian societies, Indus Valley, Chinese, Meso-American/Andean societies.
2. Assess and account for the changes and continuities in how humans organized their
societies across the period from ca. 8000 B.C.E. – 600 C.E. Use at least two of the
following analytic categories: class systems, gender systems, governmental systems,
labor systems, nomadic vs. settled societies.
3. What changes did humans make to the natural environment resulting from the advent
of agriculture and urban civilizations in this era?
Week 1
Locating World History
Environment
Time
Diverse interpretations
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Reading: Stearns Ch 1, Natalie Angier,”Furs for Evening, But Cloth was
the Stone Age Standby” and Elise Boulding,”Women and the
Agricultural Revolution”
Assignment: Do a PERSIA, SPRITE, or GRAPES chart for the
Mesopotamian River Valley Civilizations. We will use these for an inclass essay.
Portfolio: Thesis Development Paper
Week 2
Basic Features of Early Civilizations
Types of Early societies
Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, Shang, Egypt, Meso - America
Agriculture and Metal Use
Reading: Stearns Ch 2-3, Map of Early Civilizations of Mesopotamia and
Egypt. Kevin Reilly, Cities and Civilization, Excerpt from The Epic of
Gilgamesh, From Hammurabi’s Code, Zahi Hawass, Love and Marriage in
Ancient Egypt.
Assignment: The chapters are divided into three major sections.
Choose the five main ideas for each section (total of 15). Write a
paragraph for each explaining the ideas using supporting material and
examples from the book. These do not have to long paragraphs, but
should be at least five sentences each.
Portfolio: Biographical Essay about Early Civilization Leader
Week 3
Classical Civilizations
Political Developments
Social and Gender Structures
Trading Patterns
Arts, Sciences, and technologies
Reading: Stearns Ch 4-5, Valerie Hansen, The Creation of the Chinese
Empires, Nicholas Purcell, Rome: The Arts of Government, Sima Qian,
the Annals of Qin, Plutarch, Cicero.
Assignment: Do a PERSIA, SPRITE, or GRAPES chart for both the Roman
Empire and the Han Empire. We will use these for an in-class essay.
Portfolio: None
Week 4
Major Belief Systems
Compare the major religions: Polytheism, Hinduism, Judaism,
Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Christianity.
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Reading: Stearns Ch 1-8, From Rig Veda: Sacrafice as Creation, From the
Upanishads: Karma and Reincarnation, From the Bhagavad Gita: Caste
and Self, Confucius, From the Analects, Buddhism: Gotama’s Discovery,
The Buddha’s First Sermon, The Bible: History, Laws and Psalms,
Christianity: Jesus according to Matthew, From the Koran, Jerry H.
Bentley, The Spread of World Religions.
Assignment: Students will compare and contrast the major religions
discussed above and write a comparative essay.
Portfolio: Primary Source Analysis
Week 5
Late Classical Periods
Collapse of Empires
Movement of Peoples
Interregional networks by 600 C.E.
Reading: Stearns Ch 4-5 Richard C. Foltz, The Islamization of the Silk
Road, Richard W. Bulliet, Religious Conversion and the Spread of
Innovation.
Assignment: Identify each of the six themes from AP World History in
this unit. Provide at least one example for each of the themes and
explain it.
Portfolio: Cartoon Analysis
Unit Two: The Postclassical Period: 600 C.E. – 1450 C.E.
Themes:
The impact of technology and demography on people and the environment.
The influence of religion on states and peoples.
The impact of interaction among major societies (trade, economy, conflict).
Habits of Mind
Enhancing the capacity to handle diversity of interpretations through analysis of
context, bias, and frame of reference.
Developing the ability to compare within and among societies, including comparing
societies' reactions to global processes.
Developing the ability to assess claims of universal standards yet remaining aware
of human commonalities and differences; putting culturally diverse ideas and
values in historical context, not suspending judgment but developing understanding.
Overarching Questions:
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
1. Compare the political institutions o f two of the following empires: Tang-Song, Dar al-Islam,
2.
3.
4.
5.
Western Europe, and Byzantine Empire.
Compare the causes of the spread of three of the following religions: Christianity, Judaism,
Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, and Hinduism.
Compare the effects of three of the nomadic migrations of the following on the settled societies
into which they migrated: Aztecs, Mongols, Turks, Vikings, and Bantu.
What is the role of trade and religion in bringing societies together during this period?
