AP© World History Syllabus
Instructor: Rush Sullivan
Rush.sullivan@scott.kyschools.us
Course Description: Advanced Placement World History (WHAP) is a chance to study the story of how our world
came to be as it is today. The course will cover events that shaped our world between 8000 BCE* and the present, and is
truly global in scope with Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceana represented equally. WHAP is a collegelevel course – it is taught on the college level and requires much more homework and more extensive writing
assignments and thinking skills than a high school course. Be ready to work, but be ready for the reward when test
results come next July.
ALL STUDENTS should take the internationally given College Board test in May to try for college credit. Our purpose in
class is to prepare all students to do well on the exam; the broader purpose is to develop a variety of analytical skills
and the chance to “do history” rather than just read about it. This requires a great deal of critical thinking,
interpretation of written material, logical argumentation, and analysis. These skills are beneficial regardless of your
future career goals.
* Note – The College Board uses the designations BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era), therefore, we
will as well. BCE corresponds with BC (Before Christ) and CE corresponds with AD (Anno Domini)
Reading Resources
Primary Textbook:
Bulliet, R., Crossley, P., Headrick, D., Hirsch, S., Johnson, L., and Northrup, D. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History,
3rd ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2008.
Strayer, Robert. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. (Online Classroom)
Bentley, J., Ziegler, H. Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, 5 th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011. (Online
Classroom)
Supplementary Texts:
Reilly, Kevin, ed. Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader, 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009.
Christian, David. This Fleeting World: A Short History of Humanity. Great Barrington: Berkshire Publishing Group, 2007.
Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: Norton, 1997
Web Resources (You are expected to have web access for this class just as you would be expected to in college. If you
do not have web access at home, you need to make alternate arrangements to utilize the internet at the high school or
the public library. Web access is a must, you will need it for research, assignments, and various activities throughout
the year!
To take practice tests, study with online flash cards, examine maps from each chapter, review correct pronunciation, etc.
look at: http://college.hmco.com/history/world/bulliet/earth_peoples/3e/students/index.html
OR do a google search for your book’s title and edition.
******To check your assignments online and download materials used in class if
absent check: http://www.scott.k12.ky.us/
click on “Teacher Online Classrooms,” “Sullivan, Rush” and “AP World
History”*****
I will also set up a Facebook page for the class and a Twitter account to answer questions, give
extra credit opportunities, and to extend learning beyond the classroom.
The Four Historical Thinking Skills*
These skills provide an essential framework for learning to think historically and apply learned concepts to all fields of
history.
1. Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence
a. Historical Argumentation
b. Appropriate use of relevant historical evidence
2. Chronological Reasoning
a. Historical Causation
b. Patterns of continuity and change over time
c. Periodization
3. Comparison and Contextualization
a. Comparison
4.
b. Contextualization
Historical Interpretation and Synthesis
a. Interpretation
b. Synthesis
Historical Themes*
Advanced Placement World History highlights five themes that form the cornerstone of the teaching and learning
experience.
1. Interactions between humans and the environment
 Demography and disease
 Patterns of settlement
 Migration
 Technology
2. Development and interaction of cultures
 Religions
 Science and technology
 Belief systems, philosophies, and
ideologies
 The arts and architecture
3. State-building, expansion, and conflict
 Political structures and forms of
 Revolts and revolution
governance
 Regional, trans-regional, and global
structures and organizations
 Empires
 Nations and nationalism
4. Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems
 Agricultural and pastoral production
 Industrialization
 Trade and commerce
 Capitalism and socialism
 Labor systems
5. Development and transformation of social structures
 Gender roles and relations
 Racial and ethnic construction
 Family and kinship
 Social and economic classes
Periodization*:
This course will divide the scope of World History into six time periods based on significant watershed events or
trends in history. This class will follow the periodization guides set forth by the College Board which are as follows:
PERIOD 1: Technological and Environmental Transformations (to c. 600 B.C.E.)
