Primary Text:
McKay, John P., Hill, Bennett D., Buckler, John. A History of Western Society. Sixth Edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999.
Overview:
Knowledge of the way people have lived and of the way events and ideas have shaped our lives, helps us understand the world of the present. As we study events of the past in this course, I hope that you will emerge with: (1) an enjoyment of—or at least satisfaction from—the learning process itself; (2) a broad knowledge of the history of Europe sufficient enough to feel prepared to take the Advanced Placement exam on May 7; (3) an appreciation of some of the political, economic, social, and intellectual cross-currents in the continent’s history; (4) the acquisition of skills useful to an ongoing study of history and the social sciences, and (5) an enhanced understanding, through a study of contemporary events, of the role that European nations still play in today’s world. AP European History is a challenging course that is designed to be the equivalent of a freshman college course in a high school setting.
Advanced Placement Objectives:
- The course emphasizes relevant factual knowledge about European history from 1300 to the present highlighting intellectual, cultural, political, diplomatic, social, and economic developments.The course teaches students to analyze evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship.
- The course includes extensive instruction in analysis and interpretation of a wide variety of primary sources, such as documentary material, maps, statistical tables, works of art, and pictorial and graphic materials.
- The course provides students with frequent practice in writing analytical and interpretive essays such as document-based questions (DBQ) and thematic essays.
The Exam
The exam is 3 hours and 5 minutes in length. It consists of a 55-minute multiple-choice section and a 130 minute free-response section.
The multiple choice section consists of 80 questions designed to measure the student’s knowledge of European history from the High Renaissance to the present. Approximately 50% of the questions deal with the period from 1450 to the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic era and 50% from the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic era to the present. Approximately one-third of the questions will focus on cultural and intellectual themes, one-third on political and diplomatic themes, and one-third on social and economic themes.
The free-response section begins with a mandatory 15-minute reading period followed by Part A, in which students are required to answer a document-based essay question (DBQ) in 45 minutes, and Parts B and C, in which students are asked to answer two thematic questions (FRQ) in 70 minutes.
Scoring
Each year in June, the free-response section (DBQ and FRQ) of the exam are scored by college faculty and high school AP teachers at the AP reading. Thousands of readers participate, under the direction of a chief reader in each AP subject. The readers’ scores on the document- based question and thematic essays are combined with the results of the computer-scored multiple choice questions and the total raw scores are converted to a composite score on AP’s 5-point scale:
AP GradeQualification
5 Extremely well qualified
4 Well qualified
3 Qualified
2 Possibly qualified
1 No recommendation
Content:
Material covered will range from the Late Middle Ages to the creation of the European Union and the fall of Communism. The semester has been divided into the following units of study:
Unit I: Late Middle Ages
Unit II: Society in the Age of the Renaissance
Unit III: Reform and Renewal in the Christian Church
Unit IV: The Age of Religious Wars and Exploration
Unit V: Absolutism and Constitutionalism in Western Europe
Unit VI: Absolutism in Eastern Europe
Unit VII: Toward a New World-view
Unit VIII: Europe in the Eighteenth Century
Unit IX: Revolution in Politics (1775-1815)
Unit X: Revolution in Energy and Industry
Unit XI: Ideologies and Upheavals (1815-1850), an Emerging Urban Society
Unit XII: Nationalism (1850-1914)
Unit XIII: Imperialism
Unit XIV: War and Revolution
Unit XV: The Age of Anxiety
Unit XVI: Dictatorships and the Second World War
Unit XVII:Cold War conflicts and Social Transformations (1945-1985)
Unit XVIII: Revolution, Rebuilding, and New Challenges (1985-Present)
Grading Policy:
Multiple Choice Exams------40%
Essays (DBQ, FRQ)------30%
Small Assignments/ Quizzes ------20%
Participation------10%
Final Thoughts:
This very challenging class is a full year course taught in one semester. This reality calls on you to use the spring semester to continually review the material learned in the fall. After-school review sessions will be scheduled. These review sessions are not mandatory but recommended to be successful on the AP exam. Everyone who takes the course is expected to take the exam on May 7.
By signing below both students and parents acknowledge they have read and understand all aspects of this syllabus. Please contact by phone or email with any questions.
Student ______
Parent ______
Teacher: ______
Themes in Modern European History
The outlined themes that follow indicate some of the important areas that might be treated in an AP course in European History. The ideas suggested do not have to be treated explicitly as topics or covered inclusively, nor should they preclude development of other themes. In addition, questions on the exam will often call for students to interrelate categories or to trace developments in a particular category through several chronological periods. For this reason, students and teachers need to address periodization in European history and to relate periodization, as appropriate, to the following themes.
