AP European History has seven major themes:

Europe and the World

Global Interaction of Europe and the World

Motivated by a variety of factors, Europe's interaction with the world led to political, economic, social, and cultural exchanges that influenced both European and non-European societies.
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• Why have Europeans sought contact and interaction with other parts of the world?
• What political, technological, and intellectual developments enabled European contact with other parts of the world?
• How have cross-cultural encounters shaped Europe in its culture, politics, and society?
• How have Europeans impacted non-European societies?  

British WWI officer
​T.E. Lawrence "of Arabia"

The Mikado is an 1885 British
comic opera set in Japan.

British-educated lawyer
​Mohandas Gandhi

Japanese Meiji Emperor 
​by Takahashi Yuichi, 1880.

Economics

Economic and Commercial Developments
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Economic development, especially the development of capitalism, played an important role in Europe's history, often having significant social, political, and cultural effects.
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• How has capitalism developed?
• How has society changed as a result of capitalism?

London East End slum, 1950s

Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, 1780s

• What were the causes and consequences of economic and social inequality?
• ​What were the responses to inequality from individuals, groups, and the state? 

Culture

Cultural and Intellectual Developments

The creation and transmission of knowledge, including the relationship between traditional sources of authority and the development of differing world views, had significant political, intellectual, economic, cultural, and social effects on European and world societies.

• What role have traditional sources of authority played in the transmission of knowledge?

Medieval depiction 
of Mary and Jesus

Medieval depiction 
of Jesus as the Christ

Medieval depiction 
of Jesus' crucifixion

First Edition Gutenberg Bible
New York Public Library

• How and why did Europeans come to rely on the scientific method and reason in place of traditional authorities?

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN. the European Organization for Nuclear Research

• How and why did Europeans come to value subjective interpretations of reality? 

Tête de Femme by Pablo PIcasso, 1935.

Galatea of the Spheres by Salvador Dalí, 1952.

Power

States and Other Institutions of Power

European states and nations development governmental and civil institutions from 1450 to the present to organize society and consolidate political power, with a variety of social, cultural, and economic effects.
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• How have Europeans governed?

Henry VIII was the English monarch and head of the Church of England.

Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party established the Soviet Union, the world's first communist regime.

• How have European governments moved closer to and farther from democracy?

The European Union emerged slowly after WWII.

Vladimir Putin has returned Russia towards authoritarianism.

• How have non-governmental institutions impacted European states?

Symbol of the Dutch East India Company, the world's first multinational corporation.

Solidarity was a Catholic-inspired labor union movement that pressured an end to Communist Party rule in Poland in 1989.

• How did changes in warfare affect the balance of power?

The Dukes of Brittany and of Bourbon locked in single combat (1460)

The Cannon Shot (1707) depicts an 18th-century Dutch man-of-war.

The Maxim machine gun (1883) enabled imperial conquests.

British pilots flew Spitfire and Hurricane fighters during WWII.

A Russian Yars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic nuclear missile system

Society

Social Organization and Development

Economic, political, and cultural factors have influenced the form and status of family, class, and social groups in European history, affecting both the 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? 
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Identity

National and European Identity

Definitions and perceptions of regional, cultural, national, and European identity have developed and been challenged over time, with varied and often profound effects on the political, social, and cultural order in Europe.
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• Who is and who is not part of a national community?
• To what degree should nations be incorporated into the larger European community?

Over 1 million protested in favor of Catalonia's national independence from Spain in 2018.

General polling showed 46.7% of Catalans said they wanted an independent state while 44.9% did not. 

Science

Technological and Scientific Innovation

Scientific and technological innovations have increased efficiency, improved daily life, and shaped human development and interactions, having both intended and unintended consequences.
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• How have new technologies impacted society and changed daily life?
• How have scientific discoveries altered our view of the natural world?

The printing press revolutionized the spread of information in the 15th century.

Cell phones have eased communication and tied people closer together than ever before.