Course Description
The Advanced Placement History course is a survey of world history from the first beginnings of
civilization to the present. Students will study the past while discovering its relevance to our world
today. The class will continually focus on the big picture, using a global perspective to study and
analyze the ways people and societies have been connected through time.
World History is the study of human patterns of interaction with a focus on change over time, global
exchange, and the factors/forces that connect people, places and ideas throughout the world. The
course emphasizes environmental, cultural, political, economic, and social themes in world history. By
focusing on all these levels of interaction, we can see a big, global picture of history as well as the
experiences of individuals. Approaching world history from a global perspective, allows for an
understanding of the past that goes beyond a national or regional viewpoint and allows students a
clearer picture of our world today.
This is a college level course and is designed to be rigorous and challenging. Students will be required
to read and analyze college level text, primary source documents, and supplemental readings. Students
are expected to participate in class discussions, engage in cooperative group work, take a variety of
tests, write essays with a clear thesis and well supported argument, and acquire a good foundation of
geographic skills. Students will use technology appropriately to extend learning, present to the class,
be aware of current events, keep a notebook for reflection and practice writing, and be respectful of
others.
Texts and supplemental materials
Sterns, Peter N., et al. World Civilizations The Global Experience. New York: Pearson, 2007. [cr1a]
Secondary sources:
Pomeranz, K. and Topik, S. the World that Trade Created. M.E. Sharp, 2005.
Marks, Robert B. The Origins of the Modern World. Lanham: Rowan & Littlefield, 2007.
Shaffer, L. “Southernization” Journal of World History,5, (Spring 1994)1-21. [cr1c]
Voll, John Orbet. “Southernization as a Construct in Post Narrative Civilization” Journal of World
History, 5 (Spring 1994)[cr7]
Primary sources:
Andrea, A., and J. Overfield. The Human Record:Sources of Global History . Vol .1 & 2.6th ed. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Co., 2009.
Reilly, Kevin. Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader . Vol. 1 & 2. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martins, 2007[cr1b]
Students will analyze various maps, charts, graphs, and pictures from Document Based Questions
released by the college board
Students will analyze charts, graphs, maps, and artwork form the Sterns text
Students will analyze a variety of quantitative information while using
Gapminder.org[cr1b]
Themes
The following AP World History themes will be used to analyze and identify broad concepts and
patterns, compare and contrast, and and assess/analyze continuities and changes over time. Students
will learn to view historical themes. These themes will function ans unifying threads and help students
see the a broad big picture of history. These themes will highlight the particulars of the various periods
of history and offer a strong foundation for comparison across societies and regions and for the analysis
of change and continuity over time. The following are the overarching themes of the AP World History
course: [cr2] Themes will be used in all units.
1. Interaction between humans and the environmental
Demography and disease
Migration
Patterns of settlement
Technology
2. Development and Interaction of cultures
Religions, belief systems
Science and technology
art, literature, architecture
3. State-building, expansion, and conflict
Political structures and governmental forms
Empires
Nations and nationalism
Revolts and revolutions
Regional, transregional, and global structures, and organizations
4. Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems
Agricultural and pastoral production
Trade and commerce
Labor systems
Industrialization
Capitalism and socialism
5. Development and transformation of social structures
Gender roles and relations
Family
Race and ethnicity
social and economic classes
Essays
The AP world History course has three different types of essays as does the AP exam.
Each unit will require students to write a variety of essays with strong thesis statements that create and
strong historical argument. Students are asked to compare and contrast between and among
societies/regions, analyze changes and continuities over time, and interpret, evaluate, and analyze a
variety of primary source documents. The three essays are Change Over Time, Comparison, and a
Document Based Question. In order to effectively write these essays you will be asked to do the
following. For instance analyzing a document is much different than summarizing a document.
