AP European History Summer Reading
There are three components to your summer reading assignment:
I. Read the first half of Sophie’s World: A Novel about the History of
Philosophy
II. Textbook reading, Chapter 12. Please take notes using what ever note
taking method you feel works for you.( I have added a summarizing method to
your packet.)
III. Map Completion
Keys to reading the text: Be an active reader.
An active reader anticipates, makes connections, and draws conclusions while
reading a text—avoiding the dreaded situation where you reach the end of a
chapter or page and think “what did I just read?” This summer is the time for
you to train to be an active reader. You will be reading college-level
material and it will not easy. If you cannot handle the textbook over the
summer, it will be incredibly difficult to handle it when you have six other
classes to worry about. Therefore, spend the time this summer to work slowly
and develop habits so that you can master the difficult language and ideas
presented in these books.
Remember, as you read these texts, you are reading to learn. You are NOT just
reading to get through this and answer some questions. You should be able to
explain what you have read once you get to the bottom of each page or the end
of each chapter.
To make sure you are being an attentive, active reader, you should be asking
yourself these questions while reading:
Do I know anything about this event, idea, or person? (Have I ever
heard of this?)
How does this connect to other topics that precede it?
Why is this important? (Why is it included?) How does this affect
other things in history?
After reading about an event, idea, or person: What do I need to
remember?
As you are reading, I encourage you to take notes in the margins of your text
on sticky notes that summarize the main ideas or draw attention to a topic of
interest.
Here are some other possible techniques you might consider to ensure you
comprehend the text:
Write a sentence after each paragraph or page summarizing main idea.
Write a question after each paragraph that you can use to quiz
yourself after you are done reading the section.
Pay attention to the subject headings and bold terms—
Have a dictionary handy to look up any tough vocabulary words.
Struggling to understand something? Look it up on the internet—it
might be explained differently or have visuals that may help you understand.
Summarize a section aloud after you have read it—if you can’t explain
it in your own words, then you don’t really comprehend what the section is
about.
Read Sophie's World: a Novel about the History of Philosophy by Jostein
Gaarder.
Bring both your questions and answers to the first day of classes. Impress me
with your complete / complex sentences.
C1.
1. Find out how much a Norwegian crown is worth, compared to the US dollar
(this is outside research and not in the text).
2. Cite 3 elements (or examples) of a mystery novel in C. 1-6.
3. In ONE sentence each, summarize chapters 1-6.
4. Who are YOU?
C2.
5. What is the origin of philosophy?
6. What was Sophie's mother's reaction to Sophie's questions/comments after
she began receiving the packages?
7. What might philosophers and small children have in common?
C3.
8. After reading about the shift from a mythological to a natural view of
philosophy, what class in school did Sophie especially want to forget?
C4.
9. What is the point of seeing what each philosopher's project is?
10. Define rationalism.
11. What does this mean: "we cannot step twice into the same river."?
C5.
12. Why is Lego the most ingenious toy in the world? Do you have any history
with Lego?
C6.
13. Define fatalism.
14. What was the famous inscription at Delphi ("DEL-fee")?
15. Who were the best-known Greek historians?
16. Does anything about the Hippocratic Oath stand out to you?
17. Who are you…now?
Socrates
18. When did Sophie ever REALLY learn something?
19. How did Socrates represent a new era in philosophy?
20. What must be in place in order for democracy to work?
21. Compare (how were they similar?) Jesus and Socrates.
22. What one thing did Socrates know?
Athens
23. List 5 terms in this chapter that are of Greek origin.
Plato
24. What were the problems Plato was concerned with?
25. How did he differ from Socrates?
26. How did Plato differ from Aristotle? (You'll have to ans. this question
after you read Aristotle's chapter.)
27. Plato believed all natural phenomena are
The Major's Cabin
28. What happened when Sophie looked into the mirror?
Aristotle
29. What did Aristotle say were the three forms of happiness?
30. What is on your list of 3 forms of happiness?
Hellenism
31. Define Hellenism.
32. Interpret this statement: "Rome conquered Greece, but Greece captured
Rome."
