Welcome to A.P. World History

Course Description

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In A.P. World History we will explore key themes of world history, including interaction with the environment, cultures, state-building, economic systems, and social structures, from approximately 8000 B.C.E. to the present.

The A.P. Exam

• Exam is Thursday, May 15 th • Graded on scale 1 to 5 • 3, 4, or 5 = college credit • 1,2 = no college credit

The A.P. Exam Format

Question Type Number of Questions Timing Multiple-choice 70 questions 55 minutes Document-based question 1 question 50 minutes Continuity and change-over time essay 1 question 40 minutes Comparative essay 1 question 40 minutes

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THE DBQ 10 Documents

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Must use all 10

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Must suggest a document that is not in the DBQ you feel would help

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You must group the documents into 3 groups, based on their point of view or some similarity

Continuity and Change Over Time Essay (CCOT)

• No documents, this is a free response essay • Must analyze a change that occurs in a society over time • Example: Analyze continuities and changes in trade networks between Africa and Eurasia from circa 300 C.E. to 1450 C.E.

Comparative Essay

• No documents, this is a free response essay • Must compare 2 regions with each other at a specific point in time • Important you don’t summarize one, then the other. Need to constantly go back and forth • Example: Compare demographic and environmental effects of the Columbian Exchange on the Americas with the Columbian Exchange’s demographic and environmental effects on ONE of the following regions between 1492 and 1750. (Africa, Asia, or Europe)

Periodization

• If you were to write an autobiography at this point in your life, you may very well go chronologically How would you break up the chapters?

• A.P. World History breaks history into 6 chapters, called periods

Period Number

Period 1

Title Time Frame Period Weights

Technological and Environmental Transformations 8000 B.C.E – 600 B.C.E.

5%

Textbook Chapters

1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Period 5 Period 6 Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies 600 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.

Regional and Transregional Interactions Global Interactions 600 C.E. – 1450 1450-1750 Industrialization and Global Integration Accelerating Global Change and Realignments 1750-1900 1900 Present 15% 20% 20% 20% 20% 2-5 6-15 16-22 23-27 28-36

Course Themes

• As we study history, we must focus on 5 major themes for each unit we study • These themes are…

Theme 1 - Environment

Interactions between humans and the environment

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Demography (population) and disease

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Migration

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Patterns of Settlement

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Technology

Theme 2 - Culture

Development and interactions of cultures

• Religions • Belief systems, philosophies, ideologies • Science and technology • Arts and architecture

Theme 3 - Politics

State building, expansion, and conflict

• Forms of government • Empires • Nations and nationalism • Revolts and revolutions • Regional, transregional, and global structures and organizations

Theme 4 – Economics

Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems

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Agriculture and pastoral production

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Trade and commerce

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Labor systems

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Industrialization

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Capitalism and socialism

Theme 5 – Sociology

Development and transformations of social structures

• Gender roles and relations • Family and kinship • Racial and ethnic constructions • Social and economic classes

P.E.C.E.S

We’ll use term P.E.C.E.S. to remember the 5 themes •

P

olitics •

E

nvironment •

C

ulture •

E

conomics •

S

ociology

Important Info/Tips

• Use my website (have to go to Salk site) • Keep up with course work and do reading/assignments • Read slow, take notes • Don’t be absent and actively participate in class