1. How will we study
AP World History?

2. History is the lie commonly agreed upon.
Voltaire

3. How do we know the “truth”?

4. History is the study of the human past
History is the study of the human past. Based on careful analysis of surviving texts (primary and secondary documents) and artifacts (objects made by humans), the historian attempts to reconstruct past events and processes which have created the current world.
Historiography
It is the principles, theory, and history of historical writing.

5. But every historian views the world through a cultural lens.
Historians, through careful analysis, attempt to reconstruct the past.
But every historian views the world through a cultural lens.

6. The philosopher, Immanuel Kant ( ), stated that individuals could never see things objectively as “things-in-themselves” because individuals always understood the world through a culturally formed point of view.

7. What is culture and how does it relate to the study of
AP World History?
Culture ( working definition):
It is a particular society at a particular time
and place AND all the knowledge and values
shared by that society.
Culture is learned.
It is the framework through which individuals
view their world.

8. By studying civilizations and societies, particularly paying attention to cases where societies have come into contact with others, world historians focus on the world as a whole and how diverse societies fit into that whole.

9. World Historians try to move beyond the narrow
confines of one perspective.

10. Questions to consider:
Therefore, an element of historical writing is interpretative.
Questions to consider:
Whose perspective is voiced?
Whose perspective is ignored?
What sources are chosen?
What elements are emphasized
(political, social, economic)?

11. Even so…
How are we, as a class, going to approach the daunting and challenging task of studying 12,000 years of human history?

12. I mean… how does a learner remain calm and
balanced in the midst of so much content?

13. We can do this!!!
We will divide the history of the world through a process known as PERIODIZATION!

14. What is periodization? Definition: Periodization
This is a way to subdivide the continuous flow of
world history into categories of time and common
themes.
Periodization allows students of world history to
create a framework for understanding the past as
well as the flow and sequence of events.

15. AP World History

16. A note about historical dating:
World historians use BCE and CE as opposed
to BC and AD.
BC (Before Christ) and AD (anno Domini or
“in the year of the Lord”) are Christian
terms.
BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common
Era) are terms that remind students of
the global context and many diverse cultures
of the World History curriculum.

17. Problems can occur…
All systems of periodization are more or less arbitrary.
Labels assigned to time periods are continually challenged and redefined.

18. Our study of history is also divided thematically!
And another thing…
Our study of history is also divided thematically!

19. Themes of History Development and transformation of social structures
Gender roles and relations
Family and kinship
Racial and ethnic constructions
Social and economic classes

20. Politics: state-building, expansion, and conflict
Themes of History
Politics: 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

21. Interaction between humans and the environment
Themes of History
Interaction between humans and the environment
Demography and disease
Migration
Patterns of settlement
Technology

22. Themes of History Development and interaction of cultures Religions
Belief systems, philosophies, and ideologies
Science and technology
The arts and architecture

23. Themes of History
Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems
Agricultural and pastoral production
Trade and commerce
Labor systems
Industrialization

24. But never forget… The Underlying Principles of World History
History is interconnected.
Current events have historical roots.
To understand the present, the past MUST be examined.

25. Let our journey begin!