How did technology change warfare and trade?
Week 6
Questions for Periodization
Causes of Changes
Emergence of New Empires
Continuities and breaks with the period
Reading: Stearns p 112 – 119, Ch 6 Jerry H. Bentley, The Spread of
World Religions
Assignment: Identify each of the six themes from AP World History in
this chapter. Provide at least one example for each of the themes and
explain it.
Portfolio: DBQ
Week 7
Islamic World
The rise and role of Islam
Islamic political structures
Arts, Sciences, and technologies
Reading: Stearns Ch 6-7, Sayings Ascribed to the Prophet, J.J. Saunders,
Civilization of Medieval Islam.
Assignment: Do a PERSIA, SPRITE, or GRAPES chart for the Abbasid and
Ummayad Empires. We will use these for an in-class essay.
Portfolio: Current Events Analysis
Week 8
Interregional Networks and Contacts
Trade and Religion: Trans-Saharan trade, Indian Ocean trade, Silk
routes
Missionary outreach and inter-religion contacts
Reading: Stearns Ch 7,8,12, Ichisada Miyazaki, The Chinese Civil Service
Exam System, Liu Tsung-yuan, Camel Kuo the Gardener.
Assignment: Make a comparison contrast chart for the trade routes
addressed in the chapters and fill it in as you go. I have set one up on
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
the web-site that might help you know how to organize it. Realize that
not all the categories will be covered equally or at all.
Portfolio: Map Study
Week 9
China’s Internal and External Expansion
Tang and Song Economic Revolutions
Chinese Influence on surrounding areas
Arts, Sciences, and technologies
Reading: Stearns Ch 12-13, Rules for the Fan Lineage’s Charitable
Estate, Ichisada Miyazaki, The Chinese Civil Service Exam System,
Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji
Assignment: Do a PERSIA, SPRITE, or GRAPES chart for the Tang and
Song Dynasties. We will use these for an in-class essay.
Portfolio: Art Analysis
Week 10
Developments in Europe
Restructuring of European Institutions
The division of Christendom
Reading: Stearns Ch 9-10, Feudalism: An Oath of Homage and Fealty,
Manorialism: Duties of a Villein, Andreas Capellanus, The Art of courtly
Love
Assignment: Write six broad (essay-type) questions for this section.
You do not have to write the full answers, but take notes out of the
chapter that would answer the questions. Come prepared to share with
others in class. Be wise in choosing the questions. Looking at the six
themes first would be a good idea.
Portfolio: Film Review
Week 11
Patterns in the American Indian World
Maya
Aztec
Inca
Reading: Stearns Ch 11, Carols Fuentes, From The Buried Mirror
Assignment: Do a PERSIA, SPRITE, or GRAPES chart for the Mayan and
Aztec worlds. We will use these for an in-class essay.
Portfolio: None
Week 12
Demographic and Environmental Changes
Impact of Nomadic Expansion
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Consequences of Plague
Growth and role of cities
Reading: Stearns Ch 14-15, Gregory Guzman, Were the Barbarians a
Negative or Positive Factor in Ancient and Medieval History? John of
Plano Carpini, The History of the Mongols, The Journey of William of
Rubrick.
Assignment: Answer the following questions
1. What factors made it possible for the Mongols to conquer
and maintain their hold on such a large amount of territory?
2.
How did the effects of Mongol domination differ in Russia
and in the Muslim lands? How were they similar?
1.
What effects did the Mongols have on the lands that lay
on the periphery of their territories?
2.
Why did trade, science, and technology flourish under the
Mongols?
3.
Who benefited the most from Mongol rule in the short
term? In the long term?
4.
How do the effects of Mongol rule on China compare with
the effects of Mongol rule on Russia?
5.
What caused the collapse of Mongol rule in China?
6.
What effects did Mongol actions and Ming economic
development have on Korea, Japan, and Vietnam?
7.
Why did Ming China produce relatively little technological
innovation compared to Yi Korea and Ashikaga Japan?
8.
What were the long-term effects of Mongol activities in
East Asia?
Portfolio: Mongol Web - quest
Unit Three: The Interaction of World Cultures: 1450 - 1750
Themes:
The impact of interaction among major societies (trade, economy, conflict).
The impact of technology and demography on people and the environment (population
growth and decline, disease, manufacturing, migrations, agriculture, weaponry).
