Dr. W. D. Seibert
Gilmour Academy
seibertd@gilmour.org
AP WORLD HISTORY 2014-2015
Students and Parents,
Welcome to AP World History. This will be the fourth year that AP World History (APWH) has been
offered to students in grades 10-12 at Gilmour Academy. All indications are that students enjoyed
their experience in APWH this past year. I know that I eagerly anticipate APWH for 2014-15.
To get the year off to a good start in August I want to share some information with you and ask you
to do some reading and thinking about world history over the summer.
First, a note about the textbook. The textbook that we use is:
Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on
the Past. 5th edition. AP Edition. McGraw- Hill, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-07-659438-2.
All students must purchase the Fifth Edition of this book. There are earlier editions available but
they do not meet the requirements of the APWH curriculum that was redesigned in in 2011. It is
also important to purchase the complete, one-volume edition, not the various split editions that
are also available. Gilmour does not supply the textbook for APWH. You should purchase it
through the online bookstore, MBS Direct. Gilmour will provide you with information about MBS
Direct and the list of books for several courses that need to be purchased through the site. To be
perfectly honest with you, I feel that MBS marks up the price of the books considerably. The
Bentley textbook is very expensive, much higher than the retail price. If you can find a copy of
Bentley through Amazon or another seller that is less expensive, by all means purchase it.
Remember, however, that you must purchase the complete, one-volume fifth edition. One other
option is to purchase the book from a current APWH student who is willing to sell his/her book to
you.
I would also like you to purchase The Princeton Review: Cracking the AP World History Exam.
You may purchase the 2012, 2013, or 2014 edition this summer, or wait until late August-early
September when, I believe, the 2015 edition will be available. All these editions are almost
identical; I do not expect that the 2015 edition will change very much, if at all.
SUMMER READING:
1. A set of questions are attached to this document.
2. READ CHAPTERS 1-5 IN THE TRADITIONS AND ENCOUNTERS TEXTBOOK AND ANSWER
(TYPED, NOT HANDWRITTEN) THE QUESTIONS THAT I AM PROVIDING YOU. Please
complete all reading and questions by the first day of class. The purpose of beginning the
textbook reading before class starts in August is so that we can dive right into course
content immediately. We have a lot to cover.
Have a good summer.
Dr. Seibert
APWH
Dr. Seibert
SUMMER READING QUESTIONS
Bentley, Traditions & Encounters Chapters 1-5 (You may also use The Princeton Review)
Please respond to these questions to the best of your ability. Don’t be concerned if you feel that you cannot
answer one or more of the questions; we will discuss them in class before you turn them in. Responses
should be brief: no more than a couple of sentences—these are not essay questions. Responses should be
typed (double-spaced) and they should be complete sentences, not bullet points. For some questions I
have listed pages from the Bentley textbook and/or Princeton Review that may help you with the
question.
Chapter 1
1. Compare and contrast pastoral societies and early agricultural societies (see Princeton Review 93).
In what ways were agricultural societies more complex—what does this greater complexity have to
do with agriculture in general, and agricultural surpluses in particular?
2. What technological innovations are associated with the growth of agriculture?
3. Compare and contrast Neolithic villages and early towns/cities (Bentley 21-22).
Chapter 2
1. How were the Babylonian and Assyrian empires a change from earlier city-states (Bentley 29-31)?
2. Describe the effects of the Indo-European migrations (Bentley 43-45).
Chapter 3
1. Compare cities and towns in Egypt to cities and towns in Mesopotamia (Bentley 57-58).
2. Compare social classes in Egypt and Mesopotamia (Bentley33-35; 58-59).
Chapter 4
1. What were the effects of the Aryan migrations on the Indian subcontinent?
2. Explain the relationship between castes (varnas) and jati.
3. Summarize Bentley’s comments on “Religion and Vedic Society” (83-84).
Chapter 5
1. Explain the idea of the Mandate of Heaven.
2. Explain in your own words the following statements about the Zhou Dynasty: “Zhou rulers relied on
a decentralized administration…” (Bentley 93) and “the Zhou kings could not maintain control
indefinitely over this decentralized political system…” (Bentley 93).
3. Summarize what Bentley says about “Chinese Cultivators and Nomadic Peoples of Central Asia”
(101-102).
General Questions
1. What is a “state?” What are the different kinds of states (e.g. city-states)?
The concept of the state is essential to know. We will use it all year. Like other terms that you were
exposed to last year or at some other time, e.g. bureaucracy, you will need to know it much more
deeply and become very comfortable using the term in different contexts.
2. Explain the relationship of agricultural surplus and the formation and growth of states.
3. Analyze the causes and especially the effects of migrations in early civilizations: Indo-Europeans,
Aryans, and Bantus.
4. In general, what role do you think religion played in the development of early societies? Does
religion play a similar role today?
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