AP WORLD HISTORY
& AP WORLD/EUROPEAN HISTORY
SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2015
Welcome to Advanced Placement World & European History at PRHS!
Mr. Dean (B206) http://gcps-nelsondean.onmycalendar.com/
Mrs. O’Brien (B209) http://gcps-courtneypobrien.onmycalendar.com/
Ms. Young (B205) http://gcps-maryjaneyoung.onmycalendar.com/
About the APWH course:
AP World History develops an understanding of the evolution of global processes and
contacts, including interactions over time. This non-traditional approach looks at the
common threads of humanity—trade, religion, politics, society, & technology—and
investigates how each have changed and continued over time. The course traces the human
experience from the emergence of Neolithic cultures to the 21st Century, C.E., emphasizing
the habits of mind, writing skills, and content knowledge characteristic of a college-level
world history course. Students will devote considerable time to the critical evaluation of
primary & secondary sources, writing, and participation in classroom discussions/Socratic
seminars.
The Summer Reading Book:
This year’s summer reading assignment is A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom
Standage. In this book, Standage tells a popular history of the world and some of the most
significant civilizations in history by following the development of 6 influential beverages:
beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, & Coca Cola*. Each of these beverages has played a significant
role in driving trade and interaction between some of the most significant regions and
empires in world history. Our purpose in reading the book is to gain a sense of how
civilizations and cultures develop and how they are affected by various forces (political,
economic, religious, social, technological, etc.).
*(DISCLAIMER: The use of this book as a summer reading assignment in NO way represents any endorsement by the
teachers of PRHS of the consumption or misuse of these beverages! The book is simply meant to provide an
interesting view of civilizations and trade, from which we can initiate our year-long discussion of world history.)
Your Assignment—(1 Summative/Test Grade):
For your assignment, you will read the ENTIRE book A History of the World in Six Glasses. Don’t panic—it is very readable, and hopefully you
will find it quite interesting.  There are three parts to the assignment (see below). Please read the instructions carefully. You will need
to bring the book and the completed assignment with you on the FIRST DAY of class!!!
PART ONE: The Dialectical Journal
You will complete a dialectical journal entry for each chapter of the book, plus one entry for the “Introduction” and one entry for
the “Epilogue”. (14 entries total)
The journals must be HAND-WRITTEN!!!
A template 3-column sheet is available on our teacher web pages (see above).
The term “dialectic” means “the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and answer.” Think
of your dialectical journal as a conversation you have with the text as you read. The process is meant to help you develop a deeper
understanding of the text and draw connections to your prior knowledge and other texts, including other chapters!
A dialectical journal uses 3 columns—one for recording facts and/or quotes from the text, one for providing a page # citation, and
one for writing your own commentary, connections, analysis, or questions. Here is a very simple sample:
Quote or Paraphrased Fact
“The dominant drink of [the]
Age of Reason was coffee . . .
introduced to Europe from the
Middle East.”
-
Page
#
p. 4
My Commentary & Analysis
Coffee wakes up the brain, allowing for
clearer thinking. No wonder I see so many
professors carrying cups of coffee and so
many study groups taking place at
coffeehouses!
Be mindful of your spelling, grammar, & handwriting – it will be considered in the evaluation of your work.
Each journal entry should fill at least one full page. This should not be challenging to do, given you have an entire chapter
worth of quotes & facts to work with. However, be sure to choose quotes and facts that you find meaningful and significant!
-
***Optional guided reading questions are also available on our teacher web pages, should you need them to help you follow
along in the text. You do not need to submit written answers to these; they are merely available to assist you!
PART TWO: The Essay
AFTER finishing the book, you should complete the following brief writing assignment. The essay should be TYPED, in 12-pt. font,
using a standard font (like Times New Roman, Arial, Cambria, etc.). Your essay must be in your own words, including your own
original thoughts and ideas. Plagiarism is NOT acceptable and will be considered a violation of the course Honor Code (and grounds
for a zero on the entire assignment)!!!
o
PROMPT: Write an essay (min. 750 words) that compares and contrasts two of the beverages discussed in the book. As a
basis for your comparison, you may discuss ways in which the beverages diffused, the impact they had on regional trade
and economies, the relationship between the beverages and political/social structures, culture, etc. You should include
multiple cited quotations from the text, as well as your own thoughtful, original analysis to support your argument, which
should be concrete and carefully defined. Cite any outside materials you use.
PART THREE: The Annotated Maps
You must create a collection of maps to illustrate the diffusion of each of the six beverages discussed in the book. Each beverage
must be shown on a different map. (6 maps total)
Maps should be presented on 8.5 x 11 paper—one map per page.
Use arrows to illustrate diffusion of the beverage (or ingredients)—where did it originate? To what places did it spread?
Include at least 5 “annotations” on each map (i.e.-notes to explain with some detail significant events that happened in specific
places shown on the map). Include dates! Mark the location of annotated events by drawing arrows, numbers, etc.
Maps should be colorful. You may also include symbols or illustrations to show the hearth of each beverage or the locations of its
ingredients. Be creative!
Include a legend for each map. The legend should show the meaning of any colors or symbols used.
You may hand-draw your maps OR create them digitally (on the computer).
Template outline maps (of regions and the world) are provided for you on our teacher web pages. (See front, above)