33. Compare and contrast the views of the Cynics, the Stoics and the
Epicureans. Which view do you favor most? Why?
34. Contrast western and eastern mysticism.
Two Cultures
35. How did Paul show the Greek and Roman world a new approach to religion?
36. "Goethe" is pronounced "GER-ta" (hard "G" sound). Anyway, what is the
only way to become a human being-according to Alberto Knox?
The Middle Ages
37. How was the church Sophie entered symbolic of the spirit of the Middle
Ages?
38. How did the Greco-Roman culture divide, yet survive?
39. What did St. Thomas Aquinas synthesize? How?
The Renaissance
40. Discuss two ways Sophie & Hilde are like the Renaissance.
41. Above all else, the Renaissance resulted in___________________.
42. Who said, "Knowledge is power" and what is that statement's
significance to history?
43. What was positively the most important scientific discovery and why?
44. Newton explained and combined the theories and discoveries of what 3
earlier scientists?
45. How were Martin Luther's teachings similar in spirit with those of the
Renaissance philosophers?
The Baroque
46. List political and religious elements of the Baroque era.
Descartes
47. What was Descartes most famous proclamation?
48. Using Descartes' reasoning as a platform, describe how we are and how
we are NOT biological robots.
Spinoza
49. Spinoza said our temporary emotions keep us from happiness, therefore
should see everything from the perspective of_______ for true contentment.
Locke
50. What was Locke's belief in the concept tabula rasa?
51. What is the concept "natural rights"
Hume
52. Which Asian philosopher pre-dated many of Hume's beliefs & how?
53. One of the main concerns of philosophy is to warn people
against_________.
54. If you don't know the definition already, look up "Utilitarianism" and
define it here.
Berkeley
55. According to Berkeley Where do we exist? : "only in __________"
56. In what ways is this chapter the turning point of this book?
57. In what ways is THIS chapter the turning point of this book?
58 .Cite 2 examples of Hilde's how life is reflected in Sophie's. (Or is that
the other way around?)
The Enlightenment
59. What was one of Hilde's "enlightenments" regarding Sophie?
60. What is the significance of the change in font beginning in the last
chapter and continuing here?
61. Most of the Enlightenment philosophers had an unshakable faith in:
62. To what historical event does the phrase "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
refer?
Kant
63. According to Kant, do space and time exist beyond ourselves? Explain.
64. Speculate: Why is Kant Mr. Harmon's favorite philosopher in this book?
65. How does Sophie receive hints in this chapter that she is not real?
Romanticism
66. Describe features of literature and philosophy that reflect
Romanticism.
67. How could the Romantics be compared to the hippies of the 1960's?
68. What is a "bagatelle" in context of this book?
69. What clever "major" revelations are made toward the end of this
chapter?
Hegel
70. To Hegel, history was like a _________________.
71. Where else in these questions have you seen a similar idea to question
#70?
72. Who is "God" to Sophie and Alberto?
73. Who is "God" to Major Knag?
Kierkegaard
74. Compare (similarities) Kant and Kierkegaard in regard to the
importance of faith.
75. In what ways was Kierkegaard a take-no-prisoners type Christian?
Marx
76. How did Marx's words about the purpose of philosophy change history?
77. According to Marx, what 3 elements were the basis of society?
78. "The history of...societies is the history of ________________"
79. Marx was wrong. Agree with this statement, using examples.
80. Marx was right. Agree with this statement, using examples.
Darwin
81. How did Thomas Malthus' beliefs (what were they?) influence Darwin?
82. What are the religious/moral implications of the belief that humans are
merely the result of random chance and natural selection over time?
