2015-16 Course Syllabus
Mr. Cox-Room c306
Description
The purpose of this course is for students to think conceptually about European history from
approximately 1450 to the present and applying historical thinking skills to learn about the past.
Students are introduced to the political, economic, religious, social, intellectual, and artistic
trends that shaped Europe and the global community. In addition to acquiring knowledge of the
basic chronology of events and movements, students will develop the ability to analyze historical
documents and express historical understanding in writing. Furthermore, students will be
required to reason historically about continuity and change over time and make comparisons
among various historical developments in different times and places. As part of the Advanced
Placement program, the course prepares students for the AP European History exam. All
students are expected to take the exam.
Course Materials and Resources
Texts
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McKay, et al. A History of Western Society Since 1300, 11th edition *(Primary Text)
R.R. Palmer, J. Colton, and Kramer. A History of the Modern World, 10th edition
Cracking the AP European History Exam, 2016 edition by the Princeton Review *(recommended)
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Dennis Sherman (editor), Western Civilization: Images and Interpretations-Volumes I & II
Sources of Western Society since 1500, 2nd Edition
Document Readers
Supplemental Readings
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The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Candide by Voltaire
The Great Cat Massacre and other episodes in French cultural history by Robert Darnton
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels
King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild
Course Requirements
Grades
Based upon the % of the cumulative
points scored on learning tasks divided
into three categories with different
weights:
 Homework: 10%
 Projects/Test: 70%
 Quizzes/Classwork: 20%
You are scored on a 5 point scale of
excellence. 5 is advanced, 4 is proficient,
3 is basic, 2-1 is limited/needs
improvement for each subcategory on
project rubrics, terms/essay components
on tests, and subjective type activities or
assessments (whether formative or
summative).
The weight of task will vary (e.g. 2x,3x,
etc.) depending on the given assignment.
You will often receive either a check+,
check, check- denoting a 5-4, 4-3, 3-1
range when assessed on smaller
assessments.
Final grade is based upon the percentage
earned from the cumulative grades
throughout the course involving the
following tasks:
 Marking Period Grades
 Final Exam Objective Test
 Final Exam Essay Test
 Core Assessment
Classroom Participation
Assessments
Outside of graded activities that we do
in class you will also receive a
classwork grade for the quality of your
cumulative participation in classroom
functions.
Includes your work in the following
areas:
 whole class discussion
 individual & group work
 BlackBoard tasks
 projects.
There are several
assessment modes used
throughout each marking
period to evaluate your
understanding of the course
material and historical
thinking skills development:
You will notice in Infinite Campus
that EVERYONE will begin with an
80/100 which is a proficient level...the
basic expectation for cooperative work
in the class that contributes and does
not interfere with anyone else
mastering classroom tasks. At the
END of the marking period I will
adjust this grade based upon the
"quality of your cumulative
participation" in the above mentioned
areas.
How does this grade go
up? Answering questions and being
engaged in class discussions, diligently
working individually and in your group
to complete tasks, adding insightful
thoughts/opinions discussion threads
and blogs, demonstrating leadership
and contributing greatly to tasks.
Academic Integrity Policy
Text Summaries
Students are expected to meet academic
challenges with the highest degree of
integrity and honesty. When questions
arise about research or learning activities,
students should demonstrate the
discipline necessary to seek guidance
from their teacher, rather than resorting to
inappropriate behaviors that may
undermine their own academic integrity
and the learning process.
The main ongoing assignment
modes in this class are reading
assignments from our primary and
supplementary texts.
All students should read and understand
the CBS Academic Integrity Policy, and
ask questions or seek clarification if they
are unsure of how that policy relates to
academic work in general or to specific
assignments for this
course. Consequences will result when
this policy is violated.
For this assignment you will read
the required reading, take notes,
answer accompanying questions
and summarize how the
information connects to our unit of
study and overall course themes. In
addition, reading quizzes will be
used to assess your completion of
these reading assignments.
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Topical/Thematic
Tests (Objective &
Short Answer
Questions)
DBQ (Document
Based Question) &
Long Essays
Map Quizzes (6
total quizzes for
each region and
the world)
Reading Quizzes
(McKay reading
quizzes, each
major work will
have a reading
quiz-Candide, etc.)
