What Is Thematic History?

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. Click on the theme for a deeper explanation.

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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?
  

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?
  

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?
  

*Language on this page is provided by the College Board.