Cultural and intellectual developments and interactions among and within societies
Habits of Mind
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Periodization
Comparison
Diverse interpretations – civilizations, diffusions
Linkages in government
Overarching Questions:
1. What were the factors that led to the first global economic network in the late 15 th
century?
2. How do economic relationships affect gender and race relationships?
3. How does power fluctuate between societies and what are the advantages and
disadvantages to power shifts?
4. What are some of the intellectual and social benefits to a nation that is on the rise?
Week 13
Questions of Periodization
Continuities and breaks
Reading: Stearns Ch 16, Richard Bulliet, Religious Conversion and the
Spread of Innovation
Assignment: See graphs on class web site.
Portfolio: Graph Analysis
Week 14
Changes in trade, technology, and global interactions
Columbian Exchange
Impact of guns
Shipbuilding
Navigational Devices
Reading: Stearns Ch 16-17, Bernal Diaz, From the Conquest of New
Spain. From The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account fo the Conquest of
Mexico.
Assignment: Complete the chart for the chapter on the class web site.
It should be detailed enough to write a competent essay using this
chart. You do not have to use complete sentences, and you may work
with one other person.
Portfolio: Current Events Analysis
Week 15 & 16
Major Empires, other political units and social systems
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Compare the following Empires: Ottoman, China, Portugal,
Spain, Russia, France, England, Tokugawa, Mughal, Benin, and
Songhay.
Reading: Stearns Ch 18 – 21, Marco Polo, The Travels of Marco Polo, S.
D. Goitein, Cairo: An Islamic City in Light of the Geniza, Al Omari, Cairo
and Niane.
Assignment: Do a PERSIA, SPRITE, or GRAPES chart for all of the
Empires. We will use these for an in-class essay.
Portfolio: Comparative Essay
Week 17
Gender in Empires, Slave Systems and Slave trade
Reading: Stearns Ch 20, Jack Goody, Love, Lust, and Literacy, Kevin
Reilly, Love in Medieval Europe, India, and Japan
Assignment: Research the role of Gender on 11 major empires during
this time period. Include an analysis of slave trade and its impact on
Latin America and Africa
Portfolio: Biographical Essay
Week 18
Cultural and Intellectual Developments
Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment
Changes and continuities in Confucianism
Major developments in the arts
Reading: Stearns Ch 17, 22. Theodore F. Cook, Zheng He and Chinese
Expansion; Franklin Le Van Baumer, The Scientific Revolution in the
West; Bonnie S. Anderson and Judith P Zinsser, Women and Science;
Voltaire, On Patriotism, and On Tolerance.
Assignment: DBQ over the Enlightenment values
Portfolio: Art Analysis
Week 19
Demographic and environmental changes
Reading: Stearns Ch 22 Alfred Crosby, From Germs, Seeds, and Animals;
Abigail Adams and John Adams, Remember the Ladies; Lynda Norene
Shaffer, China, Technology, and Change.
Assignment: Change and continuity over time essay over Western
Europe
Portfolio: Map Study and Graph Analysis
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Unit Four: Western Global Hegemony 1750 - 1914
Themes:
The impact of technology and demography on people and the environment.
Systems of social structure and gender structure (comparing major features within and
among societies and assessing change).
Change in functions and structures of states and in attitudes toward states and political
identities (political culture), including the emergence of nation-state (types of political
organizations).
Habits of Mind
Periodization
Comparison
Diverse interpretations – civilizations, diffusions
Linkages in government
Time
Overarching Questions:
1. How did the industrial revolution spread throughout the world?
2. What were some of the effects of on the rights of groups and society during this period?
3. What accounts for the rise of the “West” as a colonial power in the world during this
period?
4. How did revolutionary thought spread throughout the world and what impact did it
have on nations?
Week 20
Questions of Periodization; Global Commerce, Communications,
Technology
Continuities and breaks
Changes in World Trade
Industrial Revolution
Reading: Stearns Ch 23 -24 ; Jurgen Osterhammel, From Colonialism;
Rudyard Kipling, The White Man’s Burden; Adam Smith, The Wealth of
Nations.
Assignment: Research paper on one change in technology; either an
invention or a new system.
