Historical Themes in World History | World History Project AP®

Summary

This video script delves into the significance of themes in storytelling and their application in the AP World History course. It explains how six overarching themes—Humans and the Environment, Culture, Political Authority, Economic Systems, Social Structures, and Technology and Innovation—help contextualize historical events, fostering a deeper understanding of world history. The script illustrates the interconnectivity of these themes with examples from various historical periods and cultures, emphasizing their utility in interpreting past events and preparing for the AP exam.

Takeaways

• 📚 Themes in storytelling provide a deeper meaning beyond the surface narrative, connecting various elements into a cohesive message.
• 🧙‍♂️ The example of Harry Potter illustrates that the series is not solely about magic but rather themes of friendship, good and evil, and coming of age.
• 🦸‍♂️ Similarly, the Marvel Cinematic Universe encompasses deeper themes such as tradition vs. change, authority, fatherhood, and sacrifice, beyond the action scenes.
• 🔍 Historians use themes to make sense of the past, creating narratives that reveal more about the world than isolated events.
• 🌏 The AP World History course is structured around six themes, which help in organizing historical events and understanding their significance.
• 🌱 'Humans and the Environment' theme explores how geography and climate influence societies and how humans have transformed their environment.
• 🎭 'Culture' theme discusses how shared ideas, beliefs, and traditions form societal ties and how cross-cultural exchanges create new practices.
• 🏛 'Political Systems' theme examines the origins of political authority, the methods states use to maintain power, and the dynamics of governance.
• 💰 'Economic Systems' theme delves into production, distribution, trade, and consumption, highlighting the role of labor and profit in economic structures.
• 🤝 'Social Interactions' theme investigates how societal structures define relationships and hierarchies and how these have evolved over time.
• 🛠️ 'Technology and Innovation' theme showcases how problem-solving and technological advancements impact society and build upon previous innovations.
• 🔑 The six themes are tools for interpreting past events, offering students a framework to analyze and understand historical narratives, which is crucial for the AP exam.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of themes in storytelling?

The primary purpose of themes in storytelling is to give stories meaning beyond the words, making them more meaningful to the audience by providing a broad idea that runs through the narrative.

How does the theme of 'Humans and the Environment' relate to cultural development?

The theme of 'Humans and the Environment' relates to cultural development by showing how natural resources, climate, and geography shape human culture and societies, as well as how humans have transformed their environment over time.

What is an example of how cultural exchange can lead to new cultural practices?

An example of cultural exchange leading to new cultural practices is the story of Mansa Musa, who brought Islamic culture back to Mali, inadvertently causing economic changes such as inflation in Egypt due to the large amount of gold he spent.

What is the significance of the Mongol Empire in the context of the 'Political Systems' theme?

The Mongol Empire is significant in the context of the 'Political Systems' theme because it demonstrates how political power was maintained and justified through unique means, such as the influence of women in forming alliances and deciding rulers.

How does the Aztec Empire's agricultural technology, Chinampas, illustrate the 'Economic Systems' theme?

The Chinampas of the Aztec Empire illustrate the 'Economic Systems' theme by showing how innovative agricultural practices contributed to food production, which in turn sustained the empire's economy and supported a large population.

What role do social interactions play in the 'Social Organization' theme?

Social interactions play a crucial role in the 'Social Organization' theme by influencing political, social, and cultural dynamics within societies, and by shaping how communities organize themselves over time.

How are technological innovations connected to the 'Technology and Innovation' theme?

Technological innovations are connected to the 'Technology and Innovation' theme as they impact all levels of society and often result from interactions and exchanges among societies, building upon earlier innovations.

Why are the six themes important for students preparing for the AP World History exam?

The six themes are important for students preparing for the AP World History exam because they help organize and make sense of historical events, allowing for easier comparison and connection between different time periods and regions, and many exam questions reference these themes.

How can the Three Close Reads Tool assist students in analyzing historical texts?

The Three Close Reads Tool can assist students by helping them take notes and identify which pieces of evidence relate to the different themes, thus enhancing their understanding of historical narratives and preparing them for the AP exam.

What is the significance of the Aztec pochteca in the context of multiple themes?

The Aztec pochteca are significant in the context of multiple themes as they illustrate aspects of economic systems, human interaction with the environment, technology and innovation, and social organization, showing that historical events can intersect with various themes.

How do the themes give students 'a historian in training' authority to interpret the past?

