MANLIUS PEBBLE HILL SCHOOL
ADVANCED PLACEMENT MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY
SYLLABUS 2015-2016
TEACHER:
SCHOOL:
MS. CHHABLANI
MANLIUS PEBBLE HILL
CONTACT INFORMATION:
SCHHABLANI@MPH.NET
315-446-2452 EXT 156
A. Course Description
Modern European History is meant to be the equivalent of a freshman college course and can earn students college credit. To
that end it is a challenging course that will require a 100% commitment of the student. Solid reading skills and writing skills,
along with a willingness to devote considerable time to homework and study, and an appreciation of history, are necessary to
succeed. Emphasis is placed on critical and evaluative thinking skills, essay writing, interpretation of original documents,
and historiography. In addition, students will be required to master a broad body of knowledge and demonstrate an
understanding of historical chronology.
B. Purpose
The goal of the class is to gain an understanding and appreciation of the major events and accomplishments in European
history 1450- present, the culture and life of those who created it, an understanding of the importance history plays in our
lives today, and the successful completion of the AP exam. The class will require reading a minimum of 1 chapter a week
and will likely include outside reading. The objectives of the course beyond performing well on the AP Exam include
students being able to do the following:
 Evaluate evidence for bias, accuracy, and significance
 Appreciate the impact of the past upon the present
 Produce writing of a level acceptable in a collegiate environment
 Understand and avoid the pitfalls of plagiarism and shoddy research
 Value the benefits of undertaking challenging tasks, even if the results are imperfect
 Develop the skills necessary to be a competent historian and an exemplary citizen
C. Instructional Objectives
1) To be able to identify, analyze, and evaluate basic events, ideas, movements, individuals and traditions in European history
from 1450 to the present
2) To develop the ability to analyze and evaluate primary and secondary historical sources and determine the author’s historical
point of view
3) To emphasize appropriate historical writing skills in order to demonstrate mastery of themes of European history and the
ability to work with written and visual primary sources and secondary historical scholarship (the historian’s craft)
4) To appreciate the complex, multi-cultural legacy of historical events and ideas
5) To prepare students form the Advanced Placement Examination in European History as created by the College Board
D.
E.
Text
Text book: Palmer and Colton: The History of Modern Europe. 10th edition

Tuchman, Barbara, A Distant Mirror (summer reading)

Tuchman, Barbara, March of Folly - excerpts

Machiavelli, The Prince- exerpts

various handouts given in class (historiographical and primary source)
1.
Equipment/
Required:
1 manila folder to be stored in the classroom as a writing folder
1.
Recommended:
One large 3-ring binder with dividers for class notes, reading notes, tests, review materials, and handouts
Evaluation
Homework:
All work must be completed on time to receive a full grade. Only the on-time, FULLY completed homework will receive
full credit. Generally, homework will be graded on a check; check plus, check minus scale. When reading is assignment the
product to be graded will be the notes. The grade will be based on thoroughness and accuracy with a greater emphasis on
thoroughness and effort.
Neatness:
Further, all writing must be clearly legible and all graphics must be neat and well labeled. If you feel you have poor
handwriting, print your work. If I cannot read your work, I will return it to you and a late work grade may apply.
Absences:
If you have an excused absence, you will have 1 week to make up missing work for full credit. It is YOUR responsibility to
check for any missing work, complete the work and turn it in. I am not responsible for reminding you. If you have a
question regarding the assignments see the teacher AFTER school. All other work turned in late will receive only 1/2 credit
after that. Late homework and class work may be turned for half-credit until the end of a marking period. TESTS AND
QUIZZES CANNOT BE MADE UP AFTER THE 1 WEEK GRACE TIME.
Tests and Quizzes:
Multiple-choice tests, will assess the cumulative knowledge of the student, with greater emphasis on recently learned
material. Furthermore, tests will cover class work AND the reading. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK FOR ANY
MISSING WORK, TESTS, AND QUIZZES. NO extra credit will be issued except on tests.
