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European History Specific Curriculum DOES IT EXIST?


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Quickly Googled and here are recommended textbooks for AP European History - maybe one of these?

 

http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/courses/european_history_textbook_list.html

 

Thanks! Not quite what she is interested in. I checked all over the net before coming here to post and just am not seeing what she is seeking. Maybe it's time I write my own. ;-)

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What specifically is she looking for?

 

 

She's wanting to know the History of the countries and how they became what they are. Everything I can find seems to be very World History related and she wants more specific without all the connections you tend to find in World History studies if that makes sense. There's plenty of medieval stuff out there and renn/ref. content but we are struggling to find something that digs deeply into how England and its people came to be England, how Germany became it's own country, etc...

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How far back does she want to go?  AP European History texts usually start with the Renaissance.  They are often taken from a larger Western Civilization volume that will begin with ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.  It is possible to do some "countries" as a separate study, but she'll need to remember that countries like Germany and Italy are a recent development.  The boundaries within the European continent are constantly shifting.

 

Could you please explain more about the "connections" that she is trying to avoid?  Religion, economics, politics, plagues, natural disasters, and scientific developments are all part of a country's historical development. I think I am misunderstanding your comment.

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Could you please explain more about the "connections" that she is trying to avoid?  Religion, economics, politics, plagues, natural disasters, and scientific developments are all part of a country's historical development. I think I am misunderstanding your comment.

 

For instance, in studying American History, we have learned how different countries and/or people from other places made it happen. She doesn't want to study Europe only to read on every other page how Europe helped Africa or America or South America, etc...she just wants to immerse herself in how Europe is Europe. I'm probably not making it clear because of this stinking menopausal brain fog.

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I'm thinking you might have to cobble it together.

 

Not exactly what she's looking for, I'm afraid, but something along the same lines that might be fascinating is The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language. I suggest it in audiobook for the pronunciations, but some people prefer the actual book. It goes into how English came to be English through the history of the area. It doesn't touch on all the history, but it does do quite a bit.

 

You might end up having to find resources for each of the countries/areas being studied. I don't think there is a textbook like what you are asking for. Perhaps several individual books?

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I used Kagan's Western Civilization book for AP European History and just started with the chapter on the Renaissance.  There are AP specific editions, but they are pretty much the same text that just has a middle ages review as the first chapter.  You can get some really good deals on slightly older editions. 

 

Kagan does tend to look at a movement or trend and then apply it to specific countries.  The Spielvogel books seem to have a little more of a country focus.  In either case, you end up doing a lot of back and forth.  Movements like the Renaissance or the Enlightenment or the Reformation tended to cross country boundaries.  Both of these spines will talk about other regions in the context of how colonization or trade affected European history (for example, the Spanish and Portuguese vying for land and influence in South America and then the English coming in to compete in North America).

 

I also used books like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Aspects-Western-Civilization-Problems-Sources/dp/0205708331/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484003119&sr=1-1&keywords=aspects+of+western+civilization

 

https://www.amazon.com/Aspects-Western-Civilization-Problems-Sources/dp/0205708323/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0205708323&pd_rd_r=W8M27Z59JNE1FKV1XE7V&pd_rd_w=Y2oMI&pd_rd_wg=9Bimg&psc=1&refRID=W8M27Z59JNE1FKV1XE7V

You may be able to just use volume 2; I don't remember what the cut off was.

 

This series was nice and focused:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/067964086X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2TTU2JUO796QS&coliid=I1V3F2NEOQ3AR

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC1G9W/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2TTU2JUO796QS&coliid=I2U8GNKT5YPTFY

 

I'm also a big fan of this series, which mixes commentary, essay and primary document:

https://www.amazon.com/Russian-Revolution-Bolshevik-Victory-Civilization/dp/0669208779/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484003240&sr=1-1&keywords=problems+in+european+civilization

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I used Kagan's Western Civilization book for AP European History and just started with the chapter on the Renaissance.  There are AP specific editions, but they are pretty much the same text that just has a middle ages review as the first chapter.  You can get some really good deals on slightly older editions. 

 

Kagan does tend to look at a movement or trend and then apply it to specific countries.  The Spielvogel books seem to have a little more of a country focus.  In either case, you end up doing a lot of back and forth.  Movements like the Renaissance or the Enlightenment or the Reformation tended to cross country boundaries.  Both of these spines will talk about other regions in the context of how colonization or trade affected European history (for example, the Spanish and Portuguese vying for land and influence in South America and then the English coming in to compete in North America).

 

I also used books like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Aspects-Western-Civilization-Problems-Sources/dp/0205708331/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484003119&sr=1-1&keywords=aspects+of+western+civilization

 

https://www.amazon.com/Aspects-Western-Civilization-Problems-Sources/dp/0205708323/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0205708323&pd_rd_r=W8M27Z59JNE1FKV1XE7V&pd_rd_w=Y2oMI&pd_rd_wg=9Bimg&psc=1&refRID=W8M27Z59JNE1FKV1XE7V

You may be able to just use volume 2; I don't remember what the cut off was.

