Introduction to Historical Themes

History isn't about memorizing names and dates, although these basic facts give us a framework for understanding the subject. There are a number of themes that occur and re-occur throughout the past. Tracing these themes over the course of the year will help you understand long-term changes in European history. We will focus on five themes this year. The overarching questions for each theme are listed below along with a detailed explanation of each. 

Also, please watch the video below from Mr. Sargent.  Student Resources are found below at the bottom of the page. 

You will be introduced to these five Historical Themes throughout our study of European History. As you read your textbook, you may want to have these five themes close by so that you can refer back to them. Understanding how the themes relate  to your text and interrelate to one another will help your understanding of the subject matter.  

1. 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 societies?

3. Objective Knowledge 
and 
Subjective Vision

  • 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?

5. 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?

2. 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?




4. 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? 

Student Resources

1. AP Euro Themes Poster for Students

2. AP Euro Individual Themes Posters