Advanced Placement World History
Course Syllabus 2014-2015
Coach Greenwell
Chase.greenwell@metcalfe.kyschools.us
Course Overview
Advanced Placement World History is a two-semester course that examines world history from approximately 8,000
BCE up to the present day. This class approaches history through a chronological as well as thematic approach
looking at threads of humanity over time. Students will focus on the relationship of change and continuity of
societies throughout history. AP World History offers a balanced global approach, focusing on Africa, Asia, The
Americas, and Europe. By combining time periods and historical themes, students will be able to understand and
analyze the evolution and interactions of societies throughout history and begin to decipher what shaped the modern
world.
Course Objective
AP World History is a college prep course that provides students with an academic experience equivalent to a
college survey of world history. Students are expected to do a considerable amount of reading, writing, discussion,
and analytical research. Students should prepare for between 4-6 hours of homework per week, including reading
and analysis of primary and secondary source documents, study guide questions and practice essays.
Five AP World History Themes
Five AP World History Themes will be used throughout the course to identify the broad patterns and processes that
explain change and continuity over time.
1.
Interaction Between Humans and the Environment
Demography, Disease, Migration, Patterns of Settlement, Technology
2.
Development and Interaction of Cultures
How does contact between different groups within a culture, or between two or more cultures, change
or fail to change those cultures? Includes religion, philosophies, ideologies, technology, and artistic
styles. How is culture created? How do beliefs grow and spread or decline? Why do ideas become
popular or unpopular?
Religions, belief systems, philosophies and ideologies, science and technology, the arts and
architecture
3.
State – Building, Expansion and Conflict
Why do people need to organize themselves? How is political power distributed? Why do governments
and empires succeed and fail? Why do people identify with or fail to identify with leaders, places, and
systems?
Political structures and forms of governance, empires, nations and nationalism, revolts and
revolutions, regional, trans regional, and global structures and organizations
4.
Creation, expansion and interaction of economic systems
How and why do economic systems develop? Why do different systems appear throughout history?
Why do they occur at different times in different places? What effect does industrialization have on
promoting a global economy?
Agricultural and pastoral production, trade and commerce, labor systems, industrialization, capitalism
and socialism
5.
Development and Transformation of Social Structures
How does age, gender, beliefs, self-image, traditions, region, race, wealth, poverty, and knowledge,
impact the groups we belong to and the rights or obligations we experience?
Gender roles and relations, family and kinship, racial and ethnic construction, social and economic
classes
Historical Thinking Skills
Success in the AP World History course and on the AP Exam requires dual competencies: (1) command
of the facts and (2) the critical thinking skills necessary to effectively manipulate these facts. The
following skills will help students to critically analyze historical information and be able to think like
historians.
1. Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence
Historical Argumentation
Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence
2. Chronological Reasoning
Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
Periodization
3. Comparison and Contextualization
Comparison
Contextualization
4. Historical Interpretation and Synthesis
Interpretation
Synthesis
Key Concepts
Period 1:
Technological and
Environmental
Transformations,
to c. 600 B.C.E
Period
2: Organization
and
Reorganization of
Human Societies,
c. 600 B.C.E to
c. 600 C.E.
Period 3: Regional
and Transregional
Interactions, c. 600
C.E. to c. 1450
Key Concept 1.1. Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth
Key Concept 1.2. The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies
Key Concept 1.3. The Development and Interactions of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban
Societies
Key Concept 2.1. The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions
Key Concept 2.2. The Development of States and Empires
Key Concept 2.3. Emergence of Trans regional Networks of Communication and Exchange
Key Concept 3.1. Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks
Key Concept 3.2. Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions
Key Concept 3.3. Increased Economic Productive Capacity and Its Consequences
Period 4: Global Key Concept 4.1. Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange
Key Concept 4.2. New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production
Interactions,
c. 1450 to c. 1750 Key Concept 4.3. State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion
Key Concept 5.1. Industrialization and Global Capitalism
Period
5: Industrialization Key Concept 5.2. Imperialism and Nation—State Formation
and Global
Key Concept 5.3. Nationalism, Revolution and Reform
Integration, c.
1750 to c. 1900 Key Concept 5.4. Global Migration
Key Concept 6.1. Science and the Environment
Period
6: Accelerating Key Concept 6.2. Global Conflicts and Their Consequences
Global Change
and Realignments,
Key Concept 6.3. New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society and Culture
c. 1900 to the
Present
Course Material
Class Textbook
Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: A Global History with Sources. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2009
ISBN 10: 0-312-64466-3
This contains the text as well as the primary source documents required for the course.
Supplemental Online, Required Resources
Companion Site (http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/strayerdocutext1e/)
Contains online study guide, Chapter Quizzes, Essay Quizzes and Internet Activities, as well as research
and writing help. Some activities may need to be completed and emailed to the instructor.
Supplemental readings may include the following:
Andrea, Alfred J., and James H. Overfield. The HumanRecord: Sources of Global
History Volume I: To 1700. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,2008. Primary-source
reader.
Andrea, Alfred J., and James H. Overfield. The HumanRecord: Sources of Global
History Volume 2: Since 1500. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.Primary-source
reader.
Shaffer, Lynda, Journal of World History, vol.5.no.1 (1994)
Other Readings
Throughout the year students will be required to read supplemental outside texts and articles, in addition to the
regular text and documents. Students will also be required to access the website site that accompanies the primary
text. Due dates for all additional readings will be set in conjuncture with text outlines.
Course Expectations
Reading Assignments
You will be assigned reading on a daily basis. You are responsible for maintaining the reading pace. All reading
assignments will be given in advance. In addition, you are expected to annotate and highlight all reading
assignments. In-class quizzes will be given to make sure that you have an acceptable understanding of the
reading. You are expected to spend approximately 1-2 hours outside of class in preparation for each class
period. This preparation is essential for success in this course. If you are struggling with the assigned outside
reading please discuss this with the instructor.