Class Participation:
Class participation is a part of your class work grade. Class participation includes but is not limited to:
 Participating in class discussions on a regular basis
 Arguing respectfully, competently and persuasively about historical dilemmas
 Being on time to class
 Being prepared to start at the beginning of class
F.
Cheating
Cheating is dishonorable and disrespectful towards your peers, your teacher, and towards yourself. It will NOT be tolerated.
No communication will be allowed during all tests and quizzes. All desks must be cleared and books must be closed during a
test or quiz. If you are caught cheating you will receive a zero and be subject to disciplinary measures according to school
policy. I decide whether any homework looks copied. I will contact all parties involved. Unless a resolution can be found,
any homework that has been copied between students will result in a zero. Plagiarism is cheating. Plagiarism is taking
ANYBODY’S words or ideas and presenting them as your own.
G. Course Activities
This course will utilize a variety of instructional practices including the following: class discussion, lecture, historical
simulations, research papers, visual presentations, quizzes (announced and un-announced), exams, reading strategies, note-taking,
student presentations and projects, analysis and interpretation of maps, works of art and music. Furthermore, students will
receive extensive training and practice on proper historical essay writing and research techniques. Each unit will culminate with
a comprehensive multiple-choice exam, Free Response Essays and a full length Document-Based Questions each administered in
the spirit of the rigors of the AP Exam in European History.
The following are additional activities students may encounter throughout the course.
Writing Assignments
Each unit includes writing assignments designed to develop the skills necessary for creating
well-evidenced essays on historical topics highlighting clarity and precision.
Short Document Analysis: Students analyze three documents (one written, one visual
and one quantitative) from the course primary source readers. For instance, students will
analyze sources for point of view, intended purpose, audience, and historical context of
each source. These skills of primary source analysis will be applied throughout the course.
Document Based Question (DBQ): Students analyze evidence from a variety of
sources in order to develop a coherent written argument that has a thesis supported by
relevant historical evidence. Students will apply multiple historical thinking skills as
they examine a particular historical problem or question.
Free Response Analytical (FRQ): Students identify and analyze patterns in key events in
European History.
Short Answer Responses: Students compare historical developments across or within
European societies in various chronological and/or geographical contexts. Students
will also synthesize information by connecting insights from one historical context to
another, including the present.
Timeline Review
The reason for this activity is to address chronological thinking. According to the authors of
the National Standards for History, “chronological thinking is the heart of historical
reasoning.” This is a collaborative activity requires students to use their textbook as a baseline
for creating a timeline of critical events. They will then use other primary and secondary
source materials they encounter in their readings, research, to add onto the timeline.
Students will then be asked to analyze the timeline
Point/Counterpoint
Students will explore key controversies in world history from ancient times to the present. Some of these controversies will be
taken from “Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in World Civilizations.” This book examines issues that allow
students to identify and evaluate diverse historical interpretations by introducing students to controversies in European History.
Others will be teacher generated activities.
Visual Materials:
The visual record of history is also an important component of this course. We will view hundreds of works of art and historical
maps through printed materials and online resources.
H. Grades
There will be 4 separate grade categories. They are as follows:
a. Homework:
b. class work :
c. tests/in- class essays
20% of total grade
40 % of total grade
40% of total grade
Scale:
A+
A
AB+
B
B-
= 97-100
= 93-96
= 90-92
= 87-89
= 83-86
= 80-82
C+
C
CD
F
= 77-79
= 73-76
= 70-72
= 65-70
= 0-65
* mathematical rounding will apply
Essays will be graded on the A through F scale and the equivalent percentages will be applied
Extra Credit: Extra credit will only be offered in classwork and homework grading categories. Extra credit will be
available
for the following work with the exception of late work. No other extra credit will be offered.
 Test corrections (annotation of each answer choices- ½ point for each correction)
 Rewrites of essays (difference in points between old grade and new grade)
 Homework or classwork corrections (one grade level boost- B to A for example)
I.
