What is World History AP? WHAP/Napp
Do Now: History – A Record of the Past?
“From earliest times, control over the historical records and their interpretation has been fundamental to control over people’s thoughts. The first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang (r. 221 – 207 B.C.E.), the man who built the concept of a united China that has lasted until today attempted to destroy all knowledge of the past:
He abolished the ways of ancient sage kings and put to the torch the writings of the Hundred Schools in an attempt to keep the people in ignorance. He demolished the walls of major cities and put to death men of fame and talent. (deBary, I: 229)
So wrote Jia Yi (201-168 B.C.E.), poet and statesman of the succeeding Han dynasty. Shihuang wished that only his interpretation of China’s past, and his place in it, be preserved. Later intellectuals condemned his actions – but the lost records were irretrievable.
…Interpretations of events may become highly contested and revised even after several centuries have passed. Colonial governments seeking to control subject peoples sometimes argued that the conquered people were so backward that they benefited from the conquest. Later historians, with more distance and more detachment, were often less kind to the colonizers. Some 1900 years ago the historian Tacitus was writing bitterly of the ancient Romans in their conquest of England: ‘Robbery, butchery, rapine, the liars call Empire; they create a desolation and call it peace.’ (Agricola, 30)
In our own era, the many nations that have won their freedom from colonialism echo similar resentments against their foreign rulers and set out to revise the historical record in keeping with their newly won political freedom. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India (1947-64), wrote in 1944 from the prison cell in which he had been imprisoned for his leadership of his country’s independence movement:
British accounts of India’s history, more especially of what is called the British period, are bitterly resented. History is almost always written by the victors and conquerors and gives their viewpoint; or, at any rate, the victor’s version is given prominence and holds the field. (Nehru, p. 289)
…So, historical records are not simply lists of events. They are the means by which individuals and groups develop their interpretations of these events. All people develop their own interpretations of past events; historians do it professionally. Because interpretations differ, there is no single historical record, but various narrations of events, each told from a different perspective. Therefore the study of history is intimately linked to the study of values.” ~ The World’s History, Spodek
Questions:
1- According to the author, why has control over the historical record been valued by rulers? ______
2- Who was Qin Shihuang and what concept did he build? ______
3- How did Qin Shihuang attempt to alter the historical record? ______
4- According to Jia Yi, what did Qin Shihuang want with regard to the historical record? ______
5- What impact did Qin Shihuang have on China’s historical record (think of an impact of Qin Shihuang’s actions on future historians)? ______
6- What did colonial rulers argue about their conquests in order to control their subjects? ______
7- How did Tacitus describe Roman conquest of Britain? ______
8- Who was Jawaharlal Nehru and what did he conclude about history? ______
9- What does the author of the reading conclude about the historical record? ______
The Structure of the Advanced Placement Examination in World History:
70 Multiple-Choice Questions in 55 Minutes
Free Response: Document-Based Question
Free Response: Continuity & Change over Time Question (CCOT)
Free Response: Comparative Question
Previous Knowledge: Sample Questions from the College Board:
1. Which of the following occurred as a result of the development of agriculture in societies that previously relied on hunting and gathering?(A) Conditions for women improved.
(B) The incidence of disease declined.
(C) Population density increased.
(D) Degradation of the environment lessened.
2. Which of the following was an important reason for the fall of the Roman, Han, and Gupta empires?
(A) A long period of drought that destroyed crops and livestock
(B) The use of slaves in their armies
(C) Intensified invasions and security issues along their frontiers
(D) A refusal to tolerate Christianity / 3. The spread of Bantu-speaking peoples over southern Africa before 1400 C.E. can be best explained by their
(A) conversion to Islam
(B) use of cavalry
(C) centralized political systems
(D) knowledge of agriculture
4. Before 500 C.E. Judaism and Hinduism were similar in that both
(A) had written scriptures and an ethical code to live by
(B) spread widely around the Mediterranean
(C) promoted teachings about reincarnation
(D) advocated a monastic life and a rejection of the world
Point of View Analysis: Who Said It and Why It Matters?
“A position or perspective from which something is considered or evaluated”
~Merriam-Webster
Document from the College Board:
Questions:
1- Who is speaking in the document? ______
2- What does the speaker conclude about the Communists? ______
3- Provide three examples from the document to support the speaker’s conclusion: ______
4- What can the reader infer about the grandfather’s view regarding the Communist? ______
5- Why can the reader infer this about the grandfather’s view? ______
6- Therefore, what is the point of view of the teenager? ______
7- What is the point of view of the grandfather? ______
8- Why do you think the teenager’s point of view differs from the grandfather’s point of view? ______
9- Define a primary source. ______
10- Why must historians consider point of view when working with primary sources? ______
Change and Continuity:
Change:
To make different in some particular
~ Merriam-Webster
Continuity:
The quality of something that does not stop or change as time passes
~ Merriam-Webster
Reflection: Even in the midst of change, some things remain the same.
Timeline: Django Reinhardt: Jazz Guitarist
1910 1928 1946 1953
Born Lost two fingers Played Guitar Died in France
In Belgium, In Caravan fire With Duke
Learned to play Ellington
Guitar in USA
At early age
Questions:
1- Identify one change that occurred during Django Reinhardt’s lifetime. ______
2- Identify one continuity that occurred during Django Reinhardt’s lifetime. ______
3- Write a thesis statement citing one specific change and one specific continuity in Django Reinhardt’s life from 1910 to 1953. ______
From the College Board:
“Capturing an actual continuity and change-over-time question involves two steps…The first step is essentially comparative, though in this case ‘over time’ rather than ‘across space.’ If a question asks what changed between 1000 and 1750 concerning a particular phenomenon, then the answer must directly convey what the relevant status quo was at the first date and how it had changed or not changed 750 years later. Too often, responses on change over time fail to establish a clear baseline: they persuasively argue that change occurred, but they never quite establish ‘change from what.’
The second phase of analysis asks students to get involved with the process of change; the intervening developments that add real flesh to what otherwise will seem too cut and dried. Process involves, among other things, identifying the major relevant developments that occur between baseline and endpoint. Change relatively rarely proceeds smoothly; there are interruptions, even back eddies.”
What are the two steps for a change over time analysis? ______