Written Work
FRQ- Free Response Questions
o This essay requires the students to respond to a prompt using clear organization and a well-developed
thesis. The writers are expected to pull from course and reading information to accurately respond to
the prompt. Essays are well supported, clearly structured and analytically developed.
DBQ- Document Based Questions
o This essay also requires students to respond to a prompt in a clear and concise manner. However, the
students are given between nine to twelve documents to group and create a thesis that responds to the
prompt. Essays are clearly organized, use persuasive logic, illustrate authorial point of view, and
demonstrate a grasp on higher-level analysis.
Change Over Time Essays
o This essay requires students to look at causation, themes in history and historical process. Essays are well
supported, clearly structured and analytically developed.
Comparative Essays
o This essay requires students to analyze global processes and historical themes in different groups and
regions. Essays are well supported, clearly structured and analytically developed.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is taken extremely seriously in this classroom. Any offences will result in a zero on the
assignment and or test and could possibly yield a drop from the course. Plagiarism is not tolerated.
Oral Participation
A major portion of the class is based on discussion; therefore, as a student you are responsible for
participating. Students will be graded on their participation. This comprises of your preparedness, comments, and
willingness to learn. In addition, several assignments will be assessed orally; you will present your findings instead
of writing them. Please be prepared to participate each and every day.
Exams
Exams are rigorous because they are intended to challenge students at the AP Exam level. Moreover, they are
designed to give students frequent experience with the types of multiple-choice questions, free-response questions
and document-based questions that appear on the AP World History Exam. Frequent exams also ensure that students
read the textbook and supplementary readings, consistently check for understanding, and take copious notes that are
thorough and well organized. Students will be assessed periodically throughout the semesters. Exams comprise of
essay questions and multiple choice. Students will have a final exam at the end of semester one and a Mock Exam
during fourth quarter. The Mock Exam serves as your final for the course.
Grading
Grades will reflect primarily performance on essays and assessments. Other class assignments, quizzes and
participation will be incorporated into the grade as well. The course is point-based and follows the following scale:
90-100=A
80-89=B
70-79=C
60-69=D
59-below=F
Attendance
Attendance is essential for success in this class. School policy will be followed. If the student is absent, make-up
work is your responsibility and completed on his/her own time. Students are required to check the website for inclass assignments when they are absent. Additional time will not be granted for reading assignments given in
advance, or any long-term assignments. The students are expected to be here for the day the test is scheduled.
However, if the student knows she/he will be absent, make arrangements to take the test early, otherwise, tests will
be taken upon return. Long-term absences will be handled individually by the instructor and the student involved. If
the student is absent the day that a long-term assignment is due; the expectation is that the assignment is turned in
regardless if the student is not there.
The AP Exam
One of the end goals of the course is the Advanced Placement Exam, which is given in early May. Final grades are
reported on a five point scale, with the top grades 3, 4, and 5 often (but not always) honored by colleges either for
creditor for recommendation to upper level course load, or both.
The three-hour AP Exam consists of:
1. 70 multiple-choice questions. Some are knowledge based; others require interpretation, analysis,
synthesis and evaluation.
2. One Change Over Time Essay (COT). The change over time essay usually focuses on causation.
Students are expected to demonstrate their understanding of overarching historical process – the how and
why of changes in trading patterns, technological developments, or cultural institutions between major time
periods.
3. Documents Based Question (DBQ). Integration of knowledge previously acquired with information
provided in the documents.
4. One Comparative Essay (CE). The Comparative Essay requires a comparison and/or contrast between
at least two groups or regions in an analytical evaluation that relates to the AP World History themes.
Units of Study: Essential Objectives
Five Eras of Study
• Foundations, circa 8000 BCE –600 BCE
600BCE – 600 CE
• 600 – 1450
• 1450 – 1750
• 1750 – 1914
• 1914 – the present
**The units below follow the text and vary slightly from the AP areas of study.
Unit I: Early Societies 8000 BCE – 500 BCE
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Evolution of Man
Early Society structures
Formation of Complex Societies
Mesopotamia
Indo-European Migration
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Early African Societies
Harappan and early Indian Societies
Early Chinese Societies
Early Societies in Mesoamerica and Oceana
Unit II: Formation of Classical Societies 500 BCE –500 CE
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Rise and Fall of the Persian Empire
Unification of China
Development of India
Empires of the Mediterranean (Greece and Rome)
Africa and the Mesoamerica
Unit III: Postclassical Era 500 – 1450 CE
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Byzantine Empire
Expansion of Islam
Imperial China and the Establishment of Buddhism
Islamic and Hindu Kingdoms in India
Foundations of Christianity in Western Europe
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Turkish and Mongol Migration
African Migration and impact of religion
Western Europe during the High Middle Ages
Bubonic Plague
Exploration and Colonization
Part IV: Global Interdependence 1450 – 1750 CE
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Technology of Exploration
Colombian Exchange
Origins of Global Trade
Protestant Reformation
Formation of European Nation States
Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
European Conquests of the Americas and the Pacific
States of Africa
Atlantic Slave Trade
African Diaspora
Quest for Stability in China
Unification of Japan
Empires of Islam
Part V: Age of Revolution: 1750 – 1914 CE
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Influence of Revolution (America, France, Haiti, Latin America)
Nationalism in Europe
Global effects of Industrialization
Expansion of the United States
Decline of the Ottoman Empire
Unrest in Russia
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China and the Opium War
Imperialism and its Legacy
Part VI: Globalism in the Twenty and Twenty-first Centuries 1914 – Present
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WWI
Russian Revolution
Postwar Realities
Global Depression
Communism in Russia
Emergence of Fascism
Imperial Japan
Colonialism in Africa
WWII
Formation of the Bipolar World
Communism in China
Collapse of the Soviet Union and the End of the Cold War
Independence in India
Decolonization of Africa
Globalism in the Twenty-First Century
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Period 1: Technological and Environmental Transformations - to c 600 B.C.E (7 weeks)
o Topic I. Introduction to the course
Essential Questions
o • What is World History?
o • Why is the study of World History important to my life in the 21st century?
o • What is periodization?
o What determines the transition from one period to another?
o • What are habits of mind?
o • What are the themes that guide World History AP?
o • What historical terminology must I be familiar?
