Download Introduction to AP World History

Mr. Fabian
World History AP
Introduction to AP World History
AP® World History is for the exceptionally studious high school junior who wishes to earn college credit
through a rigorous academic program. This class approaches history in a non-traditional way in that it
looks at the common threads of humanity over time: trade, religion, politics, society and technology and
it investigates how these things have changed and continued over time in different places. Students
who take the AP® World History course are expected to take the APWH exam in May.
The course is designed to help students
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Construct and evaluate arguments, and plausibly use historical evidence
Analyze and use primary source documents and evidence
Evaluate change and continuity over time with an emphasis on process and causation
Understand diverse interpretations of events through context and point of view
Evaluate and understand patterns and interactions from local to global levels
Analyze comparisons within and among societies
Become aware of similarities and differences among peoples and understand cultural diversity
Answer correctly AP-style multiple choice questions
Effectively compose the three types of APWH essays: the document-based essay (DBQ), the
continuity and change-over-time essay (CCOT), and the comparative essay
An important skill you will acquire in the class is the ability to examine change over time, including the
causation of events as well as the major effects of historical developments, the interconnectedness of
events over time, and the spatial interactions that occur over time that have geographic, political,
cultural, and social significance. It is important for each student to develop the ability to connect the
local to the global, and vice versa. You also will learn how to compare developments in different regions
and in different time periods as well as contextualize important changes and continuities throughout
world history.
Six overarching themes will provide the framework and focus for study throughout the year.
1. The dynamics of change and continuity across the world history periods covered in this course,
and the causes and processes involved in major changes of these dynamics
2. Patterns and effects of interaction among societies and regions: trade, war, diplomacy, and
international organizations
3. The effects of technology, economics and demography on people and the environment
(population growth and decline, disease, labor systems, manufacturing, migrations, agriculture,
weaponry)
4. Systems of social structure and gender structure (comparing major features within and among
societies, and assessing change and continuity)
5. Cultural, intellectual and religious developments, including interactions among and within
societies
6. Changes in functions and structures of states and in attitudes toward states and political
identities (political culture) and including the emergence of the nation-state (types of political
organization)
OVER
We will be utilizing the Periodization model for this course. They are as follows:
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Prehistory to 600 BCE (Technological & Environmental Transformation)
o Big Geography & Peopling of Earth
o Neolithic Revolution & Agriculture
o Early Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies
600 BCE-600 CE (Organization & Reorganization of Human Societies)
o Development of Religious & Cultural Traditions
o Development of States & Empires
o Emergence of Trans-Regional Networks
600 -1450 (Regional & Trans-Regional Interactions)
o Expansion of Exchange Networks
o Continuity & Innovation in Governance
o Increased Economic Productivity
1450-1750 (Global Interactions)
o Globalizing Networks of Exchange
o New Forms of Social Organization
o New Modes of Production
o State Consolidation & Imperial Growth
1750-1900 (Industrialization & Global Integration)
o Industrialization & Global Capitalism
o Imperialism & Nation State Formation
o Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform
o Global Migration
1900-Present (Acceleration Global Change & Realignment)
o Science & Environment
o Global Conflicts
o Global Economy, Society, and Culture
Direct questions you might have to my email address at [email protected]
Review online resources and assignments on my webpage at the SHS site:
o Go to www.southmoreland.net
o Select “Southmoreland High School” from the drop down box in the upper left.
o Select “Staff”
o Select “Chris Fabian”
o Select “WHAP”