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Dear Advanced Placement World History Student: Welcome to the second year of a fabulous study!! We hope you enjoyed your first year of World History and we look forward to working with you to meet the challenges you will face. The journey, which you began last fall will culminate next spring with the Advanced Placement World History examination, will hopefully be a rewarding one which fosters an appreciation for World history and culture while also developing your critical thinking skills. We’re sure you would like to continue learning over the summer, and not lose the valuable knowledge you have acquired in your first year. To that end, please plan to complete the following summer assignments: 1st Assignment: You must read one of the following two books: A History of the World in 6 glasses by Tom Standage or Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes by Tamim Ansary. Either book deal with large and important topics we will study throughout the year and are ambitious thought provoking and appropriate for the level of difficulty of the course. Students must be prepared for in-­‐class examination on the selected book at the beginning of the school year. 2nd Assignment: Use your notes from last year to create a summary for Period 1 through 3. You can find the required curriculum guide on our Wheatley 10 AP World Website; let this document direct and focus your summaries. (https://sites.google.com/a/ewsdmail.org/ap-­‐world-­‐history/ ). If you have any questions, concerns or problems, please do not hesitate to e-­‐mail me. The assignment is all encompassing thus we suggest you do not wait until the last minute to undertake this task. We look forward to sharing the classroom with you next year and hope you enjoy your summer break. Sincerely Yours, Mrs. Birthe Seferian [email protected] or [email protected] Due Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 Read one of the following books: ***students must borrow the book from a local library or purchase the book*** • Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes by Tamim Ansary. Amazon prize: $12.16 We in the west share a common narrative of world history-­‐that runs from the Nile Valley and Mesopotomia, through Greece and Rome and the French Revolution, to the rise of the secular state and the triumph of democracy. But our story largely omits a whole civilization that until quite recently saw itself at the center of world history, and whose citizens shared an entirely different narrative for a thousand years. In Destiny Disrupted, Tamim Ansary tells the rich story of world history as the Islamic world saw it, from the time of Mohammed to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and beyond. He clarifies why our civilizations grew up oblivious to each other, what happened when they intersected, and how the Islamic world was affected by its slow recognition that Europe-­‐a place it long perceived as primitive and disorganized-­‐had somehow hijacked destiny. Entertaining and enlightening, Destiny Disrupted also offers a vital perspective on current conflicts. From Goodreads.com  A History of the World in 6 Glasses, by Tom Standage amazon.com price = $10.82 From beer to Coca-­‐Cola, the six drinks that have helped shape human history Throughout human history, certain drinks have done much more than just quench thirst. As Tom Standage relates with authority and charm, six of them have had a surprisingly pervasive influence on the course of history, becoming the defining drink during a pivotal historical period. A History of the World in 6 Glasses tells the story of humanity from the Stone Age to the 21st century through the lens of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola. Beer was first made in the Fertile Crescent and by 3000 B.C.E. was so important to Mesopotamia and Egypt that it was used to pay wages. In ancient Greece wine became the main export of her vast seaborne trade, helping spread Greek culture abroad. Spirits such as brandy and rum fueled the Age of Exploration, fortifying seamen on long voyages and oiling the pernicious slave trade. Although coffee originated in the Arab world, it stoked revolutionary thought in Europe during the Age of Reason, when coffeehouses became centers of intellectual exchange. And hundreds of years after the Chinese began drinking tea, it became especially popular in Britain, with far-­‐reaching effects on British foreign policy. Finally, though carbonated drinks were invented in 18th-­‐century Europe they became a 20th-­‐century phenomenon, and Coca-­‐Cola in particular is the leading symbol of globalization. For Tom Standage, each drink is a kind of technology, a catalyst for advancing culture by which he demonstrates the intricate interplay of different civilizations. You may never look at your favorite drink the same way again.