Week of December 11th

Tuesday, Dec. 13

• Read: Merriman 245-262
• Lecture: Absolutism in France
• Homework: id the following terms:
• The Fronde
• Cardinal Mazarin
• Parlement of Paris
• Jansenism

Thursday, Dec. 15

• Read: Merriman 268-283
• Lecture: Russian Absolutism
• In-class: Holiday celebration
• Homework: term ids
• Muscovy
• Ivan IV (the Terrible)
• boyars
• Peter the Great

Week of December 4th

Monday, Dec. 5

• Read: Merriman 231-241
• Lecture: Dutch Republic
• Due: three-part summary
1. identify the following terms
• stadholder
• Rembrandt
• House of Orange
2. create a chart that records the main characteristics of Dutch politics, economy and culture
3. write a two-paragraph response that a) explains how those characteristics led to a golden age, and b) how Dutch prosperity came to an end

Wednesday, Dec. 7

• Read: Locke & Hobbes handouts
• Discussion: Theories of Absolutism
• Homework: complete review sheet
• Workshop: exam review

Friday, Dec. 9

• EXAM 3

Week of November 27th

Tuesday

• Reading: none
• Lecture: Tudor England
• Workshop:
• debrief FRQ essays
• FRQ scoring exercise

Thursday

• Reading: Merriman 214-226; James I
• Lecture: English Civil War
• Due: Timeline
• Map the following term ids onto a timeline of the English Civil War
• Rump Parliament
• Levellers
• Roundheads
• New Model Army
• Grand Remonstrance
• John Pym

Week of November 13

Monday

• Read: Merriman 145-161
• Lecture: Thirty Years' War
• Homework: FRQ outline
• collect information from your reading and organize into an outline
• this will help you write the essay due Wednesday
• you do not have to hand it in

Wednesday

• Read: Merriman 165-178
• Lecture: Atlantic Economy & Spain's Ascent
• Due: FRQ essay
Analyze various ways in which the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) represented a
turning point in European history.

Friday

• Read: Merriman 179-198
• Lecture: Rise of Tudor England
• Due: Comparative chart
• compare England & Spain in the 16th century - use the consolidations of state power and economic expansion as analytic categories.

Week of November 6

Whew!! We made it through the first marking period. In several ways the transition from the Protestant Reformation to the Age of Religious Wars is pretty seamless. This week we will begin by filling in some gaps in the Reformation (namely events in France and Switzerland) and then talking about religious conflict in France, before moving on to the 30 Years' War next week.

Monday

• Read: Merriman 103-111, 126-129
• Lecture: Reformation in France, Switzerland; Intro to Religious Wars Period
• Due: none

Wednesday

• Read: Merriman 129-145
• Lecture: Religious Conflict in France
• Due: 3-part summary
1. identify 5 religious reformers from the Reformation period
2. compare them in a chart with 3 analytic categories
• personal lives
• doctrine
• political role
3. write a one-paragraph analysis of the transition from reform to religious warfare in France

Week of October 30th

We will take our second quarterly exam on Wednesday of this week. You will have a chance to ask questions about any items you are unsure of during our review session on Monday, but we will also have other things to accomplish during that block. Please complete your review sheet as best you can and bring it to class. This will make the review session run much more smoothly, and I will check your review in class for a homework credit.

Monday

• Read: Merriman 118-123; Erasmus & Luther handout
• In-class: 
• student-led culture mini-lectures
• Erasmus & Luther discussion
• Exam review
• Due: completed exam review sheet

Wednesday

• Exam 2

Week of October 23rd

We've been making good progress through the Renaissance and Reformation periods. This week we will conclude our reading and lecture material on this unit, and get ready for an exam.

Tuesday

• Read: Merriman 98-103, 111-117
• Homework: detailed outline of DBQ essay
• In-class: reading quiz

Thursday

• Read: Merriman 121-122, 124-125; handouts
• Due: DBQ essay

*our next regular exam will be held November 2nd*

Week of October 16th

Good job on the exams last week. I am pleased that you are all working hard and am reassured that everybody has what it takes to be successful in course. I think a few of you will need to adjust your efforts to my expectations, but I think the exam identified for you where and how that needs to take place. If you have questions or concerns about this please speak to me this week. For those of you who will submit exam corrections, let's get those in by Friday at the latest.

