Download Six Glasses Assignment

AP World History Summer Reading Assignment 2012-2013
A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage
A History of the World in Six Glasses looks at the development of world
civilizations through the prism of the beverages that people drank in various time
periods. These are (in chronological order): beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cocacola. The book merely offers an innovative and interesting perspective to initiate our
year-long discussion of world history.
The purpose of this book is to get a sense of how civilizations and cultures develop
and how numerous forces (political, technological, economic, social, religious, cultural,
ecological) affect even the most mundane- seeming aspects of people’s daily lives.
Part One: Themes
AP World History has five major themes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Interaction between humans and the environment
Demography and disease
Migration
Patterns of settlement
Technology
Development and interaction of cultures
Religions
Belief systems, philosophies, and ideologies
Science and technology
The arts and architecture
State-building, expansion, and conflict
Political structures and forms of governance
Empires
Nations and nationalism
Revolts and revolutions
Regional, transregional, and global structures and organizations
Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems
Agricultural and pastoral production
Trade and commerce
Labor systems
Industrialization
Capitalism and socialism
Development and transformation of social structures
Gender roles and relations
Family and kinship
Racial and ethnic constructions
Social and economic classes.
Look at each beverage (BEER, WINE, SPIRITS, TEA, COFFEE, COCA-COLA) and
explain how the history of each beverage meets each of the five themes. The
italics are only examples of each theme – you only have to talk about the
theme – not each example. Discuss the history through these themes!
Part Two: CHOOSE ONE: Discussion OR Cartography
Discussion Questions
Directions: Read the boo and answer the following section questions
How might beer have influenced the transition from hunting and gathering to
agricultural based societies?
What opportunities associated with wine drinking did men have in Ancient Greece
that women did not?
Why was wine adopted as a ritual drink in Christianity, but Islam prohibited the use
of alcohol?
Describe coffee’s effect on the balance of power between various regions of the
world.
Why was tea important to China’s economy and its relationships with other countries?
How did tea change history in India?
How did coca-cola become the world’s most recognized product?
How does coca-cola affect, and how is it affected by, people’s views of the United
States?
One criticism of this book is that the author focuses too much on Europe and not on
other parts of the world. Do you agree or disagree with this criticism? Which parts
of the world do not receive much attention in this book?
OR
Part Two: Cartography
Students will draw a map of the world and place on the map a picture or
symbol of each beverage and where it originated (along with a date). They will
then draw lines to show trade and interaction of the beverage. They should
COLOR-CODE their lines and symbols so that they can create a key on the
back giving additional information about history featuring the beverage. If
students want to use the notes and ideas they wrote about in Part I, that’s
fine. The cartographer map is a way to visualize the information through
symbols.