Topic 2 The Neolithic Revolution, 8,000 BCE to 500 BCE (approximately one week)
Key Concept 1.1. Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth (CR3)
Major Activities
•
Film: The Real Eve produced by the Discovery Channel. During and after watching the
film, students will answer the following questions: (CR4)
o • When did modern man first attempt to leave Africa?
o • Why was this exodus unsuccessful?
o • What was found in 1933 in Nazareth?
o • How long does it take for one mutation to occur?
(Theme 1: Migration)
o • How long did it take for humans to migrate to Australia? What impact did they have on
this continent? How was the development of these people different from other migrations
in the film? (Scoring Component 5d)
o After the film,students will engage in a discussion on what is race? Is it an artificial
construct? (Theme 5, Racial and ethnic constructions)
* Students will write an essay to demonstrate their understanding of the impact of the
environment in the migration around and out of Africa before the Neolithic Revolution. Theme
1(CR4)
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• Stephen Oppenheimer and the other scientists who contributed tothis study are
identified by name and scientific field of expertise.
(CR15)
Key Concept 1.2. The Neolithic Revolution and the Early Agricultural Societies
o • Guided lecture on selection from the film Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond,
professor of geography and physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles
(CR15)
(Theme 1, Interaction Between Humans and the Environment: Patterns of
Settlement and Technology)
o Students will discuss and demonstrate their understanding of the impact of the
agricultural revolution on gender CR4) equality. (Theme 5: Development and
Transformation of Social Structures)
o Students will discuss the development of civilization and the development of specialized
workers and class structure. (Theme 5:
Social and economic classes)
o Student Activity: In groups, of not more than five persons, students will discuss and list
the multiple causes and consequences of the Neolithic revolution. They will then rank
from most important cause and consequence and defend their choice before the large
group. (CR9)
Key Concept 1.3. The Development and Interactions of Early Agricultural,
o Pastoral and Urban Societies
Essential Questions
o • How does the interaction of geography and climate influence the development of human
society?
o Student activity: Students will read the class textbook, chapter 1. In groups, they will
illustrate the resources accessible to the inhabitants of the various early River Valley
Civilizations and how these resources contributed to the growth and development of
subsequent civilizations in these regions. (Key Concept 1.3) (Theme 2: Development and
interaction of cultures)
o • How do historians define agricultural, pastoral, and foraging societies and their
demographic characteristics?
•
How did improvements in technology lead to the formation of larger and more complex
societies in some regions and not in others?
o • What were the basic characteristics of the economic structures and technological
innovations of the key civilizations of this period?
Period 2: Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies, c 600 BCE to c 600 CE
o River Valley Civilizations and the Classical World,
Key Concept 2.1.
Essential Questions:
o • What are the continuities and changes from the River Civilizations period to the
Classical Period?
o • What caused the movement of peoples, the collapse of empires, and the emergence of
new empires and political systems during the classical period.
o • What were the basic features of major world belief systems prior to 600?
o • How were the basic characteristics of global social structures developed by 600?
o • What defines a Classical Age?
o • What were the trading patterns of the Ancient World?
Major Activities
• Student activity:
Students read and discuss several historiansʼ interpretation of the Aryan invasion theory.
The focus is the diversity of interpretations about an historical event and also the impact
of point of view. (CR7)
This lesson is taken from Sample Activity for Assessing the Skill of "Historical Argumentation,"
pg. 94, AP World History Workshop Handbook. Lesson by John Maunu.
Students use these resources to analyze point of view and historical context.
http://www.mahavidya.ca/the-indus-valley-civilization/theindusvalley-civilization-2/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/history/
history_1.shtml
http://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/indo-europeanurheimatelst.html
o (Key Concept 2.3) Emergence of
Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange
o View film: Hidden India: The Kerala Spice Islands (Scoring Component 5c) (Theme 1:
Interactions Between Humans and the Environment: Patterns of Settlement)
Student Activity: While watching the film, students identify examples of cultural diffusion, over
time, in Kerala, India. (Key Concept 2.3)
Overview of this film from Amazon.com: Where in the world have Hindus, Muslims, Christians
and Jews lived together in harmony? Try the small Indian state of Kerala, where trade and spices
brought them together in tropical lowlands studded with coconut palms and cool mountain ranges
where tea, cardamom, ginger, and rubber trees grow. Host Bruce Kraig guides viewers to
markets, spice plantations, rice paddies, elephant parades, traditional dances, and spectacular boat
races.
• Student project: Students will produce illustrated charts comparing the basic features of the
early civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt((CR5a), Indus Valley, Yellow River Valley civilization,
Mesoamerica and Andean South America(Scoring Component 5b). (CR4)
• Student activity: From AP World History Workshop Handbook: students will do the activity on
pg. 52, Experiencing a Formative Assessment. They will work in a group to evaluate whether
600 C.E. or 700 C.E. is a better starting date for the postclassical period. (CR11)
• Student activity: Students will read excerpts from The Analects and a primary source by Ban
Zhao on Women in Classical China. Students will answer questions that require them to reflect on
the impact of Confucianism on gender relations in Classical China. (Theme 2: Belief systems,
philosophies, and ideologies)
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Text: Chapter 1
• Homework assignments
Documents in World History
Students will read and discuss the following primary sources:
Mesopotamian Values: A Pessimistic View
The Gilgamesh Epic (Key Concept 1.3)
Egypt: Religious Culture and the Afterlife
Book of the Dead
The Hebrew Bible
Isaiah: Psalms; Exodus
Babylonian Law: How an Early State Regulated Its Subjects
Code of Hammurabi
Students will answer the following questions as part of their discussion:
How did the Hebrew approach to God and to divine sanctions for good behavior compare with
Egyptian religion? What were the main similarities and differences?
