Why Study World History Or No Man Or Nation Is an Island Entire of Itself?

What is World History AP? WHAP/Napp

Why Study World History or No Man or Nation is An Island Entire of Itself?

“Take the case of the American Civil War, a conflict that historians have conventionally considered exclusively in the context of U.S. national history. It is of course both possible and necessary to understand the Civil War as an episode in U.S. history – a unique experience that revealed in painful fashion some of the tensions and contradictions that plagued American society because the founding fathers were unable to bring about the abolition of slavery when they drew up a constitution for the new republic…

While it is essential to analyze the American Civil War within the framework of U.S. national history, it is also enlightening to consider the conflict in the context of a larger world in which many societies were experiencing dire challenges and seeking effective models of organization and reorganization during the era of early industrialization. From this viewpoint, connections and comparisons enrich the understanding and deepen the explanation of a unique historical experience.

The United States certainly had a national history in the nineteenth century, but this U.S. national history was an entangled national history, and it is impossible to imagine it unfolding the way it did in the absence of the transregional and global connections that conditioned American historical development. Strong British demands for raw cotton, the institution of slavery, the early development of industrial production, and American expansion to the west were all features of the global historical landscape that profoundly influenced the American Civil War. In the absence of this web of ties linking the United States to other lands and peoples, the American Civil War is almost inconceivable. And just as conditions in other lands influenced the nature and the course of the conflict in the United States, the American Civil War in its turn had global implications of its own. It opened a space for France to seek opportunities for influence in Mexico, and it encouraged the expansion of cotton production in Egypt, Anatolia, and central Asian lands. High prices for raw cotton brought prosperity to all these lands and India as well during the Civil War, but the return of American cotton to the global market contributed to the collapse of prices and a severe global depression in the 1870s and 1880s.” ~ Jerry H. Bentley

1- What is the author’s main point regarding the value of world history?

2- Illustrate ways in which the American Civil War impacted and was impacted by other nations?

Notes on Organizing History:

1. Periodization

1. A way to subdivide the continuous flow of world history into categories of time and common themes
2. Creates a framework for understanding the past as well as the flow and sequence of events
3. The Time Periods of the World History AP Class

1. Technological and Environmental Transformations, to c. 600 B.C.E.
2. Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies, c. 600 B.C.E. to c. 600 C.E.
3. Regional and Transregional Interactions, c. 600 C.E. to c. 1450
4. Global Interactions, c. 1450 to c. 1750
5. Industrialization and Global Integration, c. 1750 to c. 1900
6. Accelerating Global Change and Realignments, c. 1900 to Present

• How and why does periodization help the student of history?

1. Historical Dates

1. World Historians use BCE and CE as opposed to BC and AD
2. BC (Before Christ) and AD (anno Domini or “in the year of the Lord) are Christian terms
3. BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) are terms that remind students of the global context and many diverse cultures of the World History curriculum
4. Some academics use YBP or Years Before Present

• Why is dating a reflection of cultural and intellectual values?

Excerpt from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Thesis Statement

“…Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion – convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying…In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you'll make in the rest of your paper…”

• What is a thesis statement?

• How does a thesis statement differ from a topic sentence?

• What intellectual steps must occur before writing a thesis statement?

Practice Thesis Writing:

• State facts about the Neolithic Revolution:

• Craft an argument or thesis statement about the Neolithic Revolution.

(What would you like to prove about the Neolithic Revolution or how would like to persuade the reader to view the Neolithic Revolution?)

Previous Knowledge: Sample Questions from the College Board:

1. Which of the following occurred as a result of the development of agriculture in societies that previously relied on hunting and gathering?

1. Which of the following was an important reason for the fall of the Roman, Han, and Gupta empires?

1. The spread of Bantu-speaking peoples over southern Africa before 1400 C.E. can be best explained by their

Consider Continuity and Change in World History:

Key Term: “Marker Events”: An event that changes the course of history

• List five marker events in world history:

Of course, the history of the world is a history of change. But even in the midst of change, there are continuities.

• Define continuity:

• List five continuities even in the midst of your five marker events:

Reading:

“Comparison is a standard form of human thought. We often try to understand individual entities better by comparing them with something else we know. To take a very simple example, person X gains identity and recognizability when we see that she is taller than person Y. The same gains accrue from comparing societies. The United States, to take another fairly simple example, is often called a violent society. By itself, that statement is hard to assess. It acquires meaning only if we compare rates of violence – murders per capita, for example – with those of other societies. And in fact, compared to Western Europe, the United States is a less violent society. But – and here comparison obviously becomes more complex, for it entails questions about what comparisons are most revealing and relevant – compared with Latin America the United States is fairly violent but not extremely so.

Virtually every characteristic we use to identify societies assumes some comparative standard. China is usually portrayed in world history as having a relatively centralized government and a tendency to scorn outside cultures. These features can be traced by charting the evolution of Chinese history all by itself, but they gain real meaning only if we compare Chinese politics and cultural receptivity to another case, such as that of India (which comparison reveals that the characterizations are quite accurate). ~ Peter Stearns

• What is the author’s main point regarding the value of world history?

• How does the author illustrate his main point?

The Structure of the Advanced Placement Examination in World History:

70 Multiple-Choice Questions in 55 Minutes

Free Response: Document-Based Question

Free Response: Continuity & Change over Time Question (CCOT)

Free Response: Comparative Question