This week's topics are outlined below. Note that you only have one 3-part summary due this week, but that it covers Monday's & Wednesday's reading. Please plan accordingly. Also, looking ahead, I will assign our next AP essay this week. Let's discuss in class if you would prefer to tackle another DBQ or switch it up with an FRQ.

Monday

• Topic: Renaissance art
• Read: Merriman 62-72

Wednesday

• Topic: Decline of Italian Ren. & Northern Ren.
• Read: Merriman 73-85
• Due: 3-part summary
1. create a comparative chart for the Italian & Northern Renaissances
2. identify the following: 
• Filippo Brunelleschi
• 3 paintings that illustrate important principles of the Renaissance
• 1453
• Niccolo Machiavelli
• Pope Leo X
• Albrecht Durer
• Desiderius Erasmus
3. In what ways does the Northern Renaissance represent a bridge between the Italian Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation?

Friday

• Topic: Intro to Protestant Reformation
• Read: Merriman 85-98
• Due: exam corrections

Week of October 9th

We are completing our introductory unit on post-WWII Europe this week with an exam on Tuesday. Please be sure to plan out your essays in as much detail as possible. Based on our review session last week I am confident that you are well-prepared for this exercise.

Looking ahead, now is the point in the course where we return to a more traditional chronological approach. Our next unit will include the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation. This will involve shifting gears a bit, but I am very pleased with our progress thus far, and think you have all demonstrated the skills needed to be successful in the class. I'm excited to go back into the deeper recesses of Europe's past and show you (for example) how a 21st-century controversy over secularism is rooted in the violence associated with the Reformation period.

Tuesday

• In-class: exam

Thursday

• Reading: Merriman, 44-62
• Due: 3-part summary (see below)

3-part Summary:

1. create a 3-column chart that illustrates the economic, social and political structures common to the Italian city-states
2. write term ids for the following:
• merchant capitalism
• populo grasso, mediocri, minuto
• Medici
• Sforza
• Scholasticism
• Humanism
3. 1-paragraph response to reading question: Describe how the economic, political and social environment of the Italian city-states led to the rediscovery of classical knowledge?

Week of October 2nd

We'll be concluding our introductory unit on twentieth-century European history this week. We have discussed a number of very complex issues that are deeply rooted in several centuries of European history that we have not yet worked our way through. Good job with that! I'm looking forward to going back to the Renaissance next week and then working our way to the present in a linear fashion.

Tuesday, Oct.4

• Read: Merriman 1160-1175
• Lecture: Decolonization
• Due: 3-part summary
1. timeline/outline of major developments discussed in reading
2. brief biographical sketch of 4 important figures from the period
3. reading question: Give three primary reasons that European powers lost control of their colonial holdings in the decades following WWII.

Thursday, Oct.6

• Read: none
• Homework: review sheet
• In class: exam review

**Looking Ahead**

Tuesday, Oct.11

• In class: Exam 1

Week of September 25

Cold War Week!!

I read your 3-part summaries over the weekend and was pretty pleased with how they turned out. I think these will be an excellent way to help you build a body of knowledge for your AP review in the spring. Let's do another one for this week's reading on the Cold War. Please turn it in as one assignment on Friday, but make it cover both days' reading. This time the three parts should include:

1. Separate timelines for the Fall of Soviet Union and Cold War periods (be sure to emphasize major trends rather than details)
2. Examples of leaders from each major period in Soviet history (do 7 total - at least 3 should be from outside Soviet Union - be sure to make explicit the trends they represent)
3. In one substantial paragraph, answer the following questions: How were the seeds of the Soviet Union's decline sown during the height of the Cold War? To what extent did it result from poor leadership within Soviet Russia, and to what extent were challenges from other nationalities to blame?

Tuesday Sept. 27

• 1188-1196; 1213-1218

Friday Sept 30

• 1147-1160

**Please remember that we will be hosting several guests on Friday to discuss the headscarf controversy. Bring your book to class on Tuesday so we can review some key points and I will ask you to prepare some questions ahead of time to bring on Friday. You will submit them for a homework grade.

