Themes & Skills in AP World History “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” Chinese Proverb

What Historians “Do” Describe and interpret the past using primary source documents and artifacts Biases get in the way Let’s take Columbus for example… Historical revision – events do not change, but the way we look at them does Historians used to neglect artifacts from China; upon further study they reveal that a millennium ago China had the world’s most dynamic economy and sophisticated technology

Why study World History? Each nation, culture, civilization develops in the context of a wider world This has become even more so today Events in one hemisphere can affect life in another

Rethinking the Dating System All dating systems are based on the assumptions of a particular culture The dating system used throughout the Western world is based on the Gregorian Christian calendar, created by a 16th century pope, Gregory XIII It uses the birth of Jesus as the turning point (A.D. – anno domini, “in the year of our Lord”)

Rethinking the Dating System Recently historians have moved toward a more secular concept, the Common Era, since many influential, dynamic societies existed two millennia ago B.C.E. – Before Common Era C.E. – Common Era

Periodization Process of dividing time 100,000 – 600 BCE – Ancient 600 BCE – 600 CE – Classical 600 – 1500 – Intermediate 1450 – 1750 – Early Modern 1750 – 1945 – Modern 1945 – present - Contemporary

Official APWH Themes What happens when people come in contact with each other? (encounter / interaction) Why and in what ways do some things change while other things stay the same? How does the development of new technology and movement of people affect the world?

Official APWH Themes How do societies organize themselves socially and what roles do men and women play? How do people identify themselves and express themselves culturally and intellectually? What is the impact of ideas? How do people govern themselves?

APWH Habits of Mind general history methodologies Using evidence to make plausible arguments (primary documents) Using documents to analyze point of view Explaining why some things change and some things stay the same Understanding different points of view in documents and other evidence

So what should I expect? A challenge! You must read! Lots of document analysis Always think of encounter / interaction, change and continuity, & comparisons A TRUE global understanding