The themes give students 'a historian in training' authority to interpret the past by allowing them to make choices about how to frame past events using evidence encountered in the course, and by examining and comparing different perspectives across multiple themes.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Power of Themes in Storytelling and History

This paragraph introduces the concept of themes as essential elements in storytelling that provide deeper meaning beyond the narrative's surface. It contrasts common misconceptions about popular stories, such as Harry Potter and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with their actual underlying themes, such as friendship, good and evil, and coming of age. The paragraph also explains how historians use themes to make sense of the past, creating a coherent narrative from disparate events. The AP World History course is mentioned, structured around six themes, which are said to help in organizing historical events and in preparing for the AP exam by understanding the questions better.

05:02

🌏 Humans and the Environment: Shaping Culture and Society

This paragraph delves into the first of the six themes, 'Humans and the Environment,' exploring how the environment influences human culture, society, and way of life. It uses examples like the Middle Eastern concept of hell being hot, Scandinavian hell being cold, and the Quran's depiction of paradise to illustrate how geography and climate shape religious beliefs. The paragraph also discusses the impact of agriculture, settlement patterns, migration, population growth, and natural disasters on society, as well as the reciprocal influence of humans on the environment.

10:07

🎭 Cultural Exchange and the Dynamics of Political Authority

The second theme, 'Culture,' is highlighted in this paragraph, emphasizing the diversity and commonalities in human societies. It discusses how culture binds societies through shared beliefs and traditions, and how cross-cultural exchanges have led to new cultural practices. The story of Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca and its economic repercussions exemplifies the impact of cultural exchange. The paragraph also touches on the theme of political authority, exploring where it comes from and how it is maintained and justified, using the Mongol Empire as an example of a unique system of governance influenced by women's alliances.

💼 Economic Systems and the Role of Labor and Trade

This paragraph focuses on the theme of 'Economic Systems,' describing the Aztec's innovative agricultural technique, Chinampas, as an example of how societies have developed to meet their economic needs. It discusses labor, profit, trade, and economic theories such as capitalism and socialism. The paragraph underscores the importance of understanding who does the labor and who benefits economically, and it encourages identifying evidence within this theme by looking for related terms and concepts.

🤝 Social Interactions and the Organization of Society

The theme of 'Social Interactions' is explored in this paragraph, which examines how societies define relationships and hierarchies among people, and how these constructs influence political, social, and cultural dynamics. It uses the example of 17th-century Japan, where samurai class restrictions on merchants' lifestyles illustrate the enforcement of social order. The paragraph encourages understanding how societies organize themselves around concepts of gender, class, race, and family, and how these structures evolve over time.

🛠️ Technology and Innovation: Driving Societal Change

This paragraph discusses the theme of 'Technology and Innovation,' showcasing how human problem-solving and technological advancements have impacted societies throughout history. It provides a historical account of the development of eyeglasses, tracing the contributions of various scholars and innovators across different cultures and time periods. The paragraph emphasizes the interconnectedness of technological progress and the cumulative nature of innovation, built upon previous discoveries and spread through interaction and exchange.

🌐 The Complexity of History and the Utility of Themes

The final paragraph addresses the complexity of history and the utility of the six themes in understanding it. It uses the example of the Aztec pochteca to illustrate how historical elements can intersect multiple themes, such as economics, environment, technology, governance, and social organization. The paragraph encourages students to view history from multiple perspectives and to use the themes as interpretative tools for framing past events. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of practice in preparing for the AP exam and building a comprehensive understanding of world history.

Keywords

💡Storytelling

Storytelling is the act of conveying events in a narrative form to an audience. It is a fundamental human activity that helps us make sense of our experiences and the world around us. In the context of the video, storytelling is used to illustrate the importance of themes in literature and history. The script mentions how stories like 'Harry Potter' and the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' are not just about their surface elements but delve into deeper themes such as friendship, good and evil, and coming of age.

💡Themes

Themes are the underlying messages or concepts that run through a narrative, providing it with a deeper meaning. They are broad ideas that help audiences connect with the story on a more profound level. The video emphasizes the role of themes in making stories more meaningful and in structuring historical narratives. For example, the script discusses how 'Black Panther' is themed around the tension between tradition and change.

💡AP World History Course

The AP World History Course is a high school class that prepares students for the AP World History exam, which is part of the Advanced Placement program. The video script uses this course as a framework to discuss the six themes that are central to understanding world history. These themes are used to organize past events and provide a coherent narrative for students.

💡Human and the Environment

This theme explores the relationship between human societies and their natural environments. It examines how geography, climate, and natural resources have shaped human culture and history. The script gives examples of how different religions, such as Christianity and Islam, have conceptualized hell and paradise based on their geographical origins.