Projects (Various
short term and
long term
projects/modules
will be completed)
Lecture Assignment
Ongoing assignment mode
in course will provide you
the virtual experience of
attending a university class
lecture in history.
Through Academic Earth
we can access several
lectures from notable
scholars in the field.
For this assignment you will
view/listen to the lecture (I
will post a link to the video
on YouTube), take notes,
and then summarize the key
parts of the lecture. We
will utilize the journal
feature of BB to complete
this assignment
Interaction of
Europe & the
World (INT)
Poverty &
Prosperity (PP)
States & Other
Institutions of
Power (SP)
Objective
Knowledge &
Subjective Visions
(OS)
Individual &
Society (IS)
• Historical Causation
• Patterns of
Continuity and
Change over Time
• Periodization
Chronological
Reasoning
Comparison &
Contextualization
• Comparison
• Contextualization
Crafting Historical
Arguments from
Historical
Evidence
• Historical
Argumentation
• Appropriate Use of
Historical Evidence
Historical
Interpretation and
Synthesis
• Interpretation
• Synthesis
4 Chronological Periods & Associated Key Concepts
Period 1 (c. 1450 to c. 1648)
1.1 The worldview of European intellectuals
shifted form one based on ecclesiastical
and classical authority to one based
primarily on inquiry and observation of the
natural world.
1.2 The struggle for sovereignty within and
among states resulted in varying degrees of
political centralization.
1.3 Religious pluralism challenged the concept
of a unified Europe.
1.4 Europeans explored and settled overseas
territories, encountering and interacting
with indigenous populations.
1.5 European society and the experiences of
everyday life were increasingly shaped by
commercial and agricultural capitalism,
notwithstanding the persistence of
medieval social and economic structures.
Period 3 (c. 1815 to c. 1914)
3.1 The Industrial Revolution spread from Great
Britain to the continent, where the state played
a greater role in promoting industry.
3.2 The experiences of everyday life were
shaped by industrialization, depending on the
level of industrial development in a particular
location.
3.3 The problems of industrialization provoked
a range of ideological, governmental, and
collective responses.
3.4 European states struggled to maintain
international stability in an age of nationalism
and revolutions.
3.5 A variety of motives and methods led to the
intensification of European global control and
increased tensions among the Great Powers.
3.6 European ideas and culture expressed a
tension between objectivity and scientific
realism on one hand, and subjectivity and
individual expression on the other.
Period 2 (c.1648 to c. 1815)
2.1 Different models of political sovereignty
affected the relationship among states and
between states and individuals.
2.2 The expansion of European commerce
accelerated the growth of a worldwide
economic network.
2.3 The popularization and dissemination of the
Scientific Revolution and the application of its
methods to political, social, and ethical issues
led to an increased, although not unchallenged,
emphasis on reason in European culture.
2.4 The experiences of everyday life were
shaped by demographic, environmental,
medical, and technological changes.
Period 4 (c. 1914 to the Present)
4.1 Total war and political instability in the first
half of the 20th century gave way to a polarized
state order during the Cold War and eventually
to efforts at transnational union.
4.2 The stresses of economic collapse and total
war engendered internal conflicts within
European states and created conflicting
conceptions of the relationship between the
individual and the state, as demonstrated in the
ideological battle between liberal democracy,
communism, and fascism.
4.3 During the 20th century, diverse intellectual
and cultural movements questioned the
existence of objective knowledge, the ability of
reason to arrive at truth, and the role of religion
in determining moral standards.
4.4 Demographic changes, economic growth,
total war, disruptions of traditional social
patterns, and competing definitions of freedom
and justice altered the experiences of everyday
life.