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How did Egyptian views of religion and relationships of humans with the gods compare with
those in Mesopotamia, as suggested in The Gilgamesh Epic? (Theme 2: Religions)
Student Activity: Students will provide written responses that will compare and explain
differences and similarities of the belief systems of various cultures during this period. (CR12)
Student Activity: Students will write the 2006 revised question as an essay exam: Analyze;
continuities and changes in the cultural and political life of ONE of the following societies.
(CR10)
• Chinese, 100 CE to 600 CE
• Roman, 100 CE to 600 CE
• Indian, 300 CE to 600 CE
Theme 3: State-Building, Expansion, and Conflict
Theme 5: Development and Transfer of Social Structures
• Student Activity: Students will read and respond to the following questions using Lynda
Shafferʼs Southernization: (CR5c) (CR4)(Key concept 2.3)
Read Lynda Shafferʼs article on Southernization, published in the Journal of World History. Be
prepared to discuss the following points.
1. What do the two terms westernization and southernization mean in the context of this article?
2. Where did the Malay sailors sail and what means did they use to sail so far?
3. How did the Indians lay the foundation of modern mathematics?
4. What were some of the elements of southernization which changed China in the Song and
Tang eras?
5. Why is this article important to World History?
6. How did southernization lay the foundation for westernization?
7. Southernization began in ______________which is also known as _________________
_______________________. Give examples of the early stages of southernization.
8. What was the role of Islam in Southernization?
9. According to Lyndia Shaffer, what role did the Mongols play in the process of
Southernization?
(Theme 2: Science and technology) In this reading, Lynda Shaffer details the science and
technology developed by India and how it spreads to China. In addition, she explains how Arabs
spread this science and technology to the West.
Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange
• Student Activity: Students will do a comparative study of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity.
The focus will be on how the religions spread, changed over time, and provided an ethical code
to live by. (CR5c)
Students will participate in a writing workshop on writing thesis statements and supporting
arguments, with evidence using the World History for Us All material, to practice writing a thesis
statement comparing how and why Buddhism and Christianity spread during the Classical period.
Students will learn to write a three part thesis using evidence from the materials listed.
Subsequently, students will write a short essay explaining the spread of two religions. (CR6)
In this essay, students will demonstrate their understanding of how and why the major religions
spread during this time period. (Theme 2:)
• Student activity: Students will write an essay to compare and contrast Roman/ Han attitudes
towards technology in the classical period through critical analysis of primary documents that
take account of audience and points of view. 2--7 AP World History Free-Response Question
DBQ (CR14) (Key Historical Theme 1: Technology)
• Student activity: (Key concept 2.2) (Key Historical Theme 1: Demography and Disease)
Students will read several sources on the effects of the spread of disease on the Roman and Han
Empire. They will write a compare and contrast essay on the similarities and differences why the
diseases spread and the impact the diseases had on each Empire.
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On the Decline and Fall of Empires: The Roman Empire and Western Imperialism Compared by
Johan Galtung, Tore Heiestad and Erik Rudeng available through JSTOR
• Student activity: (Key concept 2.2)
o Students will read: Whistling Arrows and Chinese Emperors and demonstrate from their
responses the external problems along the frontiers between Classical China and Central
Asian Nomads.
• Student Activity: Students will demonstrate their understanding of how the different Classical
Empires governed. They will write the following essay: Analyze similarities and differences in
techniques of imperial administration in TWO of the following empires.
• Han China (206 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.)
• Mauryan/Gupta India ( 320 B.C.E. - 550 C.E.)
• Imperial Rome ( 31 B.C.E. - 476 C.E. )
(Theme 3: Political Structures and forms of governance)
Period 3: Regional and Transregional Interactions 600-1450 (9 weeks)
Essential Questions:
• How has the nature and causes of changes in the world history framework define 600-1450 as a
period in history?
• What were the developments and shifts in the interregional network of trade, technology,
cultural exchange, and communication during this period?
Was there a world economic network in this period?
• What was the role of Islam as a unifying cultural force in Eurasia and Africa?
• How did the nature of Christianity change?
• What was the impact of nomadic migrations on Afro-Eurasia?
• What were the major Amerindian civilizations?
What were the social, cultural, economic, and political patterns in the Amerindian world?
• What was feudalism and how did it differ in Europe and Asia?
• What was the gender structure of this time period in the various regions of the world?
• Analyze the role of cities and why the population and importance of cities grew during this
period.
Major Activities
• Guided lecture based on Janet L. Abu-Lughod, Before European Hegemony: The World
Systems A.D. 1250-1350. The purpose of this lesson is to address the concept of trade systems
during this period
• Written objective and essay exam
Two DBQ essay exams will be given during this unit: Christian and Islamic Attitudes towards
merchants and Change over time in the attitude of China toward Buddhism.