💡Culture

Culture refers to the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society. It is the shared beliefs, values, and practices that characterize a group. The video script discusses how culture varies across different societies and how cross-cultural exchanges have led to the development of new cultural practices, using the example of Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca.

💡Political Authority

Political authority is the power to govern, make decisions, and enforce laws within a society. The video script explores how different societies have conceptualized and justified their political authority, using the Mongol Empire as an example where women played a significant role in maintaining the empire through alliances.

💡Economic Systems

Economic systems refer to the way a society organizes its production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The script uses the Aztec Empire's agricultural technology, Chinampas, to illustrate how economic systems can be influenced by technological innovations and the need to sustain large populations.

💡Social Interactions

Social interactions are the ways in which individuals in a society relate to one another. The video script discusses how societal norms and laws can dictate these interactions, as seen in 17th-century Japan where samurai imposed restrictions on merchants' lifestyles to maintain social hierarchies.

💡Technological Innovations

Technological innovations are new tools, methods, or systems that improve or create new capabilities. The script highlights the evolution of eyeglasses from the ideas of Ptolemy to the practical spectacles made by 13th-century Catholic friars, showing how innovations often build upon previous knowledge and spread through society.

💡Three Close Reads Tool

The Three Close Reads Tool is a method used for analyzing text, which the video script suggests for students to use when reading articles in the course. It involves reading a text multiple times, each with a different focus, to gain a deeper understanding of the material. This tool is recommended to help students identify evidence related to the six themes.

💡Perspective

Perspective refers to a particular way of regarding a situation or topic, especially in relation to one's attitudes, values, or background. The video script emphasizes the importance of perspective in historical analysis, stating that the six themes give students the power to interpret past events and frame them using evidence encountered in the course.

Highlights

Themes in storytelling provide meaning beyond the words, connecting to broad ideas like love, revenge, and the battle between good and evil.

Harry Potter and Marvel movies are used as examples to illustrate that themes like friendship, good and evil, and coming of age are more significant than the surface-level plot.

Themes help historians to make sense of the past by tying different people and events into larger narratives.

The AP World History course is structured around six themes, which aid in organizing past events and making comparisons between different regions and time periods.

Learning the six themes of the AP World History course can make the exam easier as many questions reference these themes.

The first theme, 'Humans and the Environment,' discusses how the environment shapes human culture and how humans transform their environment.

Culture, as the second theme, is described as the fabric that ties societies together through shared ideas, beliefs, and traditions, with examples of cross-cultural exchanges.

Political authority and its sources are explored in the third theme, with examples like the Mongol Empire and the influence of women in maintaining power.

The fourth theme, 'Economic Systems,' examines how societies make, distribute, trade, and consume resources, with a historical example of the Aztec Empire's agricultural technology.

The fifth theme, 'Social Interactions,' looks at the relationships within societies and how they influence political, social, and cultural dynamics.

The final theme, 'Technological Innovations,' highlights how problem-solving and technological advancements impact society, with the history of eyeglasses as an example.

History's complexity is emphasized, as events often intersect multiple themes, such as the pochteca of the Aztec Empire affecting economics, environment, technology, governance, and social organization.

The themes are tools for historians in training, providing them with the power to interpret the past and frame events using evidence.

Students are encouraged to practice using the Three Close Reads Tool to take notes on evidence related to the different themes while reading articles in the course.

Learning the six themes is crucial not only for understanding world history but also for performing well on the AP exam.

The transcript concludes by emphasizing the importance of practice and the utility of the themes in building a usable past and exam preparation.

Transcripts

Humans are storytellers. And all good stories have  themes. Themes are broad ideas that run through a  

story and give it meaning beyond the words. Many  of humanity's greatest stories share themes in  

common: love, revenge, coming of age, the battle  between good and evil. Storytellers use themes  

to make their stories more meaningful to their  audience. Ohhh, I get it. Like how Harry Potter is  

about a wizard school! Or, how the Marvel Cinematic  Universe is about superheroes smashing aliens! Well...

not really. Harry Potter isn't about wands, wizards,  and dark lords, it's about friendship. And good and  

evil. And coming of age. And the Marvel movies  aren't just flashy fight scenes. Black Panther  

is about the tension between tradition and change,  and how we sometimes need to challenge authority. 

Themes of fatherhood, motherhood, and sacrifice run  through many of the Marvel movies. In a similar way,  

themes help historians make sense of the past  so it's not just one darn thing after another.  

Themes help historians tie a bunch of different  people and events together into big, historical  

narratives that tell us more about the world  than smaller, disconnected narratives ever could.

Alright, I get it. So why are we talking  about Harry Potter and superheroes? 

