AP European History Summer Reading 2011
Mr. Savage
[email protected]
818-933-3663
Greetings. I look forward to our study of history together next year. This will be an
endeavor worth the work and preparation over this summer vacation.
There are four components to your summer reading: you need not do these in the
order that they appear here:
I. Read The Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
II. Read What Is History by Edward Hallett Carr
III. Visit the Getty Hilltop (the one off the 405) for their exhibit Paris – Life and
Luxury which is running until August 7, 2011.
IV. Read the textbook: “Introduction – The West Before 1300”, Chapter 9 – “The
Late Middle Ages” and Chapter 10 – “Renaissance and Discovery”
V. Map Review – found in the assignment packet.
Key to Summer Reading: Be an active reader.
An active reader anticipates, makes connections, and draws conclusions while reading a text—
avoiding the dreaded situation where you reach the end of a chapter or page and think “what did I
just read?” This summer is the time for you to train to be an active reader. You will be reading
college-level material and it will not easy. If you cannot handle the textbook over the summer, it
will be incredibly difficult to handle it when you have six other classes to worry about. Therefore,
spend the time this summer to work slowly and develop habits so that you can master the
difficult language and ideas presented in these books.
Remember, as you read these texts, you are reading to learn. You are NOT just reading to get
through this and answer some questions. You should be able to explain what you have read once
you get to the bottom of each page or the end of each chapter.
To make sure you are being an attentive, active reader, you should be asking yourself these
questions while reading:
• Do I know anything about this event, idea, or person? (Have I ever heard of this?)
• How does this connect to other topics that precede it?
• Why is this important? (Why is it included?) How does this affect other things in history?
• After reading about an event, idea, or person: What do I need to remember?
As you are reading, I encourage you to take notes in the margins of your texts that summarize
the main ideas or draw attention to a topic of interest.
Here are some other possible techniques you might consider to ensure you comprehend the text:
• Use a highlighter or a pen to underline major terms or sentences (avoid overhighlighting)
• Write a sentence after each paragraph or page summarizing main idea
• Write a question after each paragraph that you can use to quiz yourself after you are done
reading the section
•
•
•
•
Pay attention to the subject headings and bold terms—
Have a dictionary handy to look up any tough vocabulary words
Struggling to understand something? Look it up on the internet—it might be explained
differently or have visuals that may help you understand
Summarize a section aloud after you have read it—if you can’t explain it in your own
words, then you don’t really comprehend what the section is about
Assignment I – The Praise of Folly
ISBN 9780300023732
This book is a classic of Renaissance literature and Christian humanism. Christian
humanism was a school of thought during the Renaissance that believed the best
development of the individual toward God was through education in the classics and
Christian education.
Erasmus wrote The Praise of Folly at an important time in European history: the height
of the Inquisition and the beginning of the end of the scholastic movement in Catholic
theology. Interestingly, he was not called in for questioning by the Inquisition nor
censored by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
Assignment: Write a letter/correspondence to Erasmus in the person of Sir Thomas
More (you might want to research a little in More’s background). In your letter
address what you consider to be Erasmus’ strengths and weaknesses of argument,
but especially try to match his wit and humor which was a prized trait in the
Renaissance. If you were More would you be pleased with such a work dedicated to
you, and if so what type of person must More have been? Be creative and try to get
into the spirit of their times – life was good then but still had some ways to go and
problems to overcome. Your letter need not be exhaustive - two pages, double
spaced typed, will be sufficient. This will be handed in at the beginning of the
semester.
Assignment II – What Is History?
ISBN 039470391X
Carr’s book is a collection of lectures he delivered at Cambridge between January and
March 1961. When you consider what was happening in the world in 1961 you can
appreciate Carr’s question, “What is history?” The year 1961 saw
 the Vatican II Council in the Catholic Church underway, a major change in an
institution that hadn’t changed since the Council of Trent in the 16th century
 the Cold War in full swing as the Cuban Missile Crisis loomed on the horizon and
Communism made in-roads into Southeast Asia.
 the beginning of the stories told by Holocaust survivors who had not told of their
experiences beforehand. In 1961 Adolf Eichmann went on trial in Israel after
being hunted down and captured in Argentina – part of his trial was the testimony
of survivors of Auschwitz who had not related those events to any before, not
even their families.
So you can understand why Carr’s question was appropriate then and is important for us
today: 2011/2012 will mark the ten year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attack,
the re-election process of the first black president in American history, the democracy
movements in North Africa and the Middle East, the increased strength of the Asian
economic market, and the digitizing of whole library collections from major universities
in the world.
Assignment: Create a graphic organizer of What Is History? by focusing on what
you take to be Carr’s main point and his support for it in each chapter/lecture. The
organizer can be created in such a way that it can be easily referenced by you
during the school year as we consider Carr’s theories in light of the periods we
study. Each graphic organizer should take up about half of a page in a binder or
notebook. This will not be handed in.
Assignment III – Getty exhibit Paris – Life and Luxury
The Getty is one of my favorite places for an evening with friends. I often go to see my
favorite painting by Goya, La Marquesa de Santiago, or the Impressionist/Expressionist
rooms to see the works of Monet and Degas. If you go on Saturday evening after 5PM
parking is free – the restaurants are of fantastic quality and the picnic grounds are
beautiful for a light sandwich or salad.
The exhibit focuses on the rise of luxury home goods in Paris from the 18th century. One
thing you will notice is the tendency to include household items in painted portraits of
individuals – these were usually included to give clues as to the occupation of the person.