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Portfolio: Annotated Bibliography
Week 21
Demographic and Environmental Changes
Reading: Stearns Ch 24, 27,
Assignment: Answer questions on the class web site
Portfolio: Current Events Analysis
Week 22
Changes in Gender and Social Structure
Gender and social structure after industrialization
Comparison of social structures in Qing China, Ottoman Empire
and Latin America
Reading: Stearns Ch 25 – 26, Susan B. Hanley, From Everyday Things in
Pre-modern Japan; Jose Rizal, From Noli Me Tangere
Assignment: Change and Continuity over time essay over gender roles
in various societies
Portfolio: Biographical Essay
Week 23
Political Revolutions and Independence Movements
Latin American independence movements
Rise of nationalism and nation-states
Rise of democracy and its limitations
Reading: Stearns Ch 24-25 Theodore von Laue, From The World
Revolution of Westernization; Mohandas K. Gandhi, From Hind Swaraj
Assignment: DBQ over Nationalism
Portfolio: None
Week 24
Patterns of cultural interactions among societies
Industrialization outside the West
Japan and Russia
Impact of Nationalism
Reading: Stearns Ch 27; V.I.Lenin, From War and Revolution; Rosa
Luxemburg, From The Russian Revolution; Fukuzawa Yukichi, Good-bye
Asia
Assignment: Comparison Essay over the impact of industrialization
Portfolio: Primary Source Analysis
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Unit Five: The 20th Century in World History: 1914 - Present
Themes:
The impact of interaction among major societies (trade, economy, conflict).
Cultural and intellectual developments and interactions among and within societies
Change in functions and structures of states and in attitudes toward states and political
identities (political culture), including the emergence of nation-state (types of political
organizations).
Habits of Mind
Periodization
Comparison
Diverse interpretations
Linkages in government
Overarching Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How does conflict influence demographic changes?
Trace the evolution of individual and state rights into human rights?
Explain how 20th century conflict has been based on ideological struggles?
What is the role of international organizations like the United Nations?
Week 25
Questions of Periodization
Continuities and breaks
Reading: Stearns Ch 28-29, Understanding the Unforgivable; Woodrow
Wilson, Fourteen Points
Portfolio: Graph Analysis
Week 26
World Wars, Holocaust and Cold War
Challenges to European dominance
Authoritarian regimes
Reading: Stearns Ch 28, 31, 32, Heinrich Himmler, Speech to the SS; Iris
Chang, From The Rape of Nanking; Allan M. Jalon, Meditating on War
and Guilt, Zen Says It’s Sorry.
Assignment: Prepare notes and questions for an in-class discussion of
the chapter focusing on the World Wars, Cold War and their impact.
Please note that the entire chapter is related to the Cold War and not
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
just the first section. I expect to see the key point of each section in
your notes and thoughtful questions that arose as you read. I would
suggest looking at the six themes if you are struggling in being naturally
curious.
Portfolio: Film Review
Week 27
International Organizations and their impact
New patterns of Nationalism
European World Order
Reading: Stearns Ch 29, 32; U.N. Partition Plan for Palestine; Israel’s
Proclamation of Independence; Han Suyin, The Cultural Revolution.
Assignment: Mock UN Simulation
Portfolio: Current Events Analysis
Week 28 & 29
Impact of major global economic developments
Great Depression
Technology
Multinational corporations
Pacific Rim
Reading: Stearns Ch 29, 30; Exxon Mobil Corporation, Free Markets and
the Global Classroom; Miriam Ching Yoon Louie, From Sweatshop
Warriors: Immigrant Women Take On the Global Factory
Assignment: DBQ
Portfolio: Map Analysis
Week 30
New forces of revolution; Social reform and social revolution
Latin American revolutions and reactions
Nation building in Asia and the Pacific Rim
Independence for Africa, the Middle East and Asia
Reading: Stearns Ch 33, 34, 35; Nelson Mandela, Rivonia Trial
Statement; Mao Zedong, On Letting a Hundred Flowers Blossom; Robert
S. McNamara, From In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam.
Assignment: Latin America Sandinista Simulation
Portfolio: Simulation Reflection
Week 31
Globalization of science, technology and culture
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AP World History Syllabus 2008 – 2009 School Year
Global cultures and regional reactions
Elite, popular culture and art
Patterns of resistance
Reading: Stearns Ch 36; Philippe Legrain, Cultural Globalization Is Not
Americanization; Mark Juergensmeyer, From Terror in the Mind of God;
Margaret Atwood, A Letter to America
Assignment: Write letter to yourself about what your life will be like in
five years.
Portfolio: Organize and turn in Portfolio.
Week 31 & 32
Study for AP Exam
Week 33
Final Movie Maker Project
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