AP European History Unit 3 Outline

Readings:

Western Civilization, 5th Edition, Jackson J. Spielvogel

Chapter 16. Toward a New Heaven and a New Earth: The Scientific Revolution and the Emergence of Modern Science.

Chapter 17. The Eighteenth Century: An Age of Enlightenment.
Chapter 18. The Eighteenth Century: European States, International Wars, and Social Change.

The European States
Wars and Diplomacy
The Social Order of the Eighteenth Century

Discussion Questions:

Discuss that ways in which scientific discoveries affected the seventeenth century's image of the human experience. How did this new image differ from the old one? How did the Scientific Revolution affect religious thought?
What advances were made in the practical and applied sciences in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? In what sense was the study of science becoming institutionalized?
Describe the "scientific method" that developed in the seventeenth century, and show how it was used in one of the emerging branches of science.
Compare the lifestyles of the poor and rich in the early eighteenth century in terms of (a) material aspects, such as food and drink, shelter, and medical care, and (b) less material aspects, such as religion, manners, and forms of entertainment. What qualities did they share? Are they more different that those same classes today?
Currents of thought in the 18^th century were divergent and inconsistent yet the age has been branded the “Enlightenment”. There must have been ideas and beliefs that were generally accepted to earn the title to this age. What were they? Are there any beliefs from that age that continue to be held today?
Like “jumbo shrimp” and “partial cease fire” the term enlightened despot seems to be a contradiction in terms. What is an enlightened despot? Would you characterize Maria Theresa and by Joseph II as enlightened despots?
Discuss the nature and results of enlightened despotism Prussia under Frederick the Great. Of what special importance was the stratification of Prussian society?
Describe the personality and personal qualities of Catherine the Great, and assess her reform program. What seems to have thwarted that program? Does she qualify as an “enlightened despot”?