AP European History
Course Description
Advanced Placement European History is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in European history. The course prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses. Students will assess historical materials – their relevance to given problems, their reliability and their importance – and weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. The course seeks to develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format.
The themes outlined below indicate the areas that will be included in this course:
1. Intellectual and Cultural History
Secularization of learning and culture
Changes in religious thought and church structure
Scientific and technological developments and their consequences
Major trends in literature and the arts
Intellectual and cultural developments and their relationship to social values and political events
Developments in social, economic, and political thought
Developments in literacy, education, and communication
Changes in popular culture, such as the development of new attitudes toward religion, family, and work
Impact of global expansion on European culture
2. Political and Diplomatic History
The rise and function of the modern state in its various forms
Colonialism, imperialism, decolonization, and global interdependence
The evolution of political elites and the development of political parties and ideologies
The extension and limitation of rights and liberties; majority and minority political persecutions
The growth and changing forms of nationalism
Forms of political protest, reform, and revolution
Relations between Europe and other parts of the world
Relationships between domestic and foreign policies
Efforts to restrain conflict; treaties, diplomacy, and international organizations
War and civil conflict: origins, developments, technology and their consequences
3. Social and Economic History
The role of urbanization in transforming cultural values and social relationships
The shift in social structures from hierarchical orders to modern social classes: the changing distribution of wealth and poverty
The influence of sanitation and health care practices on society: food supply, diet, famine, disease, and their impact
The development of commercial practices and their economic and social impact
The origins, development, and consequences of industrialization
Change and continuity in the European family structure
Gender roles and their influence on work, social structure, and interest group information
Changes in the demographic structure of Europe and their consequences
The growth of competition and interdependence in national and world markets
Private and state roles in economic activity
Development of racial and ethnic identities
(The above material is quoted from A Student Guide to the AP European History Course and Examination published by the College Entrance Examination Board and Educational Testing Service.)
Advanced Placement European History is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in European history. The course prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses. Students will assess historical materials – their relevance to given problems, their reliability and their importance – and weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. The course seeks to develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format.
The themes outlined below indicate the areas that will be included in this course:
1. Intellectual and Cultural History
Secularization of learning and culture
Changes in religious thought and church structure
Scientific and technological developments and their consequences
Major trends in literature and the arts
Intellectual and cultural developments and their relationship to social values and political events
Developments in social, economic, and political thought
Developments in literacy, education, and communication
Changes in popular culture, such as the development of new attitudes toward religion, family, and work
Impact of global expansion on European culture
2. Political and Diplomatic History
The rise and function of the modern state in its various forms
Colonialism, imperialism, decolonization, and global interdependence
The evolution of political elites and the development of political parties and ideologies
The extension and limitation of rights and liberties; majority and minority political persecutions
The growth and changing forms of nationalism
Forms of political protest, reform, and revolution
Relations between Europe and other parts of the world
Relationships between domestic and foreign policies
Efforts to restrain conflict; treaties, diplomacy, and international organizations
War and civil conflict: origins, developments, technology and their consequences
3. Social and Economic History
The role of urbanization in transforming cultural values and social relationships
The shift in social structures from hierarchical orders to modern social classes: the changing distribution of wealth and poverty
The influence of sanitation and health care practices on society: food supply, diet, famine, disease, and their impact
The development of commercial practices and their economic and social impact
The origins, development, and consequences of industrialization
Change and continuity in the European family structure
Gender roles and their influence on work, social structure, and interest group information
Changes in the demographic structure of Europe and their consequences
The growth of competition and interdependence in national and world markets
Private and state roles in economic activity
Development of racial and ethnic identities
(The above material is quoted from A Student Guide to the AP European History Course and Examination published by the College Entrance Examination Board and Educational Testing Service.)
Text
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization: Since 1300. 5th ed. Thompson Learning, Inc., 2003.
The Course Schedule and content Areas to be Studied:
Weeks: Readings: Content:
September Introduction Review of history thru the Middle Ages
Chapter 12 Recovery and Rebirth: The Age of the Renaissance
October Chapter 13 Reformation and Religious Warfare in the 16th Century
Chapter 14 Europe and the World: New Encounters, 1500-1800
Chapter 15 State Building and the Search for Order in the 17th Century
November Chapter 16 The Scientific Revolution and the Emergence of Modern Science
Chapter 17 The Eighteenth Century: An Age of Enlightenment
Chapter 18 The 18th Century: European States, International Wars, and Social Change
December Chapter 19 A Revolution in Politics: The Era of the French Revolution and Napoleon
Chapter 20 The Industrial Revolution and Its Impact on European Society
January Chapter 21 Reaction, Revolution and Romanticism
Chapter 22 An Age of Nationalism and Realism, 1850-1871
February Chapter 23 Mass Society in an “Age of Progress,” 1871-1894
Chapter 24 An Age of Modernity, Anxiety and Imperialism, 1894-1914
March Chapter 25 The Beginning of the 20th Century Crisis: War and Revolution
Chapter 26 The Futile Search for Stability: Europe Between the Wars
Chapter 27 The Deepening of the European Crisis: World War II
April Chapter 28 Cold war and a New Western World, 1945-1970
Chapter 29 The Western World (Since 1970)
Weeks: Readings: Content:
September Introduction Review of history thru the Middle Ages
Chapter 12 Recovery and Rebirth: The Age of the Renaissance
October Chapter 13 Reformation and Religious Warfare in the 16th Century
Chapter 14 Europe and the World: New Encounters, 1500-1800
Chapter 15 State Building and the Search for Order in the 17th Century
November Chapter 16 The Scientific Revolution and the Emergence of Modern Science
Chapter 17 The Eighteenth Century: An Age of Enlightenment
Chapter 18 The 18th Century: European States, International Wars, and Social Change
December Chapter 19 A Revolution in Politics: The Era of the French Revolution and Napoleon
Chapter 20 The Industrial Revolution and Its Impact on European Society
January Chapter 21 Reaction, Revolution and Romanticism
Chapter 22 An Age of Nationalism and Realism, 1850-1871
February Chapter 23 Mass Society in an “Age of Progress,” 1871-1894
Chapter 24 An Age of Modernity, Anxiety and Imperialism, 1894-1914
March Chapter 25 The Beginning of the 20th Century Crisis: War and Revolution
Chapter 26 The Futile Search for Stability: Europe Between the Wars
Chapter 27 The Deepening of the European Crisis: World War II
April Chapter 28 Cold war and a New Western World, 1945-1970
Chapter 29 The Western World (Since 1970)