Comparative essays: Impact of Islam
Students will demonstrate their understanding of the impact of the spread of Islam on West and
East Africa, Southern Asia, Middle East, and Europe. Students will write the comparative essay
on the impact of the rise of the Islamic Empire. (Theme 3: Empires)
• Map Work: Identification of regions and trading systems
• Group work: Student activity. Students will work in groups to create charts comparing major
aspects of Aztec and Inca civilizations. (Scoring Component 5b)
• Student activity: Students will read two primary sources: Al-Bakri on West Africa and Ibn
Battuta on African Kingdoms and Islam. They use these sources and Chapter 8, African
Civilizations and the Spread of Islam to create possible responses the kings of African Kingdoms
would have to these two men explaining the various ways in which the practice of Islam was
affected by the geographic, cultural, and social contexts of sub- Saharan Africa during this time
period. (CR 13) (Scoring Component 1b)
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* Student Activity: Student will review and reinforce their understanding of how to analyze
primary sources assessing for point of view, audience, and historical context. Students will use
Documents in World History to read these primary sources and analyze them for point of view,
and historical context. The primary documents are from chapter 45 of Vol. 1, Forces of Change,
Merchants and Trade: Sources and Comparisons:
Ibn Khaldun, Reginald of Durham on Saint Godric. Selection I from An Arab Philosophy of
History: Selections from the Prolegemna of Ibn Khaldun, edited and translated by Charles Issawi
(London: John Murry, 1950). pp. 68-70, 78, 80-81. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
Selection II from Reginald of Durham, "Life of St. Godric, " in Social Life in Britain from the
Conquest to the Reformation, edited by G. G. Coulton (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1918) pp. 415-420. (CR8) (Scoring Component 1b)
• Student Activity: Students will do the following activities presented in Zones of Interaction:
Long-Distance Trade and Long-Term Connections Across Afro-Eurasia
Read David Christians's article, "Silk Roads or Steppe Roads? (Scoring Component 1c)
The article provides students with specific examples of agricultural, pastoral, and urban societies.
Students should be able to identify examples of each kind of society, describe characteristics of
each, and explain the dynamics of trade among them. (pp. 5)(Key concept 1.3)
• Students should be able to identify the major sedentary empires that participated in the Silk
Road trade, describe their role in long-distance trade, and evaluate the role of trade in developing
large-scale states. (Key concept 2.2)
• Students should be able to compare the different contributions to long-distance trade by
pastoralists and agricultural societies, referring back to the comparison between trans-ecological
and trans-civilizational trade developed in "Interactions Along the Ancient Silk Road." (Key
concept 2.3)
• Students should be able to identify the geographic breadth of trace along the Silk Roads and
differentiate between the extent of trade around 200 B.C.E. compared to in 1000 C.E. (Key
concept 3.1)
• Students should be able to identify elements of continuity in state forms ( for example, the
persistence of large empires in Rome and China, and the persistence of trade relations between
large empires and nomadic peoples) and elements of change (such as the transition from Han to
Tang dynasties in China). From this baseline, students should be able to notice and describe the
extent to which state forms change as trading patterns change. (Key concept 3.2)
Historical Thinking Skills identified:
• Crafting historical arguments from historical evidence (What evidence does Christian use to
argue for the significance of nomadic pastoralist initiative in Silk Road Trade? Why is this
significant?) CR6)
• Chronological Reasoning (Why does Christian note turning points in Silk Road trade?) CR11)
• Comparison and Contextualization (What are the differences between trans-ecological and
trans-civilizational trade? How did trade along the Silk Roads change in different periods?)
(CR12)
• Historical Interpretation (David Christian asserts an argument that differs from previous
scholarship. This lesson offers a concrete example of how historians develop diverging
interpretations. (CR7)
• Students will use maps, as suggested, as part of this lesson. (scoring component 1b)
Overland and Maritime Interactions in the Post-Classical Era
* Here students should be able to explain why pastoralists were able to continue trade
relationships when trade between major civilizations declined. Students should also be able to
compare the intensification of exchange networks on land and via sea routes.
• Based on specific evidence of food production, students should be able to describe the diffusion
of food crops and agricultural technology associated with the Muslim Agricultural Revolution.
Students should be able to compare the Silk Road's trade in predominantly luxury goods to
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diffusion of crops in the Indian Ocean region. More able students may offer explanations for the
different consequences associated with these different trading systems.
Historical Thinking Skills Identified
• Crafting historical arguments from historical evidence (How can language be used as a
historical source?) (CR6)
• Comparison and Contextualization (How did overland trade differ from maritime trade?
What is significant about a trade of predominantly luxury goods compared to trade in food
crops?) ( CR12)
• Student Activity: At the end of the unit, students will be required to write a Change and
Continuity Essay that will demonstrate their understanding of trade and cultural influences along
the Silk Road and how they changed over time. (CR10)
Topics/Content by Strand
History:
• Rise and spread of Islam
• The Decline of the Abbasid caliphate
• Civilization in Eastern Europe
• Civilization in Western Europe
• Americas before European invasion
• Reunification and Renaissance in China
• Influence of Chinese Civilization in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
• Impact of the nomads of central Asia on Eurasia.
• Rise of the West and the impact on the world
Geography:
• Relationship between geography and cultural and economic development.
• Paths of migration
Civics:
• Contrast and comparison of world political systems
Culture:
• Art that defines of civilizations of this period
• Cultural exchange in the post-classical world
• Issues of gender and class
• Renaissance East and West
Economics:
• World economic network in this period as compared with the world economic system that
emerges in the next period.
• economic role of cities
• monorails
• mita and tribute system
Contemporary Applications:
• How Islam is seen in the 21st century.
Period 4: 1450 – 1750 The World Shrinks (6 weeks)
Essential Questions:
• What distinguishes this era in history from the previous period?
• What were the changes in global interactions, trade, and technology during this period?
• What were the political units and social systems of the major empires?
• What was unique about the Atlanta slave trade in the tradition of slavery?
• What demographic and environmental changes were brought about by exploration and
colonialization of the Americas.
• What were Russiaʼs expansionist policies under the Tsars?
