European History / AP European History 1

Deepen your knowledge and understanding of European history on a journey through time. You will learn about the major events, people, and ideas that have shaped European history, and you will gain a deeper understanding of the forces that continue to shape our world today.  Explore primary documents and engage in historical study as a historian. 

This course is a rhetorical level course intended to introduce the student to the major themes and moments in the first half of modern European history from 1450.  This course will involve both writing and reading.  We will be reading a full-range of primary documents from each time period and geographical area we study.  You will be learning how to read, think about, analyze, argue with, and present ideas about history and to connect events to the larger trends and themes in European history.

This course can coordinate with my British Literature courses if desired.  This class is taught at a standard level, however, I am able to offer additional work as well as AP designation on your transcript if you would like your student to take this class at an AP level as I am an AP authorized teacher and official online provider for the College Board--please contact me about this option. This course has gone through the AP course audit and is officially APPROVED as an AP course by the College Board. I am able to share my authorization letter to include with your transcript, and we are listed on the AP ledger. The instructor is an AP approved grader and authorized teacher. 

As a self paced version of my European History 1 course, this course will offer no live class meetings.  Instead, your student will have access to 1-2 class recordings weekly to watch, as well as additional written and visual documents to augment the recording.  The student will also have various quizzes and interactive assignments to check their understanding of the video content, creating a workshop feel during the 15 weeks.  Also each week, students will have an opportunity to complete their own longer writing assignments related to the class content and to receive individualized teacher feedback. 

This class is a discussion-based, interactive format.  Each week you will be responsible for reading background material and assigned primary documents.  You will be expected to write a reading response for each of your readings.  These reading responses should be 1-2 pages on the background material for each time period in history and the important elements of the work.  You should be building a timeline of major events in world history across geographical boundaries.  In class, we will spend much time discussing our reading, putting themes in their historical context and asking questions about the author’s and our own worldviews.  You will also be assigned brief presentations.  These presentations will involve researching the biographical information for significant figures and key information for major moments we will study in class. 

What to expect from this course:
-Strengthening your skills of primary text analysis
-Improve critical thinking skills through oral and written discussion
-Develop an understanding of the major moments and themes of European history
-Explore political, economic, social, and military changes that shaped the modern world