Thematic Learning Objectives
Interaction of Europe and the World

Why have Europeans sought contact and interaction with other parts of the world?
What political, technological, and intellectual developments enabled European contact and interaction with other parts of the world?
How have encounters between Europe and the world shaped European culture, politics, and society?
What impact has contact with Europe had on non-European states?
What political, technological, and intellectual developments enabled European contact and interaction with other parts of the world?
How have encounters between Europe and the world shaped European culture, politics, and society?
What impact has contact with Europe had on non-European states?
Poverty and Prosperity
How has capitalism developed as an economic system?
How has the organization of society changed as a result of or in response to the development and spread of capitalism? What were the causes and consequences of economic and social inequality? How did individuals, groups, and the state respond to economic and social inequality? |
Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions

What roles have traditional sources of authority (church and classical antiquity) played in the creation and transmission of knowledge?
How and why did Europeans come to rely on the scientific method and reason in place of traditional authorities?
How and why did Europeans come to value subjective interpretations of reality?
How and why did Europeans come to rely on the scientific method and reason in place of traditional authorities?
How and why did Europeans come to value subjective interpretations of reality?
States and Other Institutions of Power
What forms have European governments taken, and how have these changed over time?
In what ways and why have European governments moved toward or reacted against representative and democratic principles and practices? How did civil institutions develop apart from governments, and what impact have they had upon European states? How and why did changes in warfare affect diplomacy, the European state system, and the balance of power? How did the concept of a balance of power emerge, develop, and eventually become institutionalized? |
Individual and Society

What forms have family, class, and social groups taken in European history, and how have they changed over time?
How and why have tensions arisen between the individual and society over the course of European history?
How and why has the status of specific groups within society changed over time?
How and why have tensions arisen between the individual and society over the course of European history?
How and why has the status of specific groups within society changed over time?