• How was Russia influenced by Western Europe?
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• How did the Ottomans build an Empire?
• What caused the decline of Mughal domination of India?
• What caused Europeans to settle in Southern Africa?
• What was the Japanese and Chinese reaction to European incursion?
Major Activities
Student activity:
* Students will read chapter 4 of Alfred Crosby's book Ecological Imperialism: The Biological
Expansion of Europe 900-1900. They will complete a time line of the events that happened on the
Fortunate Isles from 1291 to 1541. They will identify the relationship between cause and effect of
European incursion into this land by answering the following questions:
a. What were the logical consequences of the behavior of the early European settlers toward the
land and its native inhabitants?
b. What lessons did the pre-Columbian Europeans possibly learn from their successes and failures
in the Canaries, Madeiras, and Azores?
Student activity:
• Students are assigned one of the following three historical novels.
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi by Arthur Japin. This novel is an excellent example of COT.
Two Ashante princes are sent to the Netherlands, at the time of Willem I. The novel depicts the
relationship between the Dutch and the Ashante and how it changes over a generation. The novel
covers the legal and illegal trade of slaves. It ends with one of the main characters as the manager
of a Dutch coffee plantation in Java. This is based on a true story. (Scoring Component 5a) (Key
Concept 2.2) This novel explores the structure of slavery in the Ashanti empire, as well as the
European involvement in the slave trade.
The Samurai by Shusaku Endo. This novel is also an excellent example of COT. The changing
role of the samurai and the changing acceptance of Christians in Japan during the early 17th
century is the focus of this novel. The novel follows the arduous journey of a samurai and a Jesuit
priest from Mexico to Rome. When they return to Japan they find that Christianity has been
banned in Japan. This too is based on a true story. (CR5)
My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk . This novel looks at the impact of the European Renaissance
on the Ottoman world. It also gives insight into the conflicts within the Islamic gunpowder
empires of the 16th century. The role of women and minorities are also explored in this mystery
story.
• Student Activity: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the historical patterns of
continuities and change in the commercial life of the Indian Ocean region from 650 C.E. to 1750
C.E. by writing, in class, the 2008 CCOT exam. (CR10)
• Student activity: Students will take the 2006 DBQ essay exam: Analyze the social and economic
effects of the global flow of silver from the midsixteenth century to the early eighteenth century.
(2006 released exam)
• Comparative exam: 2009 comparative essay on racial ideology in the Americas this ti
comparing two places!
• Guided lecture: Portuguese/ West African Encounter as seen through art and primary sources.
Students are shown a representative of Afro-Portuguese Saltcellars from the following source:
Africa and the Renaissance: Art in Ivory, Ezio Bassani and William B. Fagg, edited by Susan
Thompson, published by the Center for African Art and Prestel-Verl Ag. They are required to
conclude through analyze of the Afro-Portuguese art at least three aspects of the relationship
between the Portuguese and the West Africans, from 1415 to 1650.(Theme 2: The arts and
architecture)
Student Activity: The students then read Letters to the King of Portugal by Nzinga Mbemba, a
primary source published in The Human Record: Sources of Global History, Vol. II,
Andrea/Overfield. Their analysis of the art and the primary source should allow them to
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understand the change and continuity over time of the relationship between the Portuguese and
West African kingdoms.
(Theme 2: State-building, expansion, and conflict) Students will demonstrate their understanding
of King Nzinga's attempt to expand his feudal empire into a more powerful state. They will also
demonstrate, through their response to the reading, that they understand the role that King Nzinga
hoped the Portuguese would play in this state-building, but the developing conflict between them.
(Scoring Component 5a and ………. larger picture and CCOT)
Key concept 2.2 The Letters to the King of Portugal explores the concept of legal and illegal
slave trade. It also presents the danger that Europeans posed to the King of the Kongo in
maintaining the loyalty of elites in his empire.
• Discussion of the Ming Voyages: Why did the Ming dynasty begin and end the voyages? What
was the role of the eunuch in the Ming dynasty? Why was Chinaʼs final decision to disband the
fleet so disastrous to its future?
Student Assessment: Students will demonstrate their understanding of the economic causes and
effects of the Ming Treasure Ship Voyages in the early 1400s by taking the role of Confucian
scholars and eunuchs to debate the economic impact of discontinuing the voyages. (Theme 4)
* Student Internet Activity: http://faculty.smu.edu/bakewell/BAKEWELL/
thinksheets/castas.html Students will examine the 18th century, primarily Mexican casta paintings
and compare and contrast the racial attitudes of Anglo America at the same time. Students will
consider these paintings in their response to the 2009 comparative essay question: For the period
from 1500 to 1830, compare North American racial ideologies and their effects on society with
Latin American/Caribbean racial ideologies and their effects on society. (CR15) and (CR12) also
Scoring component 5b
(Theme 2: The arts and architecture)
Topics/Content by Strand
History:
• The Scientific Revolution
• The Enlightenment
• Neoconfucianism
• Rise of Russia: Russiaʼs Expansionist Politics
• Spanish and Portuguese in Early Latin America
• Islam and Christianity in conflict
• Impact of the Crusades
Geography:
• Relationship between geography and cultural and economic development.
• Topographical features of the North American, South American and African continent
Economics:
• Availability of agricultural and mineral resources
• Impact of silver on the world economies
Civics:
• Comparison of the political structure of the major empires
• Characteristics of European absolutism
Culture:
• Major developments and exchanges in the arts.
• Religious conflict in Europe: the Reformation
• Comparative issues of gender
Contemporary Applications:
• Impact of the Atlantic Slave trade and European incursion on Modern Sub-Saharan Africa
• Conflict in the Middle East and its connections to this period
Period 5: 1750 – 1900 Industrialization and Western Global
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Integration (5 weeks)
Essential Questions:
• What distinguishes this era in history from the previous period?