Freud
83. Explain the meaning of the term "Freudian slip".
84. How did Freud's teachings/beliefs influence the arts?
Our Own Time
85. "God is dead", said Nietzsche (frē'drĭkh vĭl'hĕlm nē'chə or NEE-chey,
more or less). Contrast western philosophy before and after the mid 1800's,
argue that he is right, in that context.
86. Look up an encyclopedia biography of Simone de Beauvoir. What importance
did she play in the modern feminist movement?
87. Cite one example from anywhere in the book of philosophy influencing the
beliefs of society, and another example of the beliefs of society influencing
philosophy.
The Garden Party
88. What in the world is the point of this chapter!? Well, I'll tell you:
without any
structure or order in the universe (and society, for that matter) everything
begins to fall apart. Also--In the 20th c., philosophers (and society, for
that matter) questioned the validity of the "old order"—Don't answer these:
Did that lead to the chaos and destruction of the 2 world wars? Or did the
chaos and destruction of the 20th century come from the "old order" itself?
Nobody knows for sure. So your guess is as good as any philosopher's.
Counterpoint
89. Cite an example from this chapter when Hilde turns the table on her
father, by doing to him what the major had done to Alberto and Sophie.
The Big Bang
90. What was your favorite chapter in this book? Why?
91. Who was your favorite philosopher in this book? Why?
92. Did you like this book? Why or why not?
93. For the last time, who are you? Has your answer changed since I
asked at the beginning of these questions? Why…or why not?
Part II Text Reading
Read Chapter 12 thru to page 413. Take notes on the chapter ( refer to the
cover page).
Part III Complete/Label Map of Europe
Portugal
Lisbon
Spain
Madrid*
Barcelona
France
Paris*
Vichy
Avignon
Luxembourg
Belgium
Brussels
Netherlands
The Hague
Amsterdam
Rotterdam
United Kingdom:
England
London*
Manchester
Scotland
Edinburgh
Wales
Northern Ireland
Belfast
Ireland
Dublin
Germany
Frankfurt
Berlin*
Munich
Dresden
Bonn
Nuremburg
Austria
Vienna*
Switzerland
Zurich
Geneva
Bern
Italy
Rome*
Venice
Florence
Naples
Milan
Turin
Slovenia
Countries & Major Cities:
Czech Republic (formerly Bohemia)
Prague
Slovakia
Poland
Warsaw
Krakow
Gdansk
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia
Hungary
Budapest
Croatia
Zagreb
Serbia
Belgrade
Montenegro
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Sarajevo
Albania
Republic of Macedonia
Greece
Athens
Turkey
Istanbul (Constantinople)
Bulgaria
Sofia
Romania
Bucharest
Moldova
Ukraine
Kiev
Belarus
Russian Federation
Kaliningrad
Moscow*
St. Petersburg/Leningrad*
Volgograd (Stalingrad)
Finland
Helsinki
Sweden
Stockholm
Norway
Oslo
Denmark
Copenhagen
Bodies of Water:
Baltic Sea
North Sea
English Channel
Bay of Biscay
Strait of Gibraltar
Mediterranean Sea
Aegean Sea
Dardanelles & Bosphorus Straits
Black Sea
Caspian Sea
Adriatic Sea
Ionian Sea
Rivers:
Elbe Thames
Tiber Oder
Danube Volga
Seine Rhine
Mountains:
Pyrenees
Alps
Caucasus
Carpathians
Urals
Balkans
Islands:
Crete
Sicily
Sardinia
Corsica
Areas in Holy Roman Empire:**
Silesia
Moravia
Palatinate
Saxony
Brandenburg
Bavaria
Westphalia-Ruhr
Alsace-Lorraine
Other Areas:
Brittany Peninsula
Crimea
Iberian Peninsula
Balkans
Ruhr Valley
*denotes major political capital *denotes
major political capital
Assignment III: Map
Examine a map of Europe (see attached or find one online). You will have a
map quiz during the first WEEK of class. Be able to locate on the map the
above countries, cities, etc.: