AP Art History
AP Central Course and Exam Description
Fall Semester *Units of study are interchangeable within given timeframe | |||||
Unit Title* | Unit 1: Global Prehistory | Unit 2: Ancient Mediterranean | Unit 3: Early Europe and Colonial Americas | Unit 4: Later Europe and Americas | Unit 5: Indigenous Americas |
Time | 2 weeks | 4 weeks | 5 weeks | 5 weeks | 2 weeks |
Big Ideas | BIG IDEA 1: Culture CUL How does the study of art contribute to our greater understanding of cultural practices and belief systems?
How does art provide clues for understanding a culture and its history when we have nothing else to investigate?
BIG IDEA 3: Theories and Interpretations of Art THR In what ways does the study of global prehistoric art require the contributions of other disciplines? Why?
BIG IDEA 4: Materials, Processes, and Techniques MPT How do the materials and techniques of global prehistoric art shape and define those works?
REQUIRED WORKS: 1-11 | BIG IDEA 1: Culture CUL What can the physical setting of a work of art tell us about what was important to the culture in which it was created?
BIG IDEA 5: Purpose and Audience PAA How does purpose or function influence works of art and express cultural characteristics of societies?
REQUIRED WORKS: 12-47 | BIG IDEA 1: Culture CUL How do the cultural values and belief systems of Early European and Colonial American art relate to the purpose and function of the art and art making?
BIG IDEA 2: Interactions with Other Cultures INT How are the cultural interactions that developed throughout this period demonstrated in the works of art?
BIG IDEA 5: Purpose and Audience PAA What do the purpose, patron, and intended audience for Early European and Colonial American art communicate about the context in which it was created?
REQUIRED WORKS: 48-98 | BIG IDEA 2: Interactions with Other Cultures INT How did cultural interactions influence and shape the creation of art and artistic traditions in Later Europe and the Americas?
BIG IDEA 4: Materials, Processes, and Techniques MPT How is art and art making in this period shaped by advances in technology, increased availability of materials, and wider dissemination of techniques?
REQUIRED WORKS: 99-152 | BIG IDEA 1: Culture CUL What similarities and differences appear in the art of the Indigenous Americas?
How do the similarities and differences apparent in the art of the Indigenous Americas help us understand how diverse these cultures were from one another?
BIG IDEA 5: Purpose and Audience PAA What do the intended purposes or audiences for the art of the Indigenous Americas demonstrate about the cultures that created it?
REQUIRED WORKS: 153-166 |
Essential Knowledge | CUL 1.A, 2.A, MPT 1.B, 1.C, 5.A, 5.B, THR 7.A, 7.B | CUL 1.A, 1.B, 1.C, 2.A, 2.C, 3.A, MPT 5.A, 5.B, 6.A, 6.B, INT 4.A, 4.B, PAA 2.B, 2.D, THR 8.A, 8.B | CUL 2.A, 2.D, INT 3.B, 4.A, 4.B, 4.C, 4.D, MPT 1.C, 6.A, 6.B, PAA 2.B, 2.D, THR 7.A, 7.B, 8A, 8.B, 8.C | CUL INT 2.C, 3.B, 4.A, 4.B, 4.C, 4.D, PAA 2.B, 2D, MPT 1.C, 6.A, 6.B, THR 7.B, 8.A, 8.B, 8.C | CUL INT 2.A, 2.C, 4.A, MPT 1.B, 1.C, 5.A, 5.B, PAA 2.B, 2.D, THR 7.B |
Spring Semester *Units of study are interchangeable within given timeframe | |||||
Unit Title* | Unit 6: Africa | Unit 7: West and Central Asia | Unit 8: South, East, and Southeast Asia | Unit 9: The Pacific | Unit 10: Global Contemporary |
Time | 3 weeks | 2 weeks | 2 weeks | 2 weeks | 4 weeks |
Understandings | BIG IDEA 3: Theories and Interpretations of Art THR What do the various theories and interpretations of the art of Africa tell us about the different cultures?
BIG IDEA 5: Purpose and Audience PAA How do the purposes and functions of African art compare to the art of other cultures in other time periods and locations? What is the significance of these similarities and differences?
REQUIRED WORKS: 167-180 | BIG IDEA 2: Interaction with Other Cultures INT How have the cultural interchanges between West and Central Asia and the rest of the world had an influence on the development of art and artistic traditions?
BIG IDEA 4: Materials, Processes, and Techniques MPT How have the materials, processes, and techniques employed in art making in West and Central Asia influenced art within and across cultures?
REQUIRED WORKS: 181-191 | BIG IDEA 1: Culture CUL How do style and form convey the belief systems and cultural practices of South, East, and Southeast Asian art?
How do the artistic traditions in these regions contribute to our knowledge of each of these cultures?
BIG IDEA 2: Interaction with Other Cultures INT How is the global nature of art in this region a result of cultural interactions, and how is this demonstrated through the artistic traditions of Asian art?
REQUIRED WORKS: 192-212 | BIG IDEA 4: Materials, Processes, and Techniques MPT How do the materials, processes, and techniques demonstrate the unique aspects and situations of the cultures of the Pacific?
BIG IDEA 5: Purpose and Audience PAA How does the purpose, function, or intended audience both define and often constitute an active part of the arts of the Pacific?
REQUIRED WORKS: 213-223 | BIG IDEA 2: Interactions with Other Cultures INT How has globalization influenced art and art making from 1980 – the present, and how has art and art making in turn, influenced global culture?
BIG IDEA 3 : Theories and Interpretations of Art THR How does a global culture contribute to theories and interpretations of contemporary art and art making?
BIG IDEA 4: Materials, Processes, and Techniques MPT How have art making and artistic traditions both changed and retained continuities despite the modern materials, processes, and techniques employed by artists?
REQUIRED WORKS: 224-250 |
Essential Knowledge | MPT CUL INT 1.C, 2.A, 2.C, 3.A, 4.A, 4.B, 5.A, 5.B, PAA 2.B, 2.D, 6.A, 6.B, THR 7.A | MPT 1.C, CUL PAA 2.B, 2.C, 2.D, INT THR 4.A, 4.B, 4.D, 8.D | MPT 1.C, 3.A, 3.B, 6.A, CUL PAA 2.B, 2.C, 2.D, INT 4.A, 4.B, 4.C, 4.D, THR 8.A, 8.B | MPT 1.B, 1.C, 5.A, 5.B, CUL INT PAA 2.A, 2.B, 2.C, THR 7.A, 7.B | MPT 1.B, 1.C, PAA 2.B, 2.D, 3.A, 3.B, INT CUL 4.A, 4.B, 4.D, THR 7.A, 7.B, 8.D |