• What were the changes in global interactions, trade, and technology during this period?
• What were the demographic and environmental changes of this period?
• What were the changes in social and gender structures?
• What were the political movements ?
• What allowed for the rise of the Western world?
• What are the debates over the utility of modernization theory as a framework for interpreting
events in this period and the next?
• What are the debates about the reasons for serf and slave emancipation in this period?
• What are the debates over the nature of womenʼs roles in this period?
How do these debates apply in understanding the role of women in colonial societies?
• How do the causes and early phases of the industrial revolution compare in Western Europe and
Japan?
• How do the following revolutions compare: Haitian, American, French, Mexican, and Chinese?
• What were the reactions to foreign domination in: the Ottoman Empire, China, India, and
Japan?
• How do the roles and conditions of women in the upper/middle classes compare with the roles
of the peasantry/working class in Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa?
Major Activities
• Student activity: Using the activity from the AP World History Workshop Handbook as an
example, students will be given several events close to 1900 and several events between 1900 and
1916. They will evaluate whether 1900 or 1916 is the better starting date for this period. (CR11)
• Student Activity: students will do the causation activity on pg. 17 of the AP World History
Workshop Handbook: causes and effects of the Meiji Restoration (CR9)
• Group activity: Students will assume the roles of various social economic classes of women of
several regions. They compare and contrast the roles they play and rights they have within these
regions.
• Guided lecture on the impact of Western domination on Latin America, Africa, Asia, Ottoman
Empire, and Eastern Europe.
• Essay exam: Compare and contrast the impact of the era of European domination on the social,
economic and social development of Latin America, Africa, Asia, Ottoman Empire, and Eastern
Europe. Which region was most successful in its response?
• Student activity: Students will be do a brief research project on the government policies towards
the indigenous peoples of Australia, Argentina, and the United States. Directions: Divide the class
into three groups and give them one day in the library to research the topic. The following day,
the students will present their findings. To demonstrate their understanding of the topic, students
will write a five paragraph essay comparing the policies and the impact of these policies on
indigenous people of these regions. (Scoring component 5d)
• Teacher will use the lesson "Zones of Interaction: Long-Distance Trade and Long- Term
Connections Across Afro-Eurasia," published by the College Board 2011, to help students to
understand trade interactions during this period. (scoring component 5a)
• By the end of this lesson students should be able to identify different kinds of trade goods
exchanged between Europe and China in the Silk Road eras compared to maritime trade that
accelerated in the 18th century. They should be able to identify changes in trading partners
between earlier periods and the period 1750-1900 and describe differences in trade relationships
(transregional interactions) between earlier periods covered in this curriculum module and Era 5.
(Key concept 5.1)
• Territorial expansion that accompanied the Industrial Revolution in Europe was not a
completely new phenomenon, but rather an intensification of networks, relationships, and
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exchanges with very deep histories. Students should be able to construct arguments about the
variety of motivations for imperial expansion and evaluate the causes and consequences of the
contested, fitful nature of that expansion. (Key concept 5.2)
* Student activity: Students will read the letter from Qianlong expressing deeply conservative
values that reform-minded Chinese would strong criticize by 1900, so although this set of
documents does not directly address the topic of revolution or social change, it does provide a
forum for students to link ideas expressed in one, context (continued Chinese imperial control
over foreign trade as exemplified by the Canton System) to questions raised in another (the
unwavering application of Confucian principles in a rapidly changing political economy caused
by European imperialism). (Key concept 5.3)
• Student activity: Students will use image from "Chinoiserie" footpath, 19th century, as one of
four primary sources to deepen their appreciation of the interplay between material and
nonmaterial exchanges and explore the material and nonmaterial motivations for imperial
expansion and sweeping social change. (CR8)
Historical Thinking Skills Identified:
• Crafting historical arguments from historical evidence and appropriate use of relevant historical
evidence (Using multiple and conflicting primary sources, students build their own arguments
about British-Chinese perceptions in the 18th century) (CR6)
• Chronological Reasoning (How did motivations for trade change in the late 18th and 19th
centuries, compared to earlier periods?) (CR10)
• Comparison and Contextualization (Comparison operates at all levels in this lesson: British
views of China, Chinese views of Britain, perceptions of foreigners that change over time, and
different kinds of source materials. (Contextualization is key to understanding the four sources
and using them as historical evidence. (CR13)
• Historical Interpretation and Synthesis (What motivated British desire to expand trade? Why
was China a difficult trading partner for Britain? How did trade relationships influence the ways
each society understood the other?) (CR14)
• Lessons from Special Focus: Migration, published by the College Board 2008
Teacher will use lesson British Convict Forced Migration to Australia: Causes and Consequences
by Kathy Callahan. Students will learn about the historical debate surrounding a single topic: the
purpose of transportation of criminals from Great Britain to Australia; students will learn to
understand historical events by examining the research methods of historians; to convey that
understanding to others through written and oral communication; and to learn about the First
Fleet, the establishment of a settlement colony in Australia, the Aboriginal Australians, and the
interaction of these three components during British colonization.
The College Board produced lesson states that all five AP World History themes: interaction
between humans and the environment; development and interaction of cultures; state-building,
expansion, and conflict, creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems; and
development and transformation of social structures; and it covers demographic and
environmental changes, rise of Western dominance, patterns of cultural and artistic interactions,
and diverse interpretations.
(Themes 1-5)
Topics/Content by Strand
History:
• Womenʼs emancipation movements
• Industrial Revolution
• Break down of forced labor systems
• Violent revolutions of the late 18th and 19th century
• Meiji Restoration
• Boxer Rebellion
• The “isms” of the 19th century: Socialism, Capitalism, Marxism, Darwinism, nationalism
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Geography:
• How geography influenced the nature of imperialism and colonialism in Africa,Eastern Europe
and Asia.