Well, the people who made the AP world history  course structured it around six themes, which we're  

going to describe in a minute. Some teachers use  these three-letter acronyms to refer to each theme, 

but your teacher might use a different  set of words or a mnemonic device like  

SPICE-T or PIECES, but they're all talking about  the same six themes. Without a tool like themes,  

history kinda looks like just a bunch of different  dates and names. Organizing past events into themes  

helps us group different events together so we  can tell what changed and what stayed the same.  

That helps us make comparisons and connections  between different regions and time periods. We know  

that the AP exam can be stressful, but learning  the themes will make the exam a lot easier.  

Lots of AP exam questions reference the themes.  Some questions are obvious about it, but some are  

downright sneaky, so you need to learn the themes,  and you need to practice decoding exam questions  

to figure out which theme or themes they're asking  about. Think of the themes as six different threads  

that run through the course, connecting different  parts of human history. As you read articles  

and watch videos in this course, you should keep  pulling on these "threads," uncovering new linkages.  

Let's take a tour of the six themes and get  a sense of what they're all about. And once  

we're done with that, we promise, we'll get  back to how themes help with exam questions.

Let's start with Humans and the Environment. The  environments in which we live have always shaped  

how we live, contributing to the great  diversity, and surprising commonalities, 

among human groups in different places. For example, natural resources and climate shape human culture.

There's a reason why religions like Christianity,  that arose in the Middle East, believe hell is  

super hot. Well, the Vikings who came from frosty  Scandinavia, imagined it must be terribly cold.

In the Islamic holy book, the Quran, paradise  is described as an oasis, filled with flowing  

rivers and verdant greens—a welcome site for the  peoples who lived in the arid lands of the Arabian  

Peninsula, where Islam first developed. This theme  is about stuff like our methods of agriculture;  

the places that people choose to settle; how  factors like geography and climate impact  

society. It also covers topics like migration,  population growth, disease, and natural disasters.

But, it's also about how humans have  increasingly transformed our environment.  

Culture is what makes us, us. It's the  fabric that ties our societies together  

through shared ideas, beliefs, and traditions.  Culture differs dramatically from place to place,

but cross-cultural exchange has frequently  produced entirely new cultural practices.  

Today we can exchange culture instantaneously over  the internet, but in the 14th century, it took a bit  

more effort. Mansa Musa ruled the West African Mali  empire. He was Muslim, but he ruled a diverse people  

who worshipped many different gods. In 1324, he  decided to complete the year-long pilgrimage to  

the Islamic holy city of Mecca. He traveled with  60,000 servants and an astounding amount of gold.  

He spent lavishly and donated generously. Though  he ruled a powerful empire that was rich beyond  

measure, he wanted to recruit Muslim scholars  from the Middle East and North Africa to help him  

spread Islam across West Africa. In his attempts  to bring Islamic culture back to Mali, he spent  

so much gold, that he caused runaway inflation in  Egypt, sending the whole region into a recession.

The questions you'll see on this  theme will often relate to religions  

and belief systems, but certainly music, art,  architecture, literature, language, and fashion  

are all part of cultural  developments and interactions. 

Who has the right to rule? Where does political  authority come from? Societies have produced  

different answers to these questions as new states  emerged, expanded, and collapsed. Governments have  

used a variety of methods to maintain and  justify their power. For example, consider  

the mighty Mongol Empire. When we think about the  Mongols, we think about men with swords on horses  

riding across the open plains of Eurasia. But, did  you know that the empire was mostly held together  

by women? Mongol nobles and rulers married the  daughters of people they conquered, and these women  

formed networks of sisters and cousins who formed  alliances with each other. Their alliances helped  

stop the fighting between their husbands, and  sometimes, they decided who the next ruler would be.  

Wife-power and sister-power ran the empire.  This theme is one of the easiest to identify,  

just keep an eye out for words like, "empire,"  "governments," "politics," "nations," "revolutions,"  

"military," "taxes," and "ideology." This theme is all  about how states form, expand, govern, and collapse.

Economics is a fancy Greek word used to describe  how we make, distribute, trade, and consume all our  

stuff. Take, for example, the agricultural output  of the Aztec Empire. To feed the six million  

people living in their empire, the Aztecs  developed an agricultural technology called  

Chinampas. These were man-made islands that  floated on the shallow lakes of central Mexico.  

The lakes kept the islands moist and Aztec farmers  covered them in mud, vegetable scraps, and night  

soil. This method of fertilization allowed  these flotillas of feces to be so productive  

that crops could be harvested up to six times a  year from each. This level of food production is  

what kept the engine of empire running. This  theme often focuses on who does the labor,  

and who makes the profit. To identify evidence  in this theme, keep an eye out for terms like  

"money," "resources," "trade," "labor," "industry," and for  economic theories like capitalism and socialism.