Your maps should be titled & labeled with the all of the following features:
o Map #1: “Beer in Mesopotamia and Egypt”

(label—Mesopotamia/ Fertile Crescent, Egypt, Tigris River, Euphrates River, Nile River, Zagros Mts.,
Anatolia, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Desert, Sahara Desert)
o Map #2: “Wine in Greece and Rome”

(label—Greece, Crete, Athens, Sparta, Italy, Rome, Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Sicily,
Corsica, France/Gaul, Spain, Tiber River, Egypt, Alexandria, Anatolia/Turkey, Germany)
o Map #3: “Spirits in the Colonial Period”

(label—Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Germany, Atlantic Ocean, West Africa,
Canary Islands, West Indies/Caribbean islands, Brazil, Barbados, 13 Colonies, Jamestown, Boston,
Pennsylvania)
o Map #4: “Coffee in the Age of Reason”

(label—Ethiopia, Yemen, Arabian Desert, Mecca, Sahara Desert, Cairo, Great Britain, London, France,
Paris, Netherlands, Suriname, Haiti, Cuba, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Brazil)
o Map #5: “Tea and the British Empire”

(label—China, Huang He River, Yangtze River, Mongolia, Gobi Desert, Tibet, Himalayan Mts., India,
Japan, Macao, South China Sea, Strait of Malacca, Dutch East Indies/Indonesia, Netherlands, Great
Britain, London, 13 Colonies, Boston)
o Map #6: “Coca-Cola and the Rise of America”

(label—United States, Atlanta, Washington D.C., New York, Japan, Europe, Germany, North Africa, the
Soviet Union, the “Iron Curtain”—look this up!, Berlin, Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq,
Kuwait, UAE)
Journal entries, the essay, and the maps should be bound together in a portfolio/report cover with an illustrated cover sheet and a
table of contents. The portfolio is to be turned in on the FIRST DAY of class!!!
Grading: This assignment will be your first MAJOR grade! 40% of the grade will be based on your thoughtful completion of the journals,
20% will be based on the essay, and 40% will be based on your maps (including attention paid to the instructions provided above).
Also, be prepared to discuss the book and/or write an essay within the first days of school!!!
*Final Words to Students: We advise you to pace your reading/writing over a few weeks during the summer. Do NOT wait until the last
few days before school to begin this assignment. Finally, we hope each of you has an invigorating and restful summer, and we look
forward to meeting you in August!! 
Dialectical Journal Template
Chapter # and Title: ___________________________________________________
Date:
_____________________
Quote or Paraphrased Fact
Page # My Commentary & Analysis
(Ex: Why was this interesting or important? What does it remind me of? What
connections can I make to my prior knowledge? Or to other parts of the text?)
Guided Reading Questions--OPTIONAL
A History of the World in Six Glasses
by Tom Standage
Consider these questions as you read through the book. You might address some of these topics/ideas in your journal entries . . .
Introduction—“Vital Fluids”
1. What is the author’s main thesis (argument) in setting up his book? Why/how are these fluids “vital”?
“Beer in Mesopotamia and Egypt” (Chapters 1 and 2):
1. How might beer have influenced the transition from hunting and gathering (Paleolithic) to agricultural-based
(Neolithic) societies?
2. What does the story of beer tell you about social and gender roles in ancient SW Asia and Egypt?
3. How important do you think beer was in the growth and diffusion of the earliest civilizations? Would the earliest
civilizations of SW Asia and Egypt have been as prosperous without the discovery of beer?
“Wine in Greece and Rome” (Chapters 3 and 4):
1. What does the story of wine tell you about social and gender roles in the Mediterranean world? How did this change
over time?
2. Explain how the symposia and wine-drinking related to the development (and self-image) of ancient Greece (as
compared to other parts of the world).
3. What effect does wine have on the development of Christianity and of Islam (separately)?
“Spirits in the Colonial Period” (Chapters 5 and 6):
1. How did spirits advance/accelerate colonialism?
2. In the 18th century, how did spirits change the balance of power amongst the western European nations (particularly
Britain and France)?
3. How did spirits help in the building and shaping of early America (politically and economically)?
“Coffee in the Age of Reason” (Chapters 7 and 8):
1. Why did coffee become known to Europeans as the “antithesis of alcohol”? And how will this change the intellectual
development of Europe?
2. Was coffee the first true “global” beverage? Why or why not?
3. How (and why) did coffee play a pivotal role in the Enlightenment and French Revolution?
“Tea and the British Empire” (Chapters 9 and 10):
1. Why was tea important to China’s economy, and how did it affect China’s relationships with other countries?
2. Explain the relationship between tea and a) the Industrial Revolution, and b) the expansion of the British Empire.
3. Compare and contrast how the British trade in tea affected America and India.
“Coca-Cola and the Rise of America” (Chapters 11 and 12):
th
1. How does the story of Coca-Cola relate to the rise of capitalism and entrepreneurship in the 19 and early 20th c? How
does this story show a larger global economic shift?
2. How did Coca-Cola become the world’s most recognized product?
3. How does Coca-Cola affect people’s views of the United States? Is the spread of Coca-Cola an example of
“Americanization” around the world?
Epilogue—“Back to the Source”
1. Do you agree or disagree with Standage’s argument in the epilogue? Will water be the most influential beverage in
shaping the global situation of the next 100+ years? Why or why not?