AP Worldipedia

Welcome to AP Worldipedia, the free encyclopedia covering the content for Advanced Placement World History. This project is a work in progress, and is being aligned to the curriculum framework for AP World History.

AP Worldipedia began in 2008 as a class project. Using the open source Wikipedia platform, students wrote articles on the Major Comparisons component of the old curriculum framework (the "acorn book"). After each year the database was deleted and the next class began researching and writing the articles again. By 2012 I decided to use my experience as an AP exam grader and question writer to create a more reliable and permanent online source of course content with the Key Concepts of the new curriculum framework serving as an outline. It turned out to be a bigger job than I had anticipated, and is still going on. I continue to write articles here when I can (the birth of my daughter slowed things down a bit) and the end is in sight. I hope students and teachers find this project to be a good supplemental source for the class.

Below are the Key Concepts on which this course is based. Each has been filled out into a narrative text with illustrative media. Although they do not necessarily follow the chronological order in which the content will be taught in class, they should be useful in summarizing the basics of the course. All questions on the AP World History test in May are built on the Key Concepts you see listed on this website. Later on the content will also be arranged by the 5 AP World History Themes and there will be articles and essay rubrics with links to examples. If you have any questions, corrections, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to email me.

Note: the designations "AP" and "Advanced Placement are property of the College Board which does not endorse this website or have any connection to it.

The New Modern AP World History Course

According to the AP World History Course Description) published by the College Board, "The breadth of world history has always posed challenges for AP teachers to create opportunities for deep conceptual understanding for students while addressing a syllabus largely driven by sheer scope. The AP World History course outlined in this course and exam description addresses these challenges by providing a clear framework of six chronological periods viewed through the lens of related key concepts and course themes, accompanied by a set of skills that clearly define what it means to think historically."

With the change to AP World History Modern,) AP Worldipedia is currently being updated for the new Course and Exam Description.

The Legacy Course

Period 1 Key Concepts

Key Concept 1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth

Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies

Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies

Period 2 Key Concepts

Key Concept 2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions

Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires

Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange

Period 3 Key Concepts

Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks

Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions

Key Concept 3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences

Period 4 Key Concepts

Key Concept 4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange

Key Concept 4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production

Key Concept 4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion

Period 5 Key Concepts

Key Concept 5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism

Key Concept 5.2 Imperialism and Nation-State Formation

Key Concept 5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform

Key Concept 5.4 Global Migration

Period 6 Key Concepts

Key Concept 6.1 Science and the Environment

Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences

Key Concept 6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture

How to Write Articles

How to Write in WikiText

How to put an Image in your Article

Grading Rubric for Writing Articles

This wiki is currently being revised for the new College Board curriculum framework for AP World History.