CLASS ON THE WEB
For the 2014-2015 school year, I will be using a website powered by a company called Haiku Learning. This site allows
me to create an online class through which to post assignments, hold class discussions, conduct polls etc. As a student,
you will need to have a log on into the site but this needs to be done by invitation only to you can enroll in my class.
Once I have your email address, you will receive an e-mail invite. Through the email invite you will be able to get a
sign on for both you and your parents. Once you have a log on you will be able access the class by going to
https://www.myhaikuclass.com/do/account/login. There is also a link to Haiku Learning from my web page:
www.schhablani.weebly.com.
J.
Teacher Discretion
A syllabus cannot account for every eventuality in a classroom. As such, the syllabus should be viewed as a guideline
for students and parents. Guidelines and class rules are subject to change if deemed necessary by the teacher.
K. Course Outline
Period 1- 1450-1648
Renaissance and Scientific Revolution-4
Palmer chapter 2
1. Account for the persistence of traditional and folk understanding of the cosmos and causation, even with
the advent of the scientific revolution.
2. Explain how world view based on reason challenged and preserved social order and roles especially the
roles of women.
3. Analyze how the development of Renaissance humanism, the printing press, and scientific method
contributed to the emergence of a new theory of knowledge and conception of the universe.
4. Explain how new theories of government and political ideologies attempted to provide a coherent
explanation for human behavior and the extent to which they adhered to or diverged from traditional
explanations based on religious belief.
5. Analyze the means by which individualism, subjectivity, and emotion came to be considered a valid
source of knowledge
6. Explain the emergence of civic humanism and new conceptions of political authority during the
Renaissance, as well as subsequent theories and practices that stressed the political importance and rights of
the individual.
8. Trace the changing relationship between states and ecclesiastical authority and the emergence of the
principle of religious toleration as a result of the Renaissance and the scientific revolution.
9. Trace the ways in which the printing press shaped the development of civil society and enhanced the role
of public opinion.
Reformation- 4 Palmer CH 2-3
1. Analyze how religious reform in the 16th and 17th centuries challenged and the control of the church
over the creation over the creation and dissemination of knowledge
2. Explain how political revolution and war from the 17 th century on altered the role of the church in
political and intellectual life and the response of the religious authorities and intellectuals to such
challenges.
3. Explain how and why religion increasingly shifted from a matter of public concern to one of private
belief over the course of European history.
4. Trace the changing relationship between states and ecclesiastical authority and the emergence of the
principle of religious toleration as a result of the Reformation.
5. Assess the impact of religious war and diplomacy on European balance of power.
6. Analyze how and why Europeans have marginalized religious minorities during the Reformation and
its aftermath.
Age of Exploration and Commercial Revolution- 4 Palmer Ch 3
1. Assess the relative influence of economic, religious, and political motives in promoting exploration
and colonization.
2. Analyze the cultural beliefs that justified European conquest of overseas territories and how they
changed over time.
3. Analyze how European states established and administered overseas commercial and territorial
empires during the Age of Exploration.
4. Explain how scientific and intellectual advances- resulting in more effective navigational,
cartographic, and military technology- facilitated European interaction with other parts of the world.
5. Evaluate the impact of the Columbian Exchange- the global exchange of goods, plants, animals, and
microbes- on Europe’s economy, society, and culture.
6. Analyze how contact with non-European people increased European social and cultural diversity, and
affected attitudes toward race.
7. Explain how European expansion and colonization brought non-European societies into global
economic, diplomatic, military, and cultural networks.
8. Explain how and why wealth generated from new trading, financial, and manufacturing practices and
institutions created a market and then a consumer economy.
9. Explain how European exploration and colonization was facilitated by the development of the
scientific method and led to a re-examination of cultural norms.
End of Quarter 1
Period 2- 1648-1815
Absolutism and the English Civil War -2 Palmer CH 4
1. Explain the emergence of and theories behind the New Monarchies and absolutist monarchies, and
evaluate the degree to which they were able to centralize power in their states.
