Download AP World History Syllabus Course Overview:

Mr. Haney
Room 827
380-5677
[email protected]
AP World History Syllabus
Course Overview:
In Advanced Placement World History, students will develop an understanding of the evolution of global processes.
This non-traditional approach examines the common elements of humanity—trade, religion, politics, society, and
technology—and investigates how each has changed and continued over time. The course traces the human
experience from the emergence of Neolithic cultures to the 21st Century, C.E., and emphasizes the historical
thinking skills, writing skills, and content knowledge characteristic of a college-level world history course. Students
will devote considerable time to the critical evaluation of primary and secondary sources, as they write essays and
engage in class discussions.
After a concentrated study of the foundations of world history, the course focuses primarily on the past thousand
years of world history. AP World History offers a balanced coverage of Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. There
are five over-arching themes, receiving approximately equal coverage:
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 revolution, regional, trans-regional, and global structures and organizations
4. Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems: agricultural and pastoral production, trade and
commerce, labor systems, industrialization, capitalism and socialism
5. Development and transformation of social structures: gender roles and relations, family and kinship, racial and
ethnic constructions
The focus is on thematic development, rather than strict memorization of names, dates and places. Students
should use the framework above as a “unifying thread” to help make comparisons over time throughout the course.
Unit Activities:
• Students will complete a reading guide or a series of study questions.
• Students will complete a map activity, labeling the key geographic and political features of the areas being
studied.
• Students will engage in multiple writing assignments (see below).
Writing Assignments:
Students will engage in a variety of writing activities in every unit the course, ranging from short analysis of primary
sources to in-depth analytical essays.
• Primary Source Analysis: Conduct at any analysis least three primary sources, including written, maps, images,
data, and various works of art, using the five course themes as a basis for comparisons.
• Document-Based Question (DBQ): Students will use a variety of documents to formulate and support a detailed
thesis constructed from documentary evidence. Students will learn and integrate multiple historical thinking skills
into each DBQ.
• Change and Continuity Over Time (CCOT): Students will identify and analyze patterns of change and continuity
and over time. They will also connect historical developments to the unique variations associated with
specific times and places, integrating them into local, regional and global processes, as circumscribed by the five
course themes.
• Comparative Essay: Students will construct essays comparing historical developments and processes across
regions, time-periods, and societies, including the present.
Course Text:
• Students will read in its entirety:
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Bentley and Ziegler. 2011. Traditions and Encounters, 5th ed. United States: McGraw-Hill.
Unit One (to 600 C.E.): Technological and Environmental Transformations
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Key Concepts:
• Global Geography and the Peopling of the Earth
• Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies
• Development an Interactions of Early Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies
Unit Two (600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.): Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies
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Key Concepts:
• Development of States and Empires
• Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions
• Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange
Unit Three (600 C.E. to 1450): Regional and Transregional Interactions
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Key Concepts:
• Expansion of Communication and Exchange Networks
• Continuity of State Forms and Their Interactions
• Increased Economic Productive Capacity and Consequences
Unit Four (1450-1750): Global Interactions
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Key Concepts:
• Globalizing the Networks of Communication and Exchange
• New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production
• State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion
• Effects of the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution and Age of Exploration on Societies as well as
Discussion of Empires and Dynasties. This will include Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Unit Five (1750-1900): Industrialization and Global Integration
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Key Concepts:
• Industrialization and Global Capitalism
• Imperialism and Nation-State Formation
• Nationalism, Revolution and Reform
• Global Migration
Unit Six (1900 to Present): Accelerating Global Change and Realignments
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Key Concepts:
• Science and the Environment
• Global Conflicts and their Consequences
• New Paradigms of Global Economy, Society, and Culture
Class Expectations:
RESPECT! Respect the teacher, your classmates, your classmates’ property, my property, and yourself.
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Respect means:
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A. Give your polite attention to the speaker.
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B. Use a respectful voice and words.
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C. Follow directions and stay on task.
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D. Be on time.
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E. Turn off all electronic devices.
F. No food or drink in the classroom.
Course Requirements:
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1. Prepare to take the AP Exam.
2. Be present and participate every day.
3. Complete assigned reading and outline notes (must be hand written).
4. Complete lecture notes.
5. Group and individual projects.!
6. Keep a notebook with ALL notes, assignments, quizzes, and tests.
7. You will have homework EVERY night in this class.
Grading: The academic grade is determined by the studentʼs quality and completeness of work including: class
participation, projects, assignments, quizzes, and tests. The number of points you have earned at the end of the
semester divided by the total number of points possible will be the percent you earn.
Grading Scale:
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100% - 90%!
89% - 80%!
79% - 70%!
69% - 60%!
59% - 0%!
=A
=B
=C
=D
=F
Late Work:
1. Assignments turned in late will lose one letter grade per day.
Absent Work: You have the same amount of days absent to complete the work missed. If you are absent, do
the following upon your return:
1. Copy down what you missed from the calendar.
2. Ask a neighbor to explain what you missed.
3. Get any missing assignments from the folders.
4. Talk to Mr. Haney if you still have questions.
Test Make-up: You have one week from the day you return to make up a test or it becomes a zero.