Course Timeframe
(McKay Textbook Chapters & Corresponding Topics)
1st Marking Period
September
Chapter 11: The Later Middle Ages (1300-1450)
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Prelude to Disaster
Black Death
Hundred Years War
Challenges to the Church
Social Unrest in a Changing Society
Chapter 12: European Society in the Age of the Renaissance (1350-1550)
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Wealth & Power in Renaissance Italy
Intellectual Change
Art & the Artist
Social Hierarchies
Politics and the State in Western Europe
*The Prince
Chapter 13: Reformations and Religious Wars (1500-1600)
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Early Reformation
Reformation and German Politics
Spread of Protestant Ideas
Catholic Reformation
Religious Violence
Chapter 14: European Exploration and Conquest (1450-1650)
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World Contacts Before Columbus
European Voyages of Discovery
Impact of Conquest
Europe & the World After Columbus
Changing Attitudes and Beliefs
Chapter 15: Absolutism & Constitutionalism (1589-1725)
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Seventeenth-Century Crisis and Rebuilding
Absolutism in France and Spain
Absolutism in Austria & Prussia
Development of Russia and the Ottoman Empire
Alternatives to Absolutism in England and the Dutch Republic
October
Chapter 16: Toward a New Worldview (1540-1789)
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Major Breakthroughs of the Scientific Revolution
Important Changes in Scientific Thinking
The Enlightenment
Enlightened Absolutism
*Candide
2nd Marking Period
November
Chapter 17: The Expansion of Europe (1650-1800)
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Working the Land
The Beginning of the Population Explosion
The Growth of Rural Industry
The Debate over Urban Guilds
The Atlantic World and Global Trade
Chapter 18: Life in the Era of Expansion (1650-1800)
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Marriage and the Family
Children & Education
Popular Culture and Consumerism
Religious Authority & Beliefs
Medical Practice
*Great Cat Massacre
Chapter 19: Revolutions in Politics (1775-1815)
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Background to the Revolution
The American Revolutionary Era, 1775-1789
Revolution in France, 1789-1791
World War and Republican France, 1791-1799
The Napoleonic Era, 1799-1815
The Haitian Revolution, 1791-1804
Chapter 20: The Revolution in Energy & Industry (1780-1850)
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The Industrial Revolution in Britain
Industrialization Beyond Britain
New Patterns of Working & Living
Relations between Capital & Labor
Midterm Exam
December
Chapter 21: Ideologies & Upheavals (1815-1850)
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January
The Aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars
The Spread of Radical Ideas
The Romantic Movement
Reforms and Revolutions Before 1848
The Revolutions of 1848
*The Communist Manifesto
Chapter 22: Life in the Emerging Urban Society (1840-1914)
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Taming the City
Rich and Poor and Those in Between
Changing Family Lifestyles
Science & Thought
Chapter 23: The Age of Nationalism (1850-1914)
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Napoleon III in France
Nation Building in Italy, Germany, and the United States
The Modernization of Russia and the Ottoman Empire
The Responsive National State, 1871-1914
The Nation and The People
Marxism and the Socialist Movement
Chapter 24: The West and the World (1815-1914)
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Industrialization and the World Economy
Global Migration Around 1900
Western Imperialism, 1880-1914
Responding to Western Imperialism
*King Leopold’s Ghost
3rd Marking Period
Chapter 25: War & Revolution (1914-1919)
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The Road to War
Waging Total War
The Home Front
The Russian Revolution
The Peace Settlement
Chapter 26: The Age of Anxiety (1880-1940)
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Uncertainty in Modern Thought
Modernism in Architecture, Art, Literature, and Music
February
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An Emerging Consumer Society
The Search for Peace and Political Stability
The Great Depression, 1929-1939
March
Chapter 27: Dictatorships and the Second World War (1919-1945)
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Authoritarian States
Stalin’s Soviet Union
Mussolini and Fascism in Italy
Hitler and Nazism in Germany
The Second World War
Chapter 28: Cold War Conflict and Consensus (1945-1965)
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Postwar Europe and the Origins of the Cold War
The Western Renaissance/Recovery in Western Europe
Developments in the Soviet Union and the East Bloc
The End of Empires
Postwar Social Transformations
Chapter 29: Challenging the Postwar Order (1960-1991)
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Reform and Protest in the 1960s
Crisis and Change in Western Europe
The Decline of “Developed Socialism”
The Revolutions of 1989
April
Chapter 30: Life in an Age of Globalization (1990 to the Present)
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Reshaping Russia and the Former East Bloc
The New Global System
Toward A Multicultural Continent
Confronting Twenty-First Century Challenges
Final Exam
Preparation for AP Exam
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Diagnostic Exam
Period 1 Review
Period 2 Review
Practice Exam
Period 3 Review
Period 4 Review
Practice Exam
Thematic Review
AP Exam
May