2. Analyze how religious and secular institutions and groups attempted to limit monarch
3. Explain how new theories of government and political ideologies attempted to provide a coherent
explanation for human behavior and the extent to which they adhered to or diverged from traditional
explanations based on religious belief.
Enlightenment-2 Palmer CH 8
1. Explain the emergence of representative government as an alternative to absolutism
2. Explain how a world view based on science and reason challenged and preserved social order and
roles, especially the roles of women
3. Analyze to what extent the Enlightenment encouraged Europeans to understand human behavior,
economic activity, and politics as governed by natural laws.
4. Explain how and why religion increasingly shifted from a matter of public concern to one of private
belief in terms of the Enlightenment.
5. Explain the emergence of civic humanism and new conceptions of political authority during the
Enlightenment, as well as subsequent theories and practices that stressed the political importance and
rights of the individual.
6. Analyze how new political and economic theories from the 17 th century and the Enlightenment
challenged absolutism and shaped the development of constitutional states, parliamentary
governments, and the concept of individual rights.
7. Analyze how various movements for political and social equality- such as feminism, and natural
rights- pressured governments and redefined citizenship.
8. Analyze how religious and secular institutions and groups attempted to limit monarchical power by
articulating theories of resistance to absolutism, and by taking political action.
Key Activities
 “The Enlightenment: The Best of All Possible Worlds”: Objective: to understand the transformation of
social and political thought under in influence of the Enlightenment. Students will complete a chart
contrasting enlightened ideas with the Old Order of society and construct the hypothetical musings of a
French butler.
 “Art: From Religious to Imperial Grandeur”: Objective: to recognize the response of the arts to changing
moods of Europe between 1600 and 1789. Students will write descriptions of art movements, identify
examples of art movements, and write a paragraph contrasting three artistic periods.
Early Industrial Revolution/commercial revolution- 3
Palmer CH 6-7
1. Explain how and why wealth generated from new trading, financial, and manufacturing practices and
institutions created a market and then a consumer economy.
2. Explain how environmental conditions, the Agricultural Revolution, and industrialization contributed
to demographic changes, the organization of manufacturing, and alterations in the family economy.
3. Analyze how expanding commerce and industrialization from the 16th through the 19th centuries in the
social structure, most notably a shift from a landed to a commercial elite.
4. Assess how peasants across Europe were affected by and responded to policies of landlords, increased
taxation, and the price revolution in the early modern period.
French Revolution; Napoleonic Era; Congress of Vienna-5 Palmer CH 9-10
1. Assess the impact of war and diplomacy on European balance of power during the Napoleonic Era
2. Explain the role of nationalism in altering the European balance of power, and explain attempts made
to limit nationalism as a means to ensure continental stability.
3. Evaluate the causes and consequences of persistent tensions between women’s role and status in the
private versus the public sphere.
4. Evaluate how identities such as ethnicity, race, and class have defined the individual in relationship to
society.
5. Evaluate how identities such as ethnicity, race, and class have defined the individual in relationship to
society.
Congress of Vienna-1 CH 10
1. Explain the role of social inequality in contributing to and affecting the nature of French Revolution and
subsequent revolutions throughout the 19th and 20th century.
2. Analyze and evaluate the response of the Congress of Vienna to the new political theories of the
Enlightenment.
3. Analyze the role of warfare in remaking the political map of Europe and in shifting the global balance of
power in the first half of the 19th century.
Period 3- 1815-1914
2nd Industrial Revolution and responses to industrialism- 4 Palmer CH 11-12
1. Assess the role of labor, and technology in the development of new economic theories and state
policies.
2. Explain how geographic, economic, social, and political factors affected the pace, nature, and timing of
industrialization in western and eastern Europe.
3. Explain how the development of new technologies and industries- as well as new means of
communication, marketing, and transportation- contributed to expansion of consumerism and increased
standards of living and quality of life in the 19 th and 20th centuries.
4. Analyze how expanding commerce and industrialization from the 18 th through the early 20th centuries
led to the growth of cities and changes in the social structure, most notably a shift from the landed to a
commercial elite.