Intellectual and Cultural History
- Changes in religious thought and institutions
- Secularization of learning and culture
- 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
- The diffusion of new intellectual concepts among different social groups
- Changes in elite and popular culture, such as the development of new attitudes toward religion, the family, work, and ritual
- Impact of global expansion on European culture
Political and Diplomatic History
- The rise and functioning of the modern state in its various forms
- Relations between Europe and other parts of the world: colonialism, imperialism, decolonization, and global interdependence
- The evolution of political elites and the development of political parties, ideologies, and other forms of mass politics
- The extension and limitation of rights and liberties (personal, civic, economic, and political); majority and minority political persecutions
- The growth and changing forms of nationalism
- Forms of political protest, reform, and revolution
- Relationships between domestic and foreign policies
- Efforts to restrain conflict: treaties, balance-of-power diplomacy, and international organizations
- War and civil conflict: origins, developments, technology, and their consequences
Social and Economic History
- The character of and changes in agricultural production and organization
- 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, patterns of mass production and consumption, and their economic and social impact
- Changing definitions of and attitudes toward mainstream groups and groups characterized as the "other"
- The origins, development, and consequences of industrialization
- Changes in the demographic structure and reproductive patterns of Europeans: causes and consequences
- Gender roles and their influence on work, social structure, family structure, and interest group formation
- The growth of competition and interdependence in national and world markets
- Private and state roles in economic activity
- Development and transformation of racial and ethnic group identities
Unit I: Late Middle Ages ---Chapter 12
The Black Death –pp.378-386
Hundred Years War –pp.386-392
The Great Schism—pp.392-396
Life of the People—pp.396-406
Vernacular Literature –pp.406-409
Unit II: Society in the Age of the Renaissance---Chapter 13
Italian Renaissance—pp.414-419
The Five Ideals—pp.420-422
Renaissance Art & Literature—pp.422-428
Social Change—pp.428-437
Northern Renaissance—pp.437-440
Politics and the State in the Renaissance—pp.440-445
Unit III: Reform and Renewal in the Christian Church---Chapter 14
The Condition of the Church (ca 1400-1517)—pp.450-453
Martin Luther and the Birth of Protestantism—pp.453-462
Germany and the Protestant Reformation -–pp.462-466
The Growth of the Protestant Reformation—pp.466-475
The Catholic Reformation and the Counter-Reformation—pp.475-481
Unit IV: The Age of Religious Wars and Exploration---Chapter 15
Politics, Religion, and War—pp.486-502
Discovery and Expansion—pp.502-509
Later Explorers—pp.509-512
Changing Attitudes—pp.512-518
Literature and Art—pp.518-524
Unit V: Absolutism and Constitutionalism in Western Europe---Chapter 16
Absolutism—pp.530-548
Constitutionalism—pp.548-559
Unit VI: Absolutism in Eastern Europe to 1740---Chapter 17
Serfdom in Eastern Europe—pp.564-568
The Rise of Austria and Prussia—pp.568-575
The Development of Russia—pp.576-585
Absolutism and the Baroque—pp.585-589
Unit VII: Toward a New World-view---Chapter 18
The Scientific Revolution—pp.594-604
The Enlightenment—pp.604-614
The Enlightenment and Absolutism—pp.614-624
Unit VIII: Europe in the Eighteenth Century---Chapter 19
Agricultural Revolution—pp.628-637
Population Explosion—pp.637-640
Growth of the Cottage Industry—pp.640-644
Atlantic Economy & Mercantilism—pp.644-656
The Changing life of the People---Chapter 20
*Marriage and the Family—pp.660-665
*Children and Education—pp.665-670
*Food and Medical Practice—pp.670-679
*Religion and popular Culture—pp.679-685
Unit IX: Revolution in Politics (1775-1815)---Chapter 21
The American Revolution (1775-1789)—pp.690-696
The French Revolution (1789-1791)—pp.696-704
World War and Republican France (1791-1799)—pp.704-712
The Napoleonic Era (1799-1815)—pp.712-720
Unit X: Revolution in Energy and Industry---Chapter 22
The Industrial Revolution in Britain—pp.724-734
Industrialization in Continental Europe—pp.734-740
Capital and Labor—pp.740-750
Unit XI: Ideologies and Upheavals (1815-1850)---Chapter 23
Congress of Vienna—pp.754-760
Conservatism, Liberalism, Nationalism, Socialism, Romanticism—pp.761-772
Reforms and Revolutions—pp.772-778
The Revolutions of 1848—pp.778-784
Life in the Emerging Urban Society---Chapter 24
*Taming the City—pp.788-797
*Rich and Poor and those in Between—pp.797-805
*The Changing Family—pp.805-813
*Science and Thought—pp.813-817
Unit XII: Nationalism (1850-1914)---Chapter 25
Napoleon III in France—pp.822-825
Nation building in Italy and Germany—pp.825-837
The Modernization of Russia—pp.837-841
The Responsive National state, 1871-1914—pp.841-848
Marxism and the Socialist Movement—pp.848-852
Unit XIII: Imperialism---Chapter 26
Industrialization and the World Economy—pp.856-865
The Great Migration—pp.865-871
Western Imperialism—pp.871-880
Responses to Western Imperialism—pp.880-886
Unit XIV: War and Revolution---Chapter27
The First World War—pp.890-908
The Russian Revolution—pp.908-916
Treaty of Versailles—pp.916-922
Unit XV: The Age of Anxiety---Chapter 28
Modern Thought—pp.926-935
Modern Art and Music—pp.935-940
The Search for Peace and Political Stability—pp.940-944
The Great Depression—pp.944-952
Unit XVI: Dictatorships and the Second World War---Chapter 29
Authoritarian States—pp.956-960
Stalin and Communism in the Soviet Union—pp.960-968
Mussolini and Fascism in Italy—pp.968-970
Hitler and Nazism in Germany—pp.970-974
Nazi Expansion and the Second World War—pp.975-988
Unit XVII:Cold War conflicts and Social Transformations (1945-1985)---Chapter 30
The Division of Europe—pp.-992-996
The Western Renaissance, 1945-1968—pp.996-1004
Soviet Eastern Europe, 1945-1968—pp.1004-1009
Postwar Social Transformations, 1945-1968—pp.1009-1015
Renewed Challenges in the Late Cold War, 1968-1985—pp.1015-1022
The Changing Lives of Women—pp.1022-1026
Unit XVIII: Revolution, Rebuilding, and New Challenges (1985-Present)---Chapter 31
The Decline of Communism in Eastern Europe—pp.1030-1037
The Revolutions of 1989—pp.1037-1046
Building a New Europe in the 1990’s—pp.1046-1059
New Challenges in Twenty-First Century—pp.1059-1060 and Handout