Week of Sept. 18

We will only meet one time this week due to the senior class trip Wednesday through Friday. On Monday I will hand out our first DBQ exercise, we will discuss strategy as a class, and you will then submit it the following Tuesday.

Monday Sept. 19

• Read: Merriman 1176-1186
• DUE: 3-part summary, see below

Three-part summary

1. create a simple timeline of the political trends that swept Western and Southern Europe from 1968 to present (separate timelines for each region)
2. choose the one political leader for each of the following countries that you think is most important, and briefly state how they fit into the trends outlined above: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain & Portugal
3. briefly compare the two regions, noting at least one similarity and one difference

Week 1 - Welcome & Introduction

Welcome to Modern European History. In the first week of school we will introduce the course and discuss its various elements, one of which is this blog. Please know that homework and reading assignments are posted here weekly. For this week they are:

• Thursday Sept. 15th
• Read: Merriman, 1219-1226
• DUE: Summer reading assignment

See you soon...

End of Year for Seniors

Congratulations on completing your high school career!! I also wanted to take a moment to thank you for a great year in Modern European History. It has been great to work with you all as a class and get to know you as individuals. I know that you are all destined for great things, and I wish you the best in all your future endeavors.

Two-Week Review

The AP exam in European History will take place on May 6th, at 12:15 pm in the basement of the Pebble Hill Church. Until test day, our efforts in class will focus on preparing for the exam through practice tests, broad thematic review and test-taking strategies. The following is an outline of the coming two weeks:

Tuesday, April 26

• in class - practice Multiple Choice

Thursday, April 28

• in class - practice DBQ
• due -  corrections of MC section
• for each of the questions you got wrong, please write one sentence describing why the "correct" answer is the "best" answer

Monday, May 2

• in class - practice FRQs
• due - scored practice DBQ (including written explanation of score)
• Please type up a lengthy paragraph that explains the score you gave on each of the criteria. Please be fairly hard on yourself. You won't benefit by convincing yourself the work is better than it is.
• due - Key Terms flashcards (distributed April 26)
• OK - so I hit you with a lot of terms to review. I wanted to give you as much material as I could. Why don't you select 30-40 of the terms, events, people that you think will be the most useful for you to review before the test (ie. the ones you don't know already). Do the best you can...

Wednesday, May 4

• in class - final review discussion (and pep talk)
• due scored practice FRQs (including written explanation of score)

Week of April 10th

Plan for the week:

Tuesday

• Read Merriman 1160-1175 (and be sure to complete Friday's reading if you have not already done so)
• Lecture on end of WWII and its legacy

Thursday

• Last regular exam of the year, covering Russian Revolution, Inter-war years, WWII

** That concludes the new material for the course. After Spring Break we will conduct 2 weeks of review prior to the AP exam. Enjoy your break!!

Week of April 3rd

Plan for the week:

Monday

• Lecture - Interwar Period (Depression & Fascism)
• Reading - Merriman 993-1014
• Assign - Alsace-Lorraine DBQ

Wednesday

• Lecture - Nazi Germany
• Reading - Merriman 1020-1035

Friday

• Lecture - WWII
• Reading - Merriman 1049-1065
• Due - Alsace-Lorraine DBQ

Notes

• We will be moving quickly through material in class this week and next so that we can reserve the two weeks after Spring Break for AP exam review. It will be very important to stay on top of things.
• I have assigned only the most essential pages from these chapters. I will fill in the lectures with material from other parts of the chapters. It might be a good idea to review those supplementary pages after class, to help enhance your mastery of the subjects. 
• Our next exam will be held on Thursday April 14th and it will cover the Russian Revolution, Interwar Period and WWII.

Week of March 27th

Here is an outline of this week's activities:

Tuesday, March 29th

• Russian Revolution lecture
• introduce Depression, Rise of Fascism

Thursday, March 31st

• Read Merriman, 945-954 (927-945 optional)
• Read Mitchell, 163-180
• Depression, Rise of Fascism lecture
• Discuss/Debate Mitchell

Week of March 21st

Please finish reading chapter 22 in Merriman (pp. 914-926) and begin preparing for our exam on Friday. We will have a quiz in class on Wednesday.