Analyze- to examine critically, examine the various parts and elements,determine key details and
components and examine their origins and relationships
Evaluate- judge the value or character of something, look at both positive and negative features, value
its significance
Compare- examine similarities and differences
Explain- make clear
Synthesize-combine information from a variety of sources and express an argument or discuss and
aspect of a topic
Discuss- present an argument examining both sides of issue or multiple approaches
Summarize-to describe, to recount in brief
Document Based Question(DBQ)Students analyze a variety of primary sources and develop an
argument with a strong thesis and appropriate historical evidence. Students will use analysis and
synthesis to create a strong argument. [cr6]
Change and Continuity Over Time (CCOT)Students analyze identify patterns of change and continuity
over time and across regions. Students will support these patterns with appropriate historical context
and will also connect these patterns to global processes. [cr10]
Comparison-Students will compare historical developments and processes between or among societies
in specific chronological and geographical contexts. Students will synthesize information and connect
a specific historical question and insights from one historical context to another. [cr14 & cr9]
Mini Document Analysis- students will examine a variety of primary sources for significance,
audience, point of view, and historical context. When reviewing primary source documents students
will use APPARTS- Author, Prior knowledge, Point of view, Audience, Reason, The main idea, and
Significance [cr8]
Course Outline and schedule
Unit 1 To 600 B.C.E.:Technological and Environmental Transformations
Key concepts[cr3]
1.1 Big Geography and Peopling the Earth
1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies
1.3 Development and Interactions of Early Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies
Topics
Early and human patterns of migration
Prehistoric peoples
Transition from Hunters and Gatherer to Pastoral and Agricultural Societies
Early Civilizations
Sample Activities
Students will analyze and discuss the causes of the Neolithic revolution and its consequences,[cr9]
particularly for women, and the wide ranging results and consequences of the Neolithic Revolution in
major river valleys Middle East, China, Central Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania [cr5a,b,c,d]
Discussion- How did gender roles changed as a result of the Neolithic Revolution? Why did social
classes emerge in newly form agricultural societies?
Read and discuss “Hammurabi's Law Code” excerpts from Sterns, et al. World Civilizations .
Read excerpts from “the Epic of Gilgamesh” Reilly, Kevin. Worlds of History [cr1b]
Evaluate, analyze and discuss various visual images and works of art form early civilizations in Andrea
and Overfield's Human Record
[cr1b]
Students will compare development of political, social, economic, and belief systems in early
civilizations [cr4]
Mesopotamia: Tigris and Euphrates, Egypt: Nile, East Asia: Shang, South Asia: Harappa and MohenjoDara, Meso-America: Olmes, Andes; Chavin
Essay Outline CCOT- Change and continuity in the transition from hunters/gatherers to early
civilizations[cr10]
Students will examine the relationship between Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush [cr5 a]
Unit 2 600 B.C.E. -600 C.E. Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies
Key concepts[cr3]
2.1 Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions
2.2 Development of States and Empires
2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange
Topics of focus
Classical Civilizations
Belief systems
Trade
Sample Activities
Belief Systems: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Daoism, and Confucianism, Animism in
Sub-Saharan Africa and Americas
Students will compare belief systems and the spread of these systems
Students will read a variety of primary sources on specific belief systems such as the following from
World' s of History by Reilly “From the Bhagavad Gita: cate and Self”, “from the rig Veda:Sacrifice as
Creation”, “Confucius from the Analects”, “Buddhism in China: from the Disposition of Error”, and
“Christianity:Jesus according to Matthew”[cr1b]
Classical civilization: After reading Reilly “City and State and Indo-European Tradition”, students will
compare classical cities Rome, Alexandria, Pataliputra. [cr4]
Students will write a comparison essay about the role of women in classical civilizations, choosing to
compare two of the following Han China, Mauryan/Gupta India, Imperial Roma, or the Persian Empire
[cr12]
Students will write the 2004 DBQ Analyze Han and Roman attitudes toward technology. They will
analyze a variety of sources, craft an arguable thesis, and support their historical argument on attitudes
toward technology.[cr6 & cr1b & cr8]
Students will create and label maps which show the rise and fall of states and empires, the diffusion of
culture and religion, and a variety of trades networks and exchanges particularly on silk roads and the
Indian Ocean trade network.