Assignment: Create a guide to the exhibit for hypothetical visitors to the Getty with
limited time and only a rudimentary exposure to French history. The guide should
be such that they could rush in to the museum, pick it up from you, follow your
directions, and come out with a better grasp of their time and life. Therefore, you
will not detail every single object because your hypothetical guests only have a short
time – instead tell them what to see in a short time and why. This will be handed in
at the beginning of the semester.
Assignment IV – the textbook reading
Kagan, Donald, Steven Ozment and Frank Turner. The Western Heritage: Since 1300 AP Edition
(Ninth Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2007.
Assignment: Read and take notes on the Introduction, Chapter 9, and part of Chapter 10.
Note on taking notes:
• Use subject headings as a guide to what you are reading
• Add to your notes the main ideas in each of these sections, as well as historical examples
that back up this main idea. Example:
o Main idea: “Little medical knowledge made people resort to strange remedies for
the plague.”
o Historical example: “ex. Boccaccio’s Decameron describe people turning to
temperance or sexual promiscuity, ex. Flagellants—beat themselves for peasants”
I.
Introduction: "The West Before 1300"
It is optional to read the first part of this introductory section of the book. This is a
quick overview of antiquity and therefore should cover material with which you
should already be familiar (Hebrews, Greeks, Romans).
Required:
Read pages xlii-xlvi, examining the Greek polis, Sparta, Athens, and Greek political
philosophy.
Read pages lvii-lxxvii, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" and "Europe Enters
the Middle Ages." Take notes on the following terms
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Byzantine Empire
Charlemagne
Feudal society (including 'vassalage' and 'fief')
Manorialism ('manors')
Serfdom
Division of Christendom: West and East
Towns: burghers (bourgeois)
Crusades
"Emerging Contours of Europe"
(continued)
II. Chapter 9: "The Late Middle Ages"
This chapter focuses on three major “crises” in the Late Middle Ages: the Black
Death, the Hundred Years War, and the Schism in the Church. The following is a
rough outline that you should follow when taking notes on the section:
a. Black Death:
i. Causes
ii. Remedies
iii. Consequences:
1. Farms
2. Peasants
3. Cities
4. Long-term effects (“new conflicts and opportunities”)
b. The Hundred Years’ War
i. Causes
ii. Progress:
1. English victories
2. Joan of Arc and the War’s Conclusion
iii. Consequences
c. Ecclesiastical Breakdown—for this section, write a short-answer question that
encapsulates the central meaning of the section (this should not be a “yes” or
“no” question but should require a multi-sentence of multi-paragraph answer).
Then, take notes beneath this question in a manner that provides evidence to
answer the question
i. The Thirteenth-Century Papacy
ii. Boniface VIII and Philip the Fair
iii. The Avignon Papcy
iv. John Wycliff and John Huss
v. The Great Schism (1378-1417) and the Conciliar Movement to 1449
d. Medieval Russia: take brief notes on this section
III. Chapter 10: "Renaissance and Discovery"
Read the first part of this chapter, "The Renaissance in Italy," pp. 316-331.
Take notes on this section as well, using subject headings as a guide, and
continuing to find the main idea of the sections as well as historical examples
that back up the main ideas.
Assignment V – Map Review
Examine a map of Europe (see attached or find one online). You will have a map quiz on the first
day of class. Be able to locate on the map the following terms:
V. Map
Countries & Major Cities:
Portugal
Lisbon
Spain
Madrid*
Barcelona
France
Paris*
Vichy
Avignon
Luxembourg
Belgium
Brussels
Netherlands
The Hague
Amsterdam
Rotterdam
United Kingdom:
England
London*
Manchester
Scotland
Edinburgh
Wales
Northern Ireland
Belfast
Countries & Major Cities:
Czech Republic (formerly
Bohemia)
Prague
Slovakia
Poland
Warsaw
Krakow
Gdansk
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia
Hungary
Budapest
Croatia
Zagreb
Serbia
Belgrade
Montenegro
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Sarajevo
Albania
Republic of Macedonia
Greece
Athens
Turkey
Bodies of Water:
Baltic Sea
North Sea
English Channel
Bay of Biscay
Strait of Gibraltar
Mediterranean Sea
Aegean Sea
Dardanelles & Bosphorus Straits
Black Sea
Caspian Sea
Adriatic Sea
Ionian Sea
Rivers:
Elbe
Tiber
Danube
Seine
Mountains:
Pyranees
Alps
Caucasus
Carpathians
Urals
Thames
Oder
Volga
Rhine
Ireland
Dublin
Germany
Frankfurt
Berlin*
Munich
Dresden
Bonn
Nuremburg
Austria
Vienna*
Switzerland
Zurich
Geneva
Bern
Italy
Rome*
Venice
Florence
Naples
Milan
Turin
Slovenia
Istanbul (Constantinople)
Balkans
Sofia
Islands:
Crete
Sicily
Sardinia
Corsica
Bulgaria
Romania
Bucharest
Moldova
Ukraine
Kiev
Belarus
Russian Federation
Kaliningrad
Moscow*
St.
Petersburg/Leningrad*
Volgograd (Stalingrad)
Finland
Helsinki
Sweden
Stockholm
Norway
Oslo
Denmark
Copenhagen
*denotes major political capital
*denotes major political capital
Can you identify all the countries on this map of Europe?
MODERN EUROPE MAP (BLANK)
Areas in Holy Roman
Empire:**
Silesia
Moravia
Palatinate
Saxony
Brandenburg
Bavaria
Westphalia-Ruhr
Alsace-Lorraine
**see map on p. lxxiii or p. 408
Other Areas:
Brittany Peninsula
Crimea
Iberian Peninsula
Balkans
Ruhr Valley
Map with most names and terms:
MODERN EUROPE MAP