AP European History ~ SAS Ms. Aucoin

Course Overview:

AP European History focuses on developing students’ abilities to think conceptually about European history from approximately 1450 to the present divided into four periods. Within each period, key concepts organize and prioritize historical developments. Themes allow students to make connections and identify patterns and trends over time. Additionally, students are expected to apply historical thinking skills as they learn about the past. Five themes of equal importance—Interaction of Europe and the World, Poverty and Prosperity, Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions, States and Other Institutions of Power, and Individual and Society—provide areas of historical inquiry for investigation throughout the course. These require students to reason historically about continuity and change over time and make comparisons among various historical developments in different times and places. [College Board].

You are expected to be self-motivated, thoughtful, and to complete assignments without constant monitoring. Homework will be assigned nightly, including weekends/breaks. Completion of this course concludes with a clear expectation of taking and passing the European History Advanced Placement exam in May. Because there is so much material in the course, students must take responsibility for much material not directly discussed in class.The curriculum for this class reflects the content of an introductory university course in European History.

Due to the amount of curriculum to be covered, this course is largely based on lecture and discussion. Presentation of the material is often accomplished by the use of PowerPoint presentations, video clips, other visuals such as maps, graphs, statistical tables, as well as primary and secondary source readings and documents. Students are “trained” in the analysis and critical reading of primary and secondary source documents particular to European history, which will assist them in evaluating information as well as interpretation of numeric, statistical, and graphic information for insight into historical trends. These skills will be practiced and assessed regularly through both formal and informal writing of Short Answer Questions, Document Based Questions, and Long Essay Questions for each unit, as well as practice of multiple-choice assessments. Students will be expected to consider PERSIA (Political, Economic, Religious, Social, Intellectual, and Artistic) factors in responding to written assessments. In addition to teacher evaluation, students will participate in self-evaluation, and peer evaluation exercises.

Units of Study:The course is divided into four distinct time periods, each of which receives explicit instruction.

  1. 1450 – 1648 (Renaissance/Reformation through the Thirty Years War)
  2. 1648 – 1815 (Peace of Westphalia through Napoleonic Europe)
  3. 1815-1914 (Congress of Vienna through outbreak of World War I)
  4. 1914 – present (World War I to the present)

Course Themes:

The content learning objectives for the AP European History course and exam are organized under five themes intended to focus student understanding of major historical issues and to help students recognize trends and processes over time:

Theme 1: Interaction of Europe and the World (INT)
Theme 2: Poverty and Prosperity (PP)
Theme 3: Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions (OS)

Theme 4: States and Other Institutions of Power (SP)

Theme 5: Individual and Society (IS)

Historical Thinking Skills (HiTS):The course will explore and develop four broad historical skills, each of which is further delineated into nine historical thinking categories.

Skill Type / Historical Thinking Skill
  1. Chronological reasoning
/
  1. Historical Causation
  2. Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
  3. Periodization

  1. Comparison and Contextualization
/
  1. Comparison
  2. Contextualization

  1. Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence
/
  1. Historical Argumentation
  2. Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence

  1. Historical Interpretation and Synthesis
/
  1. Interpretation
  2. Synthesis

Test Date:

Friday, May 6, 2016. 12:00p.m.

Test Format:

Section I Part A: Multiple Choice; 55 questions; 55 minutes; 40% of score

Section I Part B: Short Answer; 4 questions; 50 minutes; 20% of score

Section II Part A: Document Based; 1 question; 55 minutes; 25% of score

Section II Part B: Long Essay; 1 question; 35 minutes; 15% of score

Required text and other source material:

Textbook:

  • Chambers, Mortimer et al. The Western Experience. New York: McGraw-Hill. 10th Edition, 2010.

Main Primary and Secondary Source readings include, but not limited to:

  • Brophy, James et al. Perspectives from the Past. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.Volume 2, 5th Edition, 2012.
  • Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, Backpack Edition Book D (Renaissance and Baroque) and Book E (Western Art Since 1800). Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 14th Editions, 2013.
  • Stanford History Education Group (SHEG): Reading Like a Historian (RLH). Selected lessons.