All societies develop ideas about how  people ought to interact with each other.  

These interactions influence political,  social, and cultural dynamics in every society.

This theme can help you understand how  these relationships have changed over time,

and how communities in different parts  of the world have organized themselves.  

For example, I may or may not have had  an 80s workout clothing phase in college,  

but... I never got arrested for it. Well, in 17th  century Japan, the stakes were a little higher.

You see, the ruling samurai classes were jealous  of how much money merchants made, so the samurai  

passed laws that regulated the smallest  details of how fancy a merchant could dress.

And they limited how big their house  could be and how rich they could act.  

There was even a law that forbade any merchant  from using a silver clasp on their tobacco pouch.

Too fancy. One woman was exiled just because  she wore an elaborate dress to court—  

all because the samurai didn't want to be out  fancied! This theme is all about how society's  

determine how people fit into groups: gender, class,  race, and ethnic hierarchies, as well as how family  

and social life are organized in different places,  and how these relationships change over time. 

Humans have always been problem solvers. Our  technological innovations have impacted all levels  

of society, and these innovations often resulted  from interaction and exchange among societies. 

For example, if you're using eyeglasses or contact  lenses to watch this video, you should thank the  

ancient Greek astronomer, Ptolemy... Actually, you  should thank the 11th century Arab scholar, Ibn  

al-Haytham, who corrected and improved Ptolemy's  ideas and revolutionized the field of optics. 

Well... I mean, really you ought to thank the the 12th  century Italian who translated al-Haytham into  

Latin... Or maybe the 13th century Catholic friars,  who probably made the first spectacles for reading.

Then, maybe give a shout out to Lenscrafters. The point is: technologies change over time,  

and innovations in one place, are usually built on  earlier innovations that spread from other places.

Phew. Six themes. Nine units. 800 years. That's a  lot to take in. The themes help you to make  

sense of all that history, but it's still not a  simple job. But hey, they don't call it Advanced  

Placement for nothing. It's not really all that  hard, I bet I can do it in 10 seconds. Watch:  

the Industrial Revolution—steam-powered  machines, factories, and the telegraph—that's  

obviously about technology and innovation. Boom.  Done with two seconds left over. What's next?

John—that's great, but come on. It's not always  so simple. For example, I'm going to describe  

something, and you tell me which theme it belongs  to. In the Aztec Empire, a merchant class known as  

pochteca, carried trade goods to markets hundreds  of miles away by foot, collecting tribute for the  

Aztec emperor and spying on foreign governments.  Do they walk across any of those poop islands?

This one's easy—merchants, markets, trade? It's "Economic  Systems"—E-C-N. Not so fast. History is messy and  

some things don't fit neatly into just one theme. The Aztec pochteca were important to the economy,  

but they also tell us about the environment, technology, governance, and social organization.  

Mesoamerican societies didn't have pack animals  like horses or oxen, and there weren't many rivers  

you could sail. On on top of that, these societies  never developed sailing technologies. So, pochteca  

had to carry everything themselves, on their  backs. Alright, so that's economics, humans and  

the environment, and technology and innovation.  Wow, that's a lot of—the pochteca also played  

political roles, helping the Aztec emperors collect  tribute—a sort of tax. They also spied on enemy

governments. And, pochteca were a class of people who— like those Japanese merchants—made a lot of money.

But the nobility made laws to keep them  subservient, and limit how they spent their  

wealth, no matter how much money they made. So, when  you see an exam question that asks you to compare  

the growth of trade routes, the pochteca can serve  as a useful piece of evidence. But they're also  

great for an exam question asking you to explain  how environmental factors shaped economic systems.

Or, for a discussion of how different  empires maintained their hold on power.  

Wow. You're right, Rachel. History really is like  night soil—it's messy! The themes in this course  

are all about perspective, and in that way, they  give you—a historian in training—a lot of power.

The six themes will help you interpret the  past, but they also give you some authority to  

make choices about how to frame past events using  evidence you encounter in this course. By examining  

and comparing many different perspectives across  multiple themes, you'll be better equipped to  

support, extend, and challenge the historical  narratives you encounter in this course.

And, you'll be better equipped for the AP exam in  May. The key is to practice. As you read articles  

in this course, use the Three Close Reads Tool to  take notes about which pieces of evidence relate  

to the different themes. Remember, these six themes  are tools to help you make sense of world history,

learning them will help you build a usable past, and—yes, John—it will also help you on the exam.