Reading and homework for Monday, March 21st

Please read Merriman 888-914 and Mitchell & Mitchell 124-144. Choose a side and write a 2 page argumentative essay in response to the following question: "Were German militarism and diplomacy responsible for WWI?" You should be able to summarize both sides of the issue and be prepared to argue either side during an in-class debate on Monday.

Also...I'm really looking forward to our field trip to Bird Library on Thursday. Please be sure to bring permission slips if you have not already done so. We'll meet in the lobby at 1:05. See you then.

Reading for Tuesday, March 15

Please read Merriman 863-888. Either take notes or create an outline of the chapter (just 1 or 2 pages) so that you can keep track of the rivalries and alliances, and the events that establish them prior to WWI. You will be able to use this on the quiz next class.

Reading for Monday, March 7th

Please read Merriman 842-859.

Reading & Homework for Thursday, March 3rd

Please read Merriman 819-842 and complete the DBQ preparation assignment.

Winter Break

On Friday before winter carnival we discussed the importance of solitude for deep and original thinking. Please find one hour over the break to sit quietly by yourself or with one other person and take some time to think for yourself. Keep a pen and paper handy to jot down the thoughts that come. Think and write about whatever you want, it's your time. Relax and enjoy.

Week of February 13th

For Monday, please read Merriman 660-673. We will discuss the unification of Germany in class, and discuss the essays for Wednesday's exam.

Reading for Thursday, Feb. 10

Please read Merriman 649-660.

Homework for Tuesday, Feb. 8

Please read Merriman 628-643 and complete the FRQ essay for class on Tuesday. Remember, it should be typed in the standard format (double-spaced, 12 pt font, 1" margins) and must be submitted at the beginning of class. Late work will be assigned a point reduction.

Homework for Wednesday, Feb. 2nd

For Wednesday, read Merriman 613-628. Prepare an outline for an FRQ response to the following prompt:

In February 1848, the middle classes and workers in France joined to overthrow the government of Louis Philippe. By June the two groups were at odds in their political, economic, and social thinking. Analyze what transpired to divide groups and describe the consequences for French politics.

We will discuss this topic in class on Wednesday and you will submit the finished essay in class on Friday.

Reading for Monday, Jan. 31

Please read Merriman 585-598 and 605-612.

Homework for Thursday, Jan. 27

Please read the article on Liberalism and the sample FRQ essay packet distributed in class. Make brief outlines for each of the three essays identifying the main points and organizational structure of the essays.

Week of January 16th

Reading for Wednesday is Merriman, 742-758. You must bring a list of the identification terms that you chose to class on Wednesday. You don't have to submit complete ids, but you do need to identify the categories each term corresponds to. On Friday we will have our last quarterly exam.

Reading and Prep for Friday, January 14th

Please read Merriman, 382-85, 544-47, 563-68 and the remaining documents in the packet (3,6,7). Also, be sure to spend some time planning out the essay we will write in class on Friday. You need to bring a detailed outline to class. You will be able to use it to write the essay and must turn it in with the essay for 20% of the grade. If anyone would like to have me look over their outline before Friday, I will be available on Thursday during tutorial, 3rd & 4th blocks, and after school. See you then...

Reading and homework for Wednesday, Jan. 12th

Please read Merriman 547-563 and document 5 by Marx & Engels. Refer to the essay prompt distributed in class and begin to prepare your outline for Friday's in-class essay. We will discuss the readings and workshop your outlines in our next class meeting.

Reading for Monday, January 10th

Readings for Monday are Merriman, 532-544 and documents 1 & 2 in the packet (by J.S. Mill).

Reading for Thursday, Jan. 6th

Please read Merriman 524-532 and the background section and docs 4, 8, & 9 from the packet on Mill & Marx. We will create a list of ids from these readings in class on Thursday. Also, if you did not read Merriman 360-375 & 512-523 please get caught up asap.