Advanced Placement World History Course Syllabus Course Design: AP® World History is for the exceptionally studious high school sophomore 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. Course Objectives — Students will: Construct and evaluate arguments, and plausibly use historical evidence Analyze and use primary and secondary 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 change-over-time essay, and the comparative essay Main Textbook: The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History 6th AP Ed. Bulliet, et al Cengage, 2014 Document Reader: Andrea, Al and Overfield, James. The Human Record: Sources of Global History, 4th ed. Vols 1 & 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005 Potential Outside Readings and Teachers Resources: 2003-2015 Released Exams and Essays. College Board The Columbian Exchange Crosby Praeger 2003 AP World History Crash Course Harmon 2012 Cracking the APWH Exam (Student Study Guide) 2004, Princeton Review Cultures in Motion: Mapping Key Contacts and Their Imprints in World History Stearns. Yale Press, 2001 Discovering the Global Past: A Look at the Evidence, 3rd ed. Vols 1 & II Wiesner, et al Houghton Mifflin, 2007 Document-Based Assessment Activities for Global History Classes Noonan J. Weston Walch publishers, 1999 DBQ Practice: 10 AP-Style DBQ’s Williams, ed. Social Studies School Services 2004 Experiencing World History Adams, et al NYU Press 2000 Guns, Germs and Steel Diamond Norton, 1999 King Leopold’s Ghost Hochschild Mariner 1999 Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces 1997 Old World Encounters Bentley Oxford press, 1993 Rand McNally Historical Atlas of the World 2003 Readings in Ancient History: From Gilgamesh to Diocletian Bailkey DC Heath, 1992 Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the 20th Century World JR McNeill Norton 2000 Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy Gaardner Berkley Press 1996 Tastes of Paradise: A Social History of Spices, Stimulants and Intoxicants Schivelbusch Vintage books, 1993 Technology in World Civilizations Pacy M.I.T. Press 1998 Things Fall Apart Achebe Anchor 1994 Stearns, et al: World Civilizations: The Global Experience 3rd AP Edition. World History Map Activities Scott J. Weston Walch, publisher 1997 Advanced Placement World History Course Syllabus World History in Documents: A Comparative Reader Stearns NYU Press 1998 The World That Trade Created Pomeranz and Topik A.E. Sharpe 1999 MindSparks Content-rich materials using visual primary source documents (editorial cartoons, photos, and other visuals) to promote classroom discussion and small group interaction. Web Resources: . Text Book site for students and instructor . Internet Sourcebook: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall An excellent place for primary documents . Timeline of art history: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/splash.htm . Rand McNally: www.randmcnallyclassroom.com We will be using this extensively for historic maps and present day reference. Crash Course videos by John Green – Youtube.com Course Purpose: This course has several purposes. First and foremost, students will learn World History. The course is also intended to prepare students to take the AP Exam. Organization: Unit assignment sheets will be provided that will include weekly reading assignments. Quiz and test dates will be noted. Students are responsible for keeping up with reading assignments and being aware of, and ready for, quizzes and tests. Class will be a combination of lecture, group work, coverage of discussion questions, and answering student questions. Within each unit student essays, reports, or presentations will be required. All essays will be scored according to the rubrics developed by College Board. Tests: Tests will be a combination of objective and essay questions. Study Techniques: The reading load, especially in the first 7-10 weeks, is considerable. You are responsible for understanding all of the material for testing. The amount of time required for homework for this class will vary with your reading speed. Assignments vary in length. Watch your daily assignment sheet and plan ahead for long assignments, supplemental readings, take-home essays, etc. Time management is an essential skill for this class, and you must take the responsibility for budgeting your time. As you become accustomed to the course format and texts, things will fall into place and become more manageable. It is important to not get discouraged. Advanced Placement Exam: The AP Exam is given in May. Registration for the exam takes place in March. Although the exam is not required, it is highly recommended and may earn college credit and/or advanced placement. Comprehensive Class Exam: At the end of the first semester, all students will take a semester final exam. At the end of the second semester, all students, whether or not they have taken the AP Exam, will be required to take a comprehensive exam covering the entire year’s course. This comprehensive exam will be considered in computing final grades. Students not taking the AP Exam are encouraged to participate in the AP review sessions prior to the exams. Top Advanced Placement World History Course Syllabus Course Outline — Semester 1 Unit 1: Emergence of Human Communities, to circa 600 BCE (1 week) Readings: Key Concept 1.1: Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth 1.2: The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies 1.3: The Development and Interactions of Early Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies Text, Bulliet, Chapters 1-3 Handouts Big Ideas/Concepts: 1. Patterns of settlement 2. Agricultural and pastoral production 3. Gender roles/relations 4. Technology Content: World history in place and time Interaction of geography and climate with the development of human society Major population changes resulting from human and environmental factors Nature and causes of changes Religious beliefs Early literature (The “Epic of Gilgamesh”) / This reading is compared to the biblical flood Continuities and breaks within the course (periodization) – what “works” and what doesn’t? Developing agriculture and technology (metallurgy, plows, wheels, etc.) Agricultural, pastoral, and foraging societies and their characteristics Emergence of agriculture and other technological change Effects of agriculture on the environment and peoples (gender relations) Basic features of early civilizations in different environments Political and social structure of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus, Shang, Mesoamerican, and Andean South America Monumental architecture and urban planning Early writing: Cuneiform, Hieroglyphics, Quipu – study pictures from each and be able to distinguish between Hieroglyphics and Cuneiform Major Assignments and Assessments (Testing): Habits of Mind and Historiography skills Themes of the course Note taking AP world map (quiz this throughout the year) Periodization activity: Develop a personal timeline explaining continuity and change over time in your own life. Compare/contrast with a partner. Use this to have the students identify recognizable periods in their lives and then branch into why historians use periodization to break history into manageable chunks of time. Introduce the periods of Advanced Placement World History Course Syllabus the course from the published College Board course description. As an extension, the students will stay with that partner and develop alternate periods to divide the course into and justify their new timeline to the class. We will end with a discussion where they will see that there is no set model, but various methods that could work. Complete PERSIAN charts over each of the River Valley and early Bronze Age societies MindSparks: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient China, Ancient India Using unfamiliar items (“artifacts”) or items (“artifacts”) from other cultures the students will create culture boxes that they will exchange in class with other students. Each student will develop theories for what the items are/used for and make conclusions about the society/culture that they have “discovered”. The activity will end with a discussion on the contributions of archaeologists and how much of what they do is guess work versus educated theories. Supplemental Reading: The Epic of Gilgamesh Early laws: Compare The Judgments of Hammurabi, Rome’s Twelve Tables, Hebrew law codes Egypt: Search for Eternal Life in Egypt Olmec: The Were-Jaguar China/Shang: China: The Land of The Yellow River China: Mandate of Heaven The Vedas SEE CORRESPONDING STUDENT STUDY GUIDE FOR ACADEMIC VOCABULARY AND ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS. Unit 2: Classical Civilizations, 600 BCE – 600 CE (4 Weeks) Readings: Key Concept 2.1: The Development and Codification of Religious