 

This series was nice and focused:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/067964086X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2TTU2JUO796QS&coliid=I1V3F2NEOQ3AR

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC1G9W/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2TTU2JUO796QS&coliid=I2U8GNKT5YPTFY

 

I'm also a big fan of this series, which mixes commentary, essay and primary document:

https://www.amazon.com/Russian-Revolution-Bolshevik-Victory-Civilization/dp/0669208779/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484003240&sr=1-1&keywords=problems+in+european+civilization

 

Did you read the Paul Johnson book?  I have read his American history and appreciated earlier chapters, but I looked at the Publisher's Weekly review for this one and it's fairly painful.

 

I was thinking of you the other day as my dh just started Shaara's Rise to Rebellion, which was one of your suggestions a couple of years ago.

 

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Or, for Germany . . . something like Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947 with a time overlap (perhaps a different perspective?) to History of Modern Germany.

 

ETA:

Lots of French history books, but what about something like The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography

Edited by RootAnn
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Quickly Googled and here are recommended textbooks for AP European History - maybe one of these?

 

http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/courses/european_history_textbook_list.html

 

 

From this list, this is the one I used:

 

Palmer, R. R., Joel Colton, and Lloyd Kramer. A History of the Modern World. New York: McGraw-Hill. All editions published from 2007 to the present.

 

It is extremely Eurocentric, though it does also contain updated chapters on Asia and Africa as well. 

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Did you read the Paul Johnson book?  I have read his American history and appreciated earlier chapters, but I looked at the Publisher's Weekly review for this one and it's fairly painful.

 

I was thinking of you the other day as my dh just started Shaara's Rise to Rebellion, which was one of your suggestions a couple of years ago.

 

 

I took a look at Johnson's writing and hated it.

 

Hated. it.

 

He assumes a LOT of base knowledge on the part of the reader--knowledge most high school students simply do not have. His presuppositions place his writing more in the realm of advanced reading, like for someone who is looking towards a master's degree or Ph.D.

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Did you read the Paul Johnson book? I have read his American history and appreciated earlier chapters, but I looked at the Publisher's Weekly review for this one and it's fairly painful.

 

I was thinking of you the other day as my dh just started Shaara's Rise to Rebellion, which was one of your suggestions a couple of years ago.

 

I don't think I got that particular volume. It was the first on on my list from the series. I did just finish the German Empire by Michael Sturmer, which was good.

 

Another similar series is the Oxford Very Short History series.

Edited by Sebastian (a lady)
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I took a look at Johnson's writing and hated it.

 

Hated. it.

 

He assumes a LOT of base knowledge on the part of the reader--knowledge most high school students simply do not have. His presuppositions place his writing more in the realm of advanced reading, like for someone who is looking towards a master's degree or Ph.D.

 

His writing in recent years has moved more from well-researched academic writing to more sensational, emotive, and slightly out there commentary.  I made myself read the American book as a more conservative balance to my other readings.  I felt that at one point I was reading two different authors.

 

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I don't think I got that particular volume. It was the first on on my list from the series. I did just finish the German Empire by Michael Sturmer, which was good.

 

Another similar series is the Oxford Very Short History series.

 

Thank you! I'll have to see if the library has some of both series to check out. I can bypass Johnson as I have plenty of good materials for that time frame.

 

I am still reading even with no one at home to teach. I really need a student.

 

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I'm thinking you might have to cobble it together.

 

Not exactly what she's looking for, I'm afraid, but something along the same lines that might be fascinating is The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language. I suggest it in audiobook for the pronunciations, but some people prefer the actual book. It goes into how English came to be English through the history of the area. It doesn't touch on all the history, but it does do quite a bit.

 

You might end up having to find resources for each of the countries/areas being studied. I don't think there is a textbook like what you are asking for. Perhaps several individual books?

 

It might be fun to use a standard spine and approach it from one thematic area,  perhaps books like The Tigress of Forli and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

 

 

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Have you read the Geert Mak book? I don't think I can resist it even though my reading list for the beginning of the year is huge.

 

I own it and read the first few chapters :)

I decided to wait and read the books when we are closer to that era with history.

Is writing style in this book differs from other books I read from him and I really loved.

He is a good writer and praised in the Netherlands.

Of course I read him in Dutch and notmin English ;)

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Maybe something like Europe in the Modern World  would work. This is a relatively new textbook.

 

Here's some other free lecture resources on European history:

 

European Civilization 1648-1945 - Yale open lectures by John Merriman.  He has written a corresponding book A History of Modern Europe.

 

European Civilization from Ren. to the Present - Berkeley lectures by Thomas Laquer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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