Download ADVANCED PLACEMENT WORLD HISTORY 2012

ADVANCED PLACEMENT WORLD HISTORY
2012-2013
MRS. NESS
Course Design
The AP course in World History invites students to take a global view of historical processes and
contact between people in different societies, with an emphasis on the past thousand years. Students
will be expected to learn selective factual knowledge in addition to certain analytical skills. Major
interpretive issues among historians will be explored as well as techniques used in interpreting both
primary historical evidence and secondary sources. Themes will be employed throughout the course,
though the basic approach will be chronological. Students will pay particular attention to change and
continuity over time, to the characteristic institutions and values of societies, and to the way such
institutions and values are affected as a result of cultural contacts among peoples. In assigned readings
and class discussions, there will be an emphasis on critical thinking. There will be a constant focus on
and reinforcement the idea of continuity and change throughout our exploration of world history.
Grasping the overarching significance of and fundamental role of continuity and change is necessary
for a student to gain any genuine understanding of the sweep of history.
The course will be rigorous and rewarding. Attention will also be given to preparing students with the
skills necessary to engage the AP World History examination given on May 16. One of these skills
involves taking good notes, both in class and while reading. The ultimate benefits of this course will
be an informed view of how the world has developed to the start of the third millennium, plus
stimulating intellectual growth.
*All students who are enrolled in the AP course are REQUIRED to take the AP exam in May!*
Course Themes
1. Interaction between humans and the environment: demography and disease; migration;
patterns of settlement; technology
2. Development and interaction of cultures: religions; belief systems, philosophies, and
ideologies; science and technology; the arts and architecture
3. 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
4. Creation, expansions, and interaction of economic systems: Agricultural and pastoral
production; trade and commerce; labor systems; capitalism and socialism
5. Development and transformation of social structures: gender roles and relations; family and
kinship; racial and ethnic constructions; social and economic classes
The Four Historical Thinking Skills
1: Crafting historical arguments from historical evidence.
2: Chronological reasoning which involves the ability to assess issues of change and continuity
over time.
3: Comparison and contextualization of documents and other primary sources to develop the
skills necessary to analyze point of view, context, bias along with understanding and
interpreting the information presented.
4: Historical interpretation and synthesis
Main Course Text:
Tignor, Worlds Together, Worlds Apart.
Primary Source Documents & Readers
A variety of selections & sources will be used throughout the course to analyze their content
and connection to world history topics. This will help develop the necessary analytical skills
necessary for the DBQ portion of the AP Exam. This includes but is not limited to The Human
Record, Andrea and Overfield (2000), HoughtoStrn-Mifflin, Discovering the Global Past,
Merry Weisner Hanks, et al (2007), 3rd edition, Cengage Learning, and Worlds of History,
Kevin Reilly (2009), 3rd edition, Bedford/St. Martins.
Grading Scale
A = 100-90; B = 89-80; C = 79-70; D = 69-60; F = below 60
General Grade Definitions
A = Strong scholarship, work significantly exceeds the requirements of the instructor, and
demonstrates independent thought and resourcefulness. Work is neat, organized, and free from
spelling errors and on time. Work shows a significant increase in the development of the student, and
the work, if shared, enhances the group’s learning.
B = Accurate and complete scholarship that goes beyond the requirements of the instructor, and
demonstrates above average achievement. Work is neat, organized, and free from spelling errors and
on time. Work shows some increased development of the student, and the work, if shared, is beneficial
to the group’s learning.
C = Scholarship meets the minimum requirements of the instructor, and demonstrates little
independent thought or may simply parrot the text. Work is n eat, but may not be well organized and
may contain spelling or other grammatical errors, and may possibly be late. Works shows little
increased development of the student, if any. The work, if shared, is marginally beneficial to the
group’s learning.
D = Scholarship does not meet the requirements of the instructor, and demonstrates no independent
thought and may be copied from another source or paraphrased. Work may or may not have been
neatly done and well organized. The work may contain spelling or other grammatical errors, and may
be late. Work shows no evidence of increasing the development of the student. The work, if shared,
has little, or no, benefit for the group’s learning.
F = Scholarship does not meet the minimum requirements of the instructor and/or assignment. The
work shows no evidence of independent thought, was copies from another source, or was paraphrased.
The work may be late, or not turned in at all. If the work is turned in, the work may not be neat, may
contain spelling or other grammatical errors, and may be incomplete. If shared, the work is not
beneficial to the group’s learning.
Grade Weights
Marking period grades in this course will be based on a points scale.
Curriculum Units
Unit 1—Ancient Civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus, Shang, Phoenicia, Hebrews),
Development of Classical Civilizations, (India, China, Persia, Greece, Rome), and Major Belief
Systems (polytheism, Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity)
Unit 2—Rise and Spread of Islam (Abbasids, South Asia, SE Asia), African Civilizations (before and
after Islam), Eastern Europe (Byzantium), Western Europe (Medieval, Renaissance), Americas (PreInvasion), China (Sui, Tang, Song), Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Mongols
Unit 3—Foundations of Modern World: Europe (Renaissance, Enlightenment), Early Latin America
(Latin America in Transition), Rise of Russia, Africa and Africans and the Slave Trade, Gunpowder
Empires (Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal).
Unit 4—Age of Revolutions: Political Revolutions and Independence Movements (American, French,
Haitian, Mexican, Chinese), Industrial Revolution (East & West), Imperialism (Colonizers, Colonized,
Discontent), Poetry (Romantics, Realists).
Unit 5—Modern World: Colonization, Decolonization, Nationalism, Global Conflicts, Literary
Criticism, Literature Sets
Classroom Conduct & Participation
The basic rules for this course, as with any college level course, are to be prompt, prepared, and to
participate as well as to be respectful, ready to learn, and resourceful. Being that this is a college-level
course, you should be well aware of what that means.