Curriculum Map

AP World History: Modern

College-level world history covering global developments from c. 1200 CE to the present. Aligned to the College Board AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description. Emphasizes historical thinking skills and document analysis.

14 Units

Early Units (Foundation)

Building Skills

Advanced Concepts

Capstone/Synthesis

The Global Tapestry (c. 1200-1450)

Examines state-building, cultural developments, and the structures of power across Afro-Eurasia between 1200 and 1450.

3-4 days

Networks of Exchange (c. 1200-1450)

Explores the Silk Roads, Indian Ocean trade network, trans-Saharan routes, and the movement of goods, ideas, and diseases across Afro-Eurasia.

3-4 days

Land-Based Empires (c. 1450-1750)

Examines the rise and consolidation of the Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Ming/Qing, and Russian empires and the common methods through which they built and maintained power.

3-4 days

Transoceanic Connections (c. 1450-1750)

Examines European maritime expansion, the Columbian Exchange, the development of colonial systems, and the transformation of global commerce between 1450 and 1750.

3-4 days

Revolutions (c. 1750-1900)

Examines the political revolutions of the late 18th and early 19th centuries — American, French, Haitian, and Latin American — and the Enlightenment ideas that inspired them.

3-4 days

Industrialization and Its Effects (c. 1750-1900)

Examines the origins and spread of industrialization, its economic and social transformations, and the rise of new ideologies responding to industrial capitalism.

3-4 days

Global Conflict and Its Consequences: Imperialism (c. 1750-1900)

Examines the New Imperialism of the 19th century, its economic and ideological drivers, its methods of control, and the resistance movements it generated.

3-4 days

Global Conflict: World War I (c. 1900-Present)

Examines the causes, conduct, and consequences of World War I, including the role of nationalism, alliance systems, imperialism, and industrialized warfare.

3-4 days

The Interwar Period (c. 1900-Present)

Examines the interwar period (1919-1939), the rise of totalitarian regimes, the Great Depression's global impact, and the beginnings of anticolonial movements.

3-4 days

Global Conflict: World War II (c. 1900-Present)

Examines the causes, conduct, and consequences of World War II, including the Holocaust, the atomic bomb, and the postwar international order.

3-4 days

The Cold War (c. 1900-Present)

Examines the Cold War rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union, proxy conflicts, nuclear deterrence, and the Non-Aligned Movement.

3-4 days

Decolonization and Independence (c. 1900-Present)

Examines independence movements across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, the varied paths to decolonization, and the challenges of postcolonial nation-building.

3-4 days

Globalization (c. 1900-Present)

Examines the acceleration of economic integration, technological revolution, cultural exchange, and resistance movements in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

3-4 days

Contemporary Challenges (c. 1900-Present)

Examines the defining challenges of the contemporary world — climate change, inequality, migration, and human rights — and their historical roots in processes studied throughout the course.

3-4 days

Learning Progression

This course is designed to be taken sequentially. Earlier units establish foundational concepts that later units build upon. While you can explore units in any order, following the numbered sequence provides the most coherent learning experience.