5. Explain how industrialization elicited critiques from artists, socialists, worker’s movements, and
feminist organizations.
6. Analyze efforts of government and nongovernmental reform movements to respond to poverty and
other social problems in the 19th and 20th centuries.
7. Assess the role of the Industrial Revolution and economic depressions in altering the government’s
relationship to the economy, both in overseeing economic activity and in addressing its social impact.
8. Trace the ways in which new technologies during the 2nd Industrialization have shaped the
development of civil society and enhanced the role of public opinion.
9. Explain why and how class emerged a basis for identity and led to conflict in the 19th and 20th
centuries.
Romanticism and social history-2 Palmer CH15
1. Analyze how expanding commerce and industrialization from the 16th through the 19th centuries led to
the growth of cities and changes in the social structure, most notably for women.
2. Explain how industrialization elicited critiques from artists, socialists, worker’s movements, and
feminist organizations.
3. Explain how a worldview based on science and reason challenged and preserved social order and roles,
especially women.
4. Analyze the means by which individualism, subjectivity, and emotion came to be considered a valid
source of knowledge/
5. Explain how and why modern artists began to move away from realism and toward abstraction and the
non-rational, rejecting traditional aesthetics.
END OF QUARTER 2
Nationalism and Unification-4 Palmer CH 13
1. Analyze how artists used strong emotions to express individuality and political theorists encouraged
emotional identification with the nation.
2. Explain the role of nationalism in altering the balance of power, and explain attempts made to limit
nationalism as a means to ensure continental stability.
3. Analyze how and why Europeans have marginalized certain populations (defined as “other”) in the
context of the Austrian, Ottoman, and Russian empires.
4. Explain how European expansion and colonization brought non-European societies into global
economic, diplomatic, military and cultural networks.
5. Explain the emergence of representative government as an alternative to absolutism.
Imperialism – 3 Palmer CH 15-16
1. Analyze the cultural beliefs that justified European conquest of overseas territories and how they changed
over time.
2. Analyze how European states established and administered overseas commercial and territorial empires
during the Industrial Revolution.
3. Assess the role of overseas trade, labor, and technology in making Europe part of a global economic
network and in encouraging the development of new economic theories and state policies.
4. Explain the extent of and causes for non-Europeans’ adoption of or resistance to European cultural,
political, or economic values and institutions, and explain the causes of their reactions.
5. Explain how European expansion and colonization brought non-European societies into global economic,
diplomatic, military, and cultural networks.
6. Explain how European imperialism led to a re-examination of cultural norms.
7. Explain the role of nationalism in altering the European balance of power, and explain attempts made to
limit nationalism as a means to ensuring imperial stability.
8. Analyze how and why Europeans have marginalized certain populations (defined as other) over the course
of their history.
Period 4- 1914-present
WWI and Russian Revolution-4 CH 17-18
1. Explain the role of nationalism and militarism played in beginning WWI.
2. Explain how new ideas of political authority and the failure of diplomacy led to WWI.
3. Explain how European expansion and colonization brought non-European societies into global military
networks.
4. Evaluate how the emergence of new weapons, tactics, and methods of military organization changed
the scale and cost of warfare during WWI.
5. Evaluate how the impact of war on civilians has affected loyalty to and respect for the nation-state.
6. Analyze the role of warfare in remaking the political map of Europe after WWI.
7. Explain how geographic, economic, social, and political factors affected the pace, nature, and timing of
Industrialization in Russia.
8. Analyze socialist and communist efforts to respond to capitalism and why these efforts gained support
in Russia during WWI.
9. Explain the role of social inequality in contributing to the Russian Revolution.
Interwar Years- and WWII (3) Palmer CH 19-21
1. Analyze socialism, communist, and fascist efforts to develop responses to capitalism and why these
efforts gained support during time of economic crisis.
2. Analyze the social and economic causes and consequences of the Great Depression in Europe.
3. Analyze how democratic, authoritarian, and totalitarian governments of the left and right attempted to
overcome the financial crises of the 1920s and 1930s.