Course Requirements & Grading:

Grades are figured on a cumulative point basis. Each assessment category will be weighted as follows:

Exams (35%):

  • Unitand sub-unit exams plus final exams each semester (multiple-choice, short answer, DBQ and long essay writing in AP style incorporating HiTS)

Quizzes & Projects (25%):

  • Key Identification unit quizzes
  • Group assignments, and long-term projects (both individual and cooperative)

Homework (20%):

  • Reading assignments based on: textbook, primary and secondary source analysis

Class Work (20%):

  • Daily reading quizzes, document analysis, film analysis, participation

FALL SEMESTER 2015

Period(UNIT) I: 1450-1648 [Renaissance and Reformation through the Peace of Westphalia; Weeks 1-8]*

Subunit 1: Late Middle Ages-Renaissance.

Main topics covered: Subunit 1 begins with an overview of the late middle ages, a “prelude to the modern world,” which includes study of the Black Death, 14th century peasant rebellions, the Hundred Years’ War, the Great Schism, the rise of heretics – including the Hussites and Lollards, and the communications revolution brought on by the printing press. Study of these topics and how the late middle ages paved the way for the Renaissance is a main point of discussion (HiTs I.1)

14th century humanism and the rise of Florence under the Medici will usher in a discussion of Quattrocento Italy and the High Renaissance period. Christian humanism and Northern Renaissance art will be discussed and compared to its Italian counterpart (HiTS II.4.)

This subunit concludes with a conversation of women in this time period based on Joan Kelly-Gadol “Did Women Have a Renaissance?”

READINGS/VIDEOS/DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS:

  • Chambers Ch. 11-12;
  • Primary sources: Perspective excerpts may include: Doukas: Decline and Fall of Byzantium to the Ottoman Turks; Castiglione: The Book of the Courtier; Pico della Mirandola: Oration on the Dignity of Man; Machiavelli: The Prince; Erasmus: Ten Colloquies; Sir Thomas More: Utopia; Christine de Pisan: City of Ladies
  • Fordham University. Medieval Sourcebook: Why Study History through Primary Sources?
  • Video: PBS’ The Medici’s: Godfathers of the Renaissance
  • Film: The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
  • Art: Gardner selections from Ch. 21 The Renaissance in Quattrocento Italy;Ch. 22 Renaissance and Mannerism in Cinquecento Italy; Ch. 23 High Renaissance and Mannerism in Northern Europe and Spain

-Artists examined: Da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelanglo, Titian, El Greco, Tintoretto, Durer, Holbein the Younger, Bosch, Brueghel the Elder

  • Secondary source reading:

-Cahill, Thomas.Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Shaped our World. New York: Anchor Books, 2013.

-Powell, James M. “Prelude to the Modern World,” excerpt fromThe Civilization of the West. New York: Macmillan. 1967.

-Kelly-Gadol, Joan: Did Women Have a Renaissance?1974.

  • Maps: Spread of the Plague, The Great Schism (1378-1417); Allegiances during the Great Schism; Peace of Lodi 1454; Italian City-States 1494
  • Data: Economic Impact of the Black Death on Real Wages (

Essential Questions:

▶What were the features of Italian Renaissance humanism, and what impact did they have on European society, politics, ideas, and culture?

▶To what extent did the Renaissance represent a distinct break from the Middle Ages?

▶How and why did Europeans engage in overseas exploration and colonization? What impact did these encounters have on both Europe and the colonized?

▶In what ways and how successfully did monarchs attempt to centralize their nations and justify this increase in state power?

ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS:

  • Theme: Individual and Society: Students will examine the ways in which the gender roles and family characteristics were affected by the Reformation in Germany, Geneva, England, and Scotland by researching and presenting their findings to the class in a one-page project.
  • Class examination of the 2008 DBQ documents and instruction on how to write a DBQ that meets the requirements of the rubric. Individual writing of the DBQ after classroom instruction and document analysis.
  • How to write a Long Essay Question Essay—Evaluating evidence and thesis writing; Essay Topic—“The Renaissance: Continuity or Change” – Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence, Historical Argumentation, Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence, Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time. (HiTS I.1, I.2, III.6, III.7)
  • Socratic Seminar: examination of the multiple political, economic, social, intellectual, and religious causes of the Reformation and its short-term and long-term impact on politics and society – Historical Causation (HiTS I.1).
  • Subunit exam: Multiple-choice and writing (Short Answer and DBQ).
  • Map quiz: 14th century Europe.
  • SHEG RLH:
  • Understanding the Black Death (comparing sources)
  • The Black Death in Florence (evaluating sources)

Subunit 2: Reformation and Counter Reformation, Age of Exploration, Wars of Religion

Main topics covered by subunit 2 will be the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, including a study of Erasmus and Luther. How, why, and where the Reformation spread as well as its impact, for example: the German Peasants’ Revolt of 1524. Topics further include the rise of various sects under Zwingli and Calvin. An introduction to the creation of the Anglican Church and subsequent Tudor succession will be covered. Finally, a study of the impact of the Reformation on women and how Protestant women and Catholic women were considered in the time period by the various religious institutions.

The study of the Counter Reformation will start with Pope Paul III and the Council of Trent: How did the Church respond to the rise of Protestantism? Students will participate in discussion of new religious orders, such as the Jesuits, and the creation of the Inquisition, as well as the beginning of a new genre of art: the Baroque.

The Age of Exploration opens with an examination of the demographic, economic (the Commercial Revolution), and political changes in the late 15th to early 16th centuries. The Fall of Constantinople marks a shift in patterns of exploration and the rise of the Atlantic Five (Spain, Portugal, England, the Netherlands, and France) after Christopher Columbus uncovering of the “New World.” Students will engage in a round-table activity of explorers from each of the Atlantic Five as well as inventions and innovations making exploration possible, and impact of the Columbian Exchange.The rise of the New Monarchs during this time period in England, France, and Spain concludes the Age of Exploration.

The Wars of Religion (1559-1648) topic concludes this subunit with the French Wars of Religion, the English Civil War, and special emphasis on the Thirty Years’ War and the Peace of Westphalia.

READINGS/VIDEOS/DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS:

  • Chambers Ch. 13-15
  • Primary sources: Perspective excerpts may include: Martin Luther: The 95 Theses; Saint Teresa of Avila: Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent; Michel de Montaigne: Of Cannibals
  • Video: Art History Genres: What is Baroque?, David vs. David: Michelangelo vs Bernini, Art Parade IX: Baroque Art
  • Art: Gardner: Ch. 24The Baroque in Italy and Spain; Ch. 25 The Baroque in Northern Europe
  • Artists include: Bernini, Caravaggio, Rubens, and Velasquez
  • Secondary source: Cahill, Thomas. Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Shaped our World. New York: Anchor Books, 2013.
  • Maps: European Territories under Spanish Rule (1580), The Thirty Years’ War
  • Data: Imports of Treasure to Spain from the New World 1511-1600; Crisis of the 17th century: Increasing Instability in the Price of Grain, England 1490-1650

Essential Questions:

▶What were the causes of Protestant and Catholic Reformations? What was the nature of each?

▶How did changes in religious doctrine and practice affect society, culture, and ideas?

▶What impact did the religious wars have on the relationship between church and state and the balance of power?

ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS:

  • Students will compare and contrast the works of art and analyze the social, political, and religious reasons for the differing styles.
  • Theme: Poverty and Prosperity: The Golden Age of the Dutch Republic—merchant oligarchy, importance of trade. Students will take part in an investigation of Tulipmania by examining documents surrounding the bubble and its impact through participating in a jigsaw activity.
  • Student Writing Assignment: Contrast the religious and political views of Calvin and Luther.
  • Student Writing Assignment: Identify Humanism and explain the ideas of the major Humanists of the Italian and Northern Renaissance.
  • Student Writing Assignment: Who were the New Monarchs and how did they go about consolidating their powers?
  • Map quiz of 16th century Europe.
  • Subunit exam: Multiple-choice and writing (Short Answer and DBQ).
  • SHEG RLH:

-Martin Luther (contextualization)

-Atahualpa and the Bible (primary vs. secondary sources)

Subunit 3: The Scientific Revolution: Social and Cultural Changes

Main topics include: Discussion of major breakthroughs in physics, astronomy, mathematics, and anatomy resting on the new scientific principles of reason, doubt, observation, generalization, and experimentation. This era witnesses the shift in accepted ideas about nature and laid the foundation for modern science. There will be continued study of its impact on art genres: from Mannerism to Baroque and Classicism. This will include demographic study of 17th century society and the changes in social mobility, traditional village life and general attitudes about magic and superstition characteristic of this period. Finally, the comparison of the change in popular and elite culture from passion and turmoil to restraint and order similar to the change in politics and international relations of the same period.

READINGS/VIDEOS/DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS:

  • Chambers Ch. 16
  • Video: BBC: The Story of Science-Power, Proof, and Passion
  • Video: NOVA: Einstein’s Big Idea (Emilie du Chatelet)

Essential Questions:

▶In what ways and to what extent were the lives of Europeans influenced by the growth of agricultural and commercial capitalism?

▶In what ways and to what extent did the new scientific thinking challenge traditional sources of authority, such as the classics and religious texts and institutions?

▶How did the scientific revolution alter European culture, ideas, society, economics, and politics?

ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS:

  • Students research an Enlightenment philosophe and participate in a simulated salon.
  • SHEG RLH: Galileo (analysis and synthesis of primary and secondary sources-HiTS IV.9)

Period(UNIT) 2: c. 1648 to c. 1815[Peace of Westphalia through the Napoleonic Era; Weeks 9-17]*

Subunit 1: Absolutism and Constitutionalism in 17th-Century Europe

An in-depth study of Louis XIV as the epitome of absolute monarchs of the late 17th century will begin this subunit. A further analysis and comparison of absolutism in eastern Europe (Austria, Prussia, and Russia) will be included. A comparison of the growth of constitutionalism in western Europe by looking at the governments of England, the United Provinces, Sweden, and Poland which were dominated by the nobility or merchant classes. With the exception of England, these countries suffered a decline in power and influence. Finally, the subunit concludes with an analysis of the competition for power among the powers of Europe within the Balance of Power framework during the 18th century.

READINGS/VIDEOS/DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS:

  • Chambers Ch. 17
  • Primary sources: Perspectives: Jean Bodin: On Sovereignty; Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan; John Locke: Two Treatises on Government
  • Video: Land of the Tsars-Episodes 7-10
  • Video: Monarchy The King Killer and The Glorious Revolution
  • Image study: Rigaud’s Louis XIV

Essential Questions:

▶How did the nation-states of Spain, England, and France evolve during this time period?

▶What factors led to the rise of absolutism in France in the 17th century?

▶How did the monarchs of France and England address the competition for power in their respective countries?

▶How and why did the constitutional state triumph in England in the 17th century but not in France?

ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS:

  • Student debate: Hobbes vs. Locke – What is the Nature of Man?

Subunit 2: 18th-Century Europe: A New Age

This subunit covers a study of post-1730 population growth, price increases, and protoindustrialization. A consideration of England’s conditions that led to its industrialization including new tools, machines, and sources of energy necessary for this economic shift. A comparison of legal and social conditions in France and other continental countries that explains the lag in economic development. A further study of new scientific methods of farming that led to an agricultural revolution, including enclosures and convertible husbandry will be considered and evaluated. A comparative study of the conditions of serfs and peasants in eastern and western Europe is included. Finally, a discussion of the competition and war between France and England over colonies, trade, and maritime supremacy will be embedded within the discussion of the triangular trade and mercantilism.

Topics: The movement of intellectuals emerging from the scientific world view of the 17th century that promoted optimism and progressives values. The Enlightenment centered in France and philosophes advocated reforms ranging from political, social, and economic changes, though most were relatively mild in nature. A look at French society during this period including the salons, a rise in literature and the novel, as well as new music genres. Philosophes studied include: Voltaire, Rousseau, Beccaria, and Montesquieu among others. Female philosophes, such as Emelie du Chatelet and Mary Wollstonecraft will be covered as will their push for gender reforms and resistance to changing gender roles.