Themes to be covered:
1. Interaction between humans and their environment
2. Development and Interaction of Cultures
3. State Building Expansion and Conflict
4. Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems
5. Development and Transformation of Social Structures
Key concepts:
1.1- Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth
1.2- The Neolithich Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies
1.3- The Development and Interactions of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies
PERIOD 2: Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies (c. 600 B.C.E to c. 600 C.E)
Key Concepts:
2.1- The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions
2.2- The Development of States and Empires
2.3- Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange
Themes to be Covered:
1. Interaction between humans and their environment
2. Development and Interaction of Cultures
3. State Building, Expansion and Conflict
4. Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems
5. Development and Transformation of Social Structures
PERIOD 3: Regional and Transregional Interactions (c. 600 C.E. to c. 1450)
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
Themes to be covered:
1. Interaction between humans and their environment
2. Development and Interaction of Cultures
3. State Building, Expansion and Conflict
4. Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems
5. Development and Transformation of Social Structures
PERIOD 4: Global Interactions (c. 1450 to c. 1750)
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
Themes to be covered:
1. Interaction between humans and their environment
2. Development and Interaction of Cultures
3. State, Building, Expansion and Conflict
4. Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems
5. Development and Transformation of Social Structures
PERIOD 5: Industrialization and Global Integration (c. 1750 to c. 1900)
Themes to be covered:
1. Integration between humans and the environment
2. Development and Interaction of Cultures
3. State Building, Expansion and Conflict
4. Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems
5. Development and Transformation of Social Structures
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
PERIOD 6: Accelerating Global Change and Realignments (c. 1900 to Present)
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
Required Materials:
 Sturdy 3 inch 3-ring binder.
 Filler paper
 Notebook tabs that divide Units (6 total). Tabs will be properly labeled with unit numbers.
 Writing utensils (preferably blue or black ink pens)
Course Requirements:
 Prepare to take the AP Exam in early May.
 Form a study group for tests and other large assignments.
 Actively participate in class and complete all assignments thoroughly and promptly. Late work can be
arranged beforehand (if you know there is a paper as well as several big games coming up, etc.) I will take an
assignment 1 day late for ½ credit. After that, it becomes a zero.
 Attend class daily, arriving on time. I begin and end with the bell, always.
 Missing class is very detrimental to your progress.
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Make up work promptly when absent—contact me and send assignments due electronically if possible; make
prior arrangements for planned absences; two days allotted for each day absent to turn in work.
If you miss a quiz or test, you must set up a time to make it up outside of class. Daily missed assignments
should be checked online and will be placed each day in the “While You Were Out” bin according to your
class. Notes are your responsibility to get from someone else or to get them off online classroom.
Keep a well-organized and complete notebook for the entire year; bring to class every day. Use the charts,
lecture and reading notes in your notebook to study for tests. Keep up with the notebook all year!
Ask me for help always—I am very committed to supporting your efforts!
Challenge yourself to work hard and maintain high standards. I will do so as well.
Grading:
Grades will be based on points that are added up and averaged with total points possible. Grades are available daily
through Infinite Campus at Home. Final grades will be computed in December and again in May.
Assessments:
Quizzes: On readings from text book chapters. These quizzes will always be formative assessment.
Homework: Assigned text readings & questions, Essay writing practice, primary source activities, etc.
Tests: Following the completion of each unit and after some chapters. Tests are comprehensive but will focus
on the current unit. They will serve as our most important summative assessment.
Essays: Assigned in class and out of class writing in preparation of the AP exam. Special focus will be given
to the proper development of a thesis statement, organization of the body around evidence and citations,
careful analysis of various sources to develop a concrete argument that supports your thesis.
Notebook: When daily or homework assignments are due, I may stamp them to indicate they were completed
on time. You must do the entire assignment to receive the stamp. The work should IMMEDIATELY be
placed in your notebook, in order by date, for later evaluation based on quality and accuracy. I will collect
your binders at the end of each unit. Your notebook should contain ONLY work for this class. Date and
order pages chronologically. Sometimes I will take up assignments the day they are due as well, and these
should be placed in order in the binder upon return. Your binder is your record of your work…it is your
responsibility to keep up with it at all times. Any assignments lost before the binders are turned in and
graded must be redone or receive a zero. DO NOT LOSE YOUR BINDER!!!
Snow Days and Other Emergencies: Snow Days don’t exist for us, because the date of the AP test is set nationally
and will never change. Keep reading and completing homework as assigned on snow days.
*Taken from apcentral.collegeboard.com