Mr. Boerem
Room 214
AP World History Syllabus
AP World History is a 2 year long course. During 9th grade, students will examine the time
period from the origins of civilization to the Age of Exploration. The 10th grade year will cover the
time period from the European Renaissance to the present. At the end of the tenth grade year,
students will be well prepared to take the AP World History Exam.
In AP World History, you will develop a greater understanding of the evolution of global
processes and contacts including interactions over time. The course highlights the nature of
changes in international frameworks and their causes and consequences, as well as
comparisons among major societies.
Resources:
Textbooks:
Bulliet, Richard,et al., The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History AP Edition, 4th edition,
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008
Alfred Andrea and James Overfield , The Human Record, 4th Edition, Houghton Mifflin., 2001.
A variety of other primary and secondary sources will be used during the course. Check the
class website frequently for electronic versions of those sources or links to relevant websites.
The Five Themes of AP World History:
Theme 1 – Interaction between humans and the environment
Theme 2 – Development and interaction of cultures
Theme 3 – State-building, expansion and conflict
Theme 4 – Creation, expansion and interactions of economic systems
Theme 5 – Development and transformation of social structures
Grading:
Homework and Classwork – 20%
Quizzes – 20%
Tests – 40%
Papers and Projects – 20%
Grading Policy
Assessments grades will be based on points and added up to a final grade based on the
following:
90 percent and above—A
80 percent and above—B
70 percent and above—C
60 percent and above—D
below 60 percent
—F
Course Outline:
Unit 1: The Emergence of Human Communities to 500 B.C.E.
Chapter 1: From the Origins of Agriculture to the First River Valley Civilizations, 8000-1500
B.C.E.
Chapter 2: New Civilizations in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, 2200-250 B.C.E.
Chapter 3: The Mediterranean and Middle East 2000-500 B.C.E.
Primary Sources and Supplemental Readings: The Epic of Gilgamesh, Hammurabi’s Code, The
Hymn of the Nile, The Ten Commandments, The Great Hymn to the Aten, Noah’s Ark, The
Classic of the Way and Virtue, The Analects
Essay Topics: Compare and Contrast - Development of River Valley Civilizations
Unit 2: The Formation of New Cultural Communities, 1000 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.
Chapter 4: Greece and Iran, 1000-30 B.C.E.
Chapter 5: Age of Empires: Rome and Han China, 753 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.
Chapter 6: India and Southeast Asia, 1500-600 C.E.
Chapter 7: Networks of Communication and Exchange, 300-600 C.E.
Primary Sources and Supplemental Readings: Crito, Twelve Tables, Rock and Pillar Edicts
Essay Topics: Han China and Rome DBQ, Continuity and Changes in Classical Civilizations
Unit 3: Growth and Interaction of Cultural Communities, 300 B.C.E.-1200 C.E.
Chapter 8: The Rise of Islam, 600-1200
Chapter 9: Christian Societies Emerge in Europe, 600-1200
Chapter 10: Inner and East Asia, 600-1200
Chapter 11: Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas, 600-1500
Primary Sources and Supplemental Readings: Last Sermon of Muhammad, The Chronicle of St
Denis, On the Buildings and The Secret History
Essay Topics: Spread of Buddhism DBQ, Continuity and Change in Mesoamerica
Unit 4: Interregional Patterns of Culture and Contact, 1200-1500
Chapter 12: Mongol Eurasia and Its Aftermath, 1200-1500
Chapter 13: Tropical Africa and Asia, 1200-1500
Chapter 14: The Latin West, 1200-1500
Chapter 15: The Maritime Revolution, to 1550
Primary Sources and Supplemental Readings: Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Journey to the land of
the Tartars, General History of the Things of New Spain
Essay Topics: Christianity and Islam attitudes towards Merchants DBQ, Impact of Islam
Continuities and Changes
Unit 5: The Globe Encompassed, 1500-175
Chapter 16: Transformations in Europe, 1500-1750
Chapter 17: The Diversity of American Colonial Societies, 1530-1770
Chapter 18: The Atlantic System and Africa, 1550-1800
Chapter 19: Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean, 1500-1750
Chapter 20: Northern Eurasia, 1500-1800
Primary Sources and Supplemental Readings: The Prince, Court Life in France, Letters to the
King of Portugal, A Voyage to New Calabar River
Essay Topics: Global Flow of Silver DBQ, Compare and Contrast Racial Ideologies in North
America and Caribbean
Unit 6: Revolutions Reshape the World
Chapter 21: Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 1750-1850
Chapter 22: The Early Industrial Revolution, 1760-1851
Chapter 23: Nation Building and Economic Transformation in the Americas 1800-1900
Chapter 24: Land Empires in the Age of Imperialism, 1800-1870
Chapter 25: Africa, India and the New British Empire, 1750-1870
Primary Sources and Supplemental Readings: The Declaration of Independence, Letter to the
Directory, The Interesting Narrative, The Communist Manifesto
Essay Topics: Compare and Contrast the Revolutionary Process in France, Haiti and the United
States
Unit 7: Global diversity and Dominance, 1850-1945
Chapter 26 : The New Power Balance,1850-1900
Chapter 27: The New Imperialism, 1869-1914
Chapter 28: The Crisis of Imperial Order, 1900-1929
Chapter 29: The Collapse of the Old Order, 1929-1949
Chapter 30: Striving for Independence, India, Africa and Latin America
Primary Sources and Supplemental Readings: Fourteen Points, Power to the Soviets, The
Bombing of Hiroshima, Mien Kampf, The Doctrine of the Sword
Essay Topics: Industrialism in Japan and India DBQ, Analyze and Compare the Differing
Responses of China and Japan to Western Penetration in the Nineteenth Century
Unit 8: Perils and Promises of a Global Community, 1945 - Present
Chapter 31: The Cold War and Decolonization, 1945-1975
Chapter 32: The End of the Cold War and the Challenge of Economic Development and
Immigration, 1975-2000
Chapter 33: Globalization and the New Millennium
Primary Sources and Supplemental Readings: Globalization: A View from Below, The Myths of
Underdevelopment, The World is Just Cartoon, Debt: The New Colonialism, 10 Arguments For
and Against the WTO
Essay Topics: Islam and Nationalism DBQ, Compare the Emergence of Nation States in
Nineteenth Century Latin America with the Emergence of Nation States in Sub-Saharan Africa
or the Middle East
Review Period
Activities to Include:
Peer Grading, Rubric Review, AP Practice Exam