Students will analyze the impacts of Bantu migrations on sub-Saharan Africa [cr5a]
Unit 3 600-1450:Regional and Transregional Interactions
Key concepts
3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks
3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions
3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and Its Consequences
Topics of focus
Rise of Islam and its spread throughout the ME and to Africa and South and Southeast Asia
Umayyad and Abbasid empires
Byzantine empire
Russia
Italian city states
Crusades
Delhi Sultanate
Sui, Tang, Song, Ming empires
Spread of chinese Civilization: Korea, Japan, Vietnam
Kingdoms of Africa: Ghana, Mali, Songhay, Yoruba, Swahili coast, Nubia, Ethiopia
Mongols
Aztecs
Inca
Polynesian Migrations
Trade Networks of Post-classical world, land routes and Indian Ocean trade
Sample Activities
COT essay- Students will write 2008 COT- Analyze changes and continuities in commerce in the
Indian Ocean world 650-1750 [cr4 cr10 cr6]
Comparison Essay- Students will analyze the similarities and differences in the rise of two empires
west Africa, Aztecs, Mongols [cr4 cr12]
Students will examine the rise of Islam. They will compare different empires such as the Umayyad
and Abbasid. Students will map the spread of Islam. Students will compare its spread to different
regions: West Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Kingdoms of Africa-Students will analyze the consequences of the spread of Islam to W. Africa and the
Swahili coast.[cr5a]
Students will read the epic Sundiata. [cr5a]
Students will visit the website Saudiaramcoworld.com and read about and map the travels of Ibn
Battuta. Students will also visit
In small groups, students will gather evidence from a variety of sources and then present to the class on
the following topic. How did the cultures and societies of West Africa impact the Islamic religion and
its practice? [cr13]
Students will compare the Aztec and Inca empires. Students will analyze similarities and differences in
labor and tribute systems [cr5b]
Students will map Polynesian migrations
Students will read excerpts from Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel which focus on the
uniqueness of Papua New Guinea.[cr5d]
Students will watch episode 1 of the video guns, Germs, and Steel to appreciate and anthropologist's .
Both will give students the perspective of an anthropologist on issues such as migration, agriculture,
and the development of technology. [cr15]
Students will read Shaffer's article “Southernization” and use a map to record the diffusion of goods,
culture, technologies [cr1c]
Students will read Voll's response “Southernization as a Construct in Post Narrative Civilization”[cr1c]
After reading both articles, students will compare these two interpretations [cr7]
Debate- Mongols Chaos and catastrophe of Contribution
Students will read ch 10 of Reilly's World's of History which gives first hand accounts of the Crusades
from a variety of perspectives. Students will analyze the differences in perspective of people of
different faiths and regions. [cr14]
Students will look back at unit and consider the start date for the time period of 600 C.E. As opposed to
700 C.E. . Students will examine a list of events and dates close to both 600 and 700 and determine
which they think is a better start date and how each date changes perceptions. [cr11]
Unit 4 1450-1750:Global Interactions
Key concepts
4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange
4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production
4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion
Topics of focus
Transformations if Western Europe Renaissance and Explorations [cr5e]
Columbian Exchange
Americas upon European Arrival
Africans and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
Existing and New Trade Networks/Cross Cultural Interaction
Muslim Empires
Ming, Qing China- demand for silver
Japanese shogunates
Russia
Why does this time period begin at 1450? Why not 1300? What are the consequences of each? [cr11]
Comparison essay- Compare economic, social, and political processes of empire building in the
Spanish empire with those in the Ottoman or Russian empire.[cr4]
DBQ- Students will use an array of primary sources to analyze social and economic effects of the
global flow of silver 16c-18c. [cr8 , cr6]
Students will analyze and compare the cause and consequences of European maritime exploration with
the causes and consequences of the Ming decision to withdraw its navy from the seas.[cr13]
Students will gain insight into the European views of Native Americans in the 1500s by examining art
work such as “Woodcut of South American Indians” “Columbus Greeted by Natives” and personal
letters from Chapter 4 of Andrea and Overfield's The Human Record.[cr1b, cr8]
Students will read chapter 3 of Marks' Origins of the Modern World . [cr1c] Class discussion on
European vs. other form of state building, new demands for labor, global demand for silver and its
implications fro Native Americans and Africans in particular.[cr13]
What role did religion play in the New World?