4. Explain how new theories of government and political ideologies attempted to provide a coherent
explanation for human behavior and the extent to which they adhered to or diverged from traditional
explanations.
5. Explain the role of nationalism in the ideology of fascism
6. Evaluate how identities such as ethnicity, race, and class have defined the individual in relationship to
society during the 1920s and 30s.
7. Analyze how and why Europeans marginalized certain populations during the 1920s and 1930s.
END OF QUARTER 3

Cold War and the Soviet Union (4)
Palmer CH 22-26
1. Evaluate the United States economic and cultural influence on Europe and responses to thesis
influence in Europe during the Cold War.
2. Assess the role of European contact on overseas territories in the context of the Cold War.
3. Evaluate how the emergence of new weapons, tactics, and methods of military organization changed
the scale and cost of warfare and required the centralization of power during the Cold War.
4. Analyze how and why Russians marginalized certain populations during the Cold War.
5. Explain how and why communists undermined parliamentary democracy though the establishment of
regimes that maintained dictatorial control while manipulating democratic forms.
6. Explain the role of nationalism as a unifying force and dividing force for the Soviet Union throughout
the history of the Cold War.
New World Organizations and Economic Theories-(2) Palmer CH 22
1. Assess the role of overseas trade, labor, and technology in encouraging the development of new
economic theories and state policies.
2. Evaluate how the expansion of a global consumer economy after World War II served as a catalyst to
opposition movements in Eastern and Western Europe.
3. Assess the role of overseas trade, labor, and technology in developing New World Organizations after
WWII.
4. Evaluate the United States economic influence on Europe and responses to this influence after WII
Nationalism and De-colonization-(4) Palmer CH23-24
1. Assess the role European contact and control of overseas territories played in shaping the post-colonial
status of those territories.
2. Explain how European de-colonization brought non-European societies into global economic,
diplomatic, military, and cultural networks.
3. Analyze how various anti-colonial movements for political and social equality pressured European
governments and redefined citizenship.-
Post-Cold War and European Union- (4) Palmer CH 27
1. Analyze how immigration in the late 20th and early 21st centuries increased European social and
cultural diversity and affected attitudes towards race.
2. Explain the ways in which the Common Market and the collapse of the Soviet Empire changed the
political balance of power, the status of the nation-state, and global political alliances.
3. Explain the role of nationalism in altering the European balance of power, and explain attempts made
to limit nationalism to ensure continental stability through the creation of the European Union.
AP EXAM--- MAY 6th ---12:00 PM
MANLIUS PEBBLE HILL SCHOOL
AP STUDENT CONTRACT
__AP EUROPEAN HISTORY__
Students and Parents must both read and sign this form.
Congratulations on your decision to take an AP course at Manlius Pebble Hill. We hope you find the
course challenging and interesting. Taking any AP course requires a serious commitment to the subject and
an unwavering determination to meet the course’s rigorous demands.
At MPH, students in AP courses are expected to meet three requirements:
1.
2.
3.
Maintain at least a B- average (80%) in the course.
Complete the course in good standing.
Sit for the AP exam in May.
The academic status of all AP students will be reviewed at the end of each quarter. Students who do not meet
the expectations above will have a conversation with the instructor and possibly the Head of Upper School
to determine whether they should continue in the course. If they do continue, additional requirements may
be established.
If a student continues in the course but does not fulfill the above conditions, the name of the course on their
transcript will be changed to AP MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY. They may still take the AP exam, but it
will not change the course designation on the official transcript.
If a student does not sit for the AP exam for any reason, the course title will be changed as indicated above,
and the student will be required to take an alternate final exam. In the event that a student has been accepted
to a college, they will be required to contact the school they have agreed to attend to inform that school of
the transcript change.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By signing below, we acknowledge our understanding of the requirements listed above, and that the student intends to abide
by them in order to earn the “AP” designation on the MPH transcript.
_______________________________________
Student
_______________________________________
Parent
__________________
Date
__________________
Date