AP®︎ European History: Topic 9.14 Practice Test

Thematic Focus: Cultural and Intellectual DevelopmentsCID

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.

Historical Developments: KC-4.3.I.B

The effects of world war and economic depression undermined this confidence in science and human reason, giving impetus to existentialism and producing postmodernism in the post-1945 period.

Historical Developments: KC-4.3.III

Organized religion continued to play a role in European social and cultural life despite the challenges of military and ideological conflict, modern secularism, and rapid social changes.

Historical Developments: KC-4.3.III.A

The challenges of totalitarianism and communism in central and eastern Europe brought mixed responses from the Christian churches.

Historical Developments: KC-4.3.III.B

Reform in the Catholic Church found expression in the Second Vatican Council, which redefined the church's doctrine and practices and started to redefine its relations with other religious communities.

Historical Developments: KC-4.3.IV

During the 20th century, the arts were defined by experimentation, self-expression, subjectivity, and the increasing influence of the United States in both elite and popular culture.

Historical Developments: KC-4.3.IV.A

New movements in the visual arts, architecture, and music radically shifted existing aesthetic standards, explored subconscious and subjective states, and satirized Western society and its values.

Historical Developments: KC-4.3.IV.B

Throughout the century, a number of writers challenged traditional literary conventions, questioned Western values, and addressed controversial social and political issues.

Historical Developments: KC-4.4.I.C

Mass production, new food technologies, and industrial efficiency increased disposable income and created a consumer culture in which greater domestic comforts such as electricity, indoor plumbing, plastics, and synthetic fibers became available.

Historical Developments: KC-4.4.II.C

With economic recovery after World War II, the birth rate increased dramatically (the baby boom), often promoted by government policies.

Historical Developments: KC-4.4.III.B

Various movements, including women's movements, political and social movements, gay and lesbian movements, and others, worked for expanded civil rights, in some cases obtaining the goals they sought, and in others facing strong opposition.

Historical Developments: KC-4.4.III.C

Intellectuals and youth reacted against perceived bourgeois materialism and decadence, most significantly with the revolts of 1968.