Group projects on Islamic Empires. Writing pieces from the perspective of someone living in each
empire. Using several outside sources (works cited needed) to inform your original writing.
Mapping new exchanges between Old and New worlds. Columbian Exchange, Triangular trade, slave
Trade, Silver and Sugar.
Unit 5: 1750-1900: Industrialization and Global Integration
Key Concepts
5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism
5.2 Imperialism and Nation State Formation
5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform
5.4 Global Migration
Topics
Age or Revolution- American, French, Haitian, Latin American
Industrial Revolution
Imperialism in Africa and Asia [cr5c,a]
New Zealand and Australia and arrival of Europeans and Colonialism [cr5d]
Competing ideas on Rise of the west[cr5e]
Sample Activities
Compare revolutionary movements in America, France, and Haiti
Students will look at portraits of liberator-heros ( George Washington, Toussaint L'Overture, Simon
Bolivar, and Jean- Paul Marat) and discuss the ways art can influence public opinion. Students will also
use techniques of art historians to examine how each portrait displays the power and character of each
hero.[cr1b, cr15]
Students will read Why the West?: The Unsettled Question of Europe's Ascendancy by Gale Stokes and
examine the various perspectives from different historians on why the West became a major factor in
World History. [cr7]
Students will also watch episode 18 “Rethinking the Rise of the West” of PBS' Bridging World History
series.
Students will analyze tables and graphs showing increased urbanization in different world regions as a
result of new industrial order.[cr1b, cr8]
Scramble for Africa
Students will analyze the impact of the Dutch then the British on the kingdoms of South Africa such as
the Zulu.
Students will use a variety of sources to consider the environmental implications of European
imperialism and and increasingly industrial world order.[cr4]
With the help of our Environmental Science teacher, students will closely examine environmental
consequence of contact with Europeans for the environments of New Zealand, Hawaii, and
Australia.[cr4,cr5d]
End of classical civilization in China
students will compare the map of Africa in the textbook before the Scramble for Africa with map of
Africa at the end of the time period when European imperialism was in full force.
Unit 6 1900- Present: Accelerating Global Change and Realignments
Key concepts
6.1 Science and the Environment
6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences
6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture
Topics
WWI
Global Depression
Authoritarian Regimes
WWII
Cold War
Nationalism and Decolonization
Revolutions- China, Mexico, Russia
International Organizations
Globalization
Sample Activities
DBQ- Analyze factors that shaped the Olympic Movement 1892-2002.[cr8]
Comparison- Compare the emergence of nation-states in 19th c. Latin America with ones in 20th century
Africa or the Middle East [cr13]
COT- Analyze religious changes and continuities in Sub-Saharan Africa or Latin America 1450-present.
[cr10]
Globalization spider webs
Students will analyze causes and consequences of conflicts in Congo, Chile, and Cuba and the role of
the Cold War in each region. Students will review primary documents from leaders of Congo, Cuba,
Chile, the US, and Russia and compare their points of view. Materials from the College Board's
“Teaching About Africa and Latin America in Twentieth Century world History.” [cr9,cr14]
Globalization- Students will review, analyze, compare a variety of tables, graphs, and charts, on
Gapminger.org to see changes over time as a result of globalization and industrialization. A sampling
of some data students will review: CO2 emissions since 1820, Natural disaster death tolls, HIV rates,
infant mortality, education spending, migration to cities. [cr1b]
Students will research arts and literature during WWII in a region of the world other than Western
Europe or US to gain insight into conflict's global nature and how people used the arts to express their
points of view.
Students will examine causes and consequences of WWI and the failed Peace of Versailles.[cr4]
Students will read primary sources on decolonization and create graphic organizers comparing
movements in two different regions of their choice.[cr4]
Review, review, review.