• Impact of dramatic rise in population on the earthʼs environment
Civics:
• Rise of democracy and its limitations
• Role of government in insuring quality of life for its citizens
Economics:
• Impact of the Industrial Revolution of the economic structures of various nations and regions
• Characteristics of a global economy
Culture:
• Standardization of time and measurement and its cultural impact
• Gender structures
• Issues of Birth Control
• Cultural Exchange - Syncretism
• Impact of industrialization on leisure time
• Development of mass education
Contemporary Applications:
• Legacy of Imperialism in the “Third World.”
Period 6: Accelerating Global Change and Realignments, c. 1900 to the Present(5 weeks)
Essential Questions:
• What distinguishes this era in history from the previous period?
• What were the changes in global interactions, trade, and technology during this period?
• Is cultural convergence or diversity the best model for understanding increased intercultural
contact in the twentieth century?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using units of analysis in the twentieth century
such as the nation, the world, the West, and the Third World?
• What was the impact of the World Wars, the Cold War, nuclear weaponry, and international
organizations on the global framework?
• What were the causes of the World Wars?
• What were the cultural and political transformations resulting from the World Wars.
• What is feminism?
• What leads to periods of genocide?
• What were the new patterns of nationalism, especially outside the west?
• What was the impact of major global economic developments: The Great Depression, Pacific
Rim, multinational corporations and the computer age?
• What was the nature of social reform and social revolution during this period?
• How did global and regional cultures develop?
• What was the consumer culture?
Major Activities
• Series of readings, guided lecture and student essay to analyze two examples of Latin American
nationalism. (Theme 3: Nations and Nationalism)
Student Activity: Students will compare two national ideologies and movements in South
America. Students will analyze the attempt of two nations to define themselves in nationalist
terms through social and economic actions.
Guided lecture by instructor from Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History to analyze the
development of a national image. Teacher will also summarize the thesis and supporting evidence
in Benedict Andersonʼs Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of
Nationalism
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Students will view visual images of the promotion of nationalism through Argentine and Mexican
Art.
• Student Activity: Students will write an essay comparing the limits of Getulio Vargas” and Juan
Peronʼs efforts to improve the economy of their countries. (Scoring Component 5b)
• Students will research and present their findings on the role of Australians in World War i and
World War II. (Scoring Component 5d)
• Student Activity
 Essay exam: Compare and contrast the goals and outcomes of the revolutionary process in two of
the following countries, beginning with the dates specified.
 Mexico, China, and Russia (2006 released exam)(Theme 3: Revolt and Revolution)
• Essay exam: DBQ from ACORN book on page 36 to analyze the opportunities and barriers that
nationalist movements posed concerning womenʼs rights and conditions.
• Essay exam: Analyze the issues that twentieth century Muslim leaders in South Asia and North
Africa confronted in defining their nationalism. (2005 released DBQ)
• Essay exam: Compare and contrast how the First World War and its outcomes affected TWO of
the following regions in the period from the war through the 1930s: East Asia, Middle East and
South Asia. (2004 released comparison and contract exam)
 In preparation for this essay exam students will read and explore the role of Japan, China and
African colonies and Asian colonies in World War I. Specific attention will be given to Japan's
desire to acquire German colonies in the Pacific (Oceania), the role of Austria and Australian
soldiers in World War I. In addition, the impact of actions of the League of Nations leading to
possible causes of World War II will be discussed. (Theme 3: Regional, transregional, and global
structures and organizations)
• Teacher will use the lesson "iPods and Commodity Chains," published by the College Board,
2011 to help students identify elements of globalization in the late 20th century.
• By the end of this lesson, students should be able to identify elements of globalization in the late
20th century that include: more complex commodity chains, commodity chains that encompass
most regions of the world; and commodity chains with multiple links not directly connected to
natural resources or raw materials. (Key concept 6.3)
 Student activities come directly from the lesson module:
• Student activity: Students will work in groups with world maps to map commodity chains for
materials presented throughout this unit dating from the classical period to the present. (Key
concept 5.1)
• Student activity: Students read pp. 35-37 of Nayan Chanda's Bound Together (supplied in
Appendix of College Board Curriculum Model as cited above). On a world map, students will
locate each point of production or distribution that Chanda discusses in this passage (New Haven,
Connecticut, Cupertino, California; Shanghai; Anchorage, Alaska; Indianapolis, Indiana; Japan;
South Korea; Edinburgh, Scotland; India). Chandra traces the delivery trajectory in sequence but
does not discuss the sequence of production. Students will show this sequence on their map The
point is not to produce a specific sequence of events in the production of hardware and software,
but rather to have students visually demonstrate that components and technology from various
parts of the world all converge in China for the assembly of the iPod - really more of a web or
network than a linear chain. (Key concept 5.1)
• Other lessons that include essay writing will be used.
• Student Activity: Students will research and report on the various trans regional and global
organizations to emerge in the 20th century.
 Topics/Content by Strand
 History:
• Rapid population growth and massive urban growth
• World Wars
• Decolonialization in Africa and India
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• Struggle to develop nations in former colonies
• Rise of Totalitarianism and Fascism
Geography:
• Impact of technology on the worldʼs fragile environment
• Deforestation
• green/environmental movements
Economics:
• Redefinition of world economy
• Global economic depression
Culture:
• Impact of revolution on the roles of women
• Reaction of Islam and Christianity to social change.
• Impacts of Western consumer society on civilizations outside of Western Europe.
• Internationalization of popular culture
Civics:
• End of monarchy and empires.
• Increase democratization of the world
Contemporary Applications:
• Analyzing the events of September 11, 2001 in context of “the West” and the rest of the world.