History Department

The history curriculum is designed to foster excellence in reading, writing, class discussion, and critical thinking, as well as to introduce students to the stories of various civilizations in many parts of the world. Designed to convey a basic understanding of both Western and non-Western history from the pre-modern world to the present, the curriculum emphasizes economic and social forces as well as political and cultural factors. Throughout the curriculum, students are asked to grapple with the complexity of the historical causality, to analyze and discuss primary and secondary sources, and to construct sophisticated historical arguments.

Middle School:

World History A:

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an historical background of early world history. Students should be able to analyze significant political, socioeconomic, and cultural developments in pre-modern world civilizations. We will begin with the earliest of human civilizations and finish with the fall of Rome. An important skill you will acquire in the class is the ability to examine change over time. This course will also blend geographic content to better explain the history of mankind.

World History B:

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a background of world history focusing on many different civilizations and regions of the world. This course is a continuation of the history class began in sixth grade. We will cover African, Middle Eastern, Chinese, Japanese, Mesoamerican, and European societies. An important skill you will acquire in the class is the ability to examine change over time, including the causation of events as well as the major effects of historical developments, the interconnectedness of events over time, and the spatial interactions that occur over time that have geographic, political, cultural, and social significance.

United States History:

This course is designed to inform students about who they are as citizens of the United States and how past events have shaped the world we live in today. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a background of American history focusing on the country’s founding and major events since its inception. This course is purposely fast-paced, and we will try to cover as much U.S. history as we can in the school year. This class will focus on academic skills, writing, time management and interpersonal communication skills.

Upper School:

World History: (Required – Year Long – 1 credit – Grade 9)

This course provides a comprehensive, chronological survey of the significant conditions, challenges and accomplishments that have influenced the progress of humankind. Beginning with prehistory, students examine topics associated with the growth of early civilization, classical contributions of Greece and Rome, regional civilizations, and the rise of medieval Europe. Other topics of study include emergence of the modern world, age of revolution, growth of industry and nationalism, world wars in the 20th century, and development of the contemporary world.

AP Modern World History: (Alternative to World History – Year Long – 1 Credit – Grade 9)

Focusing primarily on the past thousand years of the global experience, this course builds on an understanding of cultural, institutional, and technological foundations that, along with geography, set the human stage prior to the year 1000. Specific time periods form the organizing principle for dealing with change and continuity from that point to the present. Historical themes provide further organization to the course, along with the consistent attention to contacts among societies that form the core of world history as a field of study. The objectives for this course follow the College Board syllabus, preparing students for the Advanced Placement exam.

*Requires departmental recommendation based on solid A achievement in U.S. History 8, including well-developed analytical writing skills and demonstrated potential to actively participate and succeed in a college-level course. Must take College Board AP exam in the spring.

United States History: (Required – Year Long – 1 Credit – Grade 10)

This course provides a comprehensive, chronological survey of the history of the United States. Students examine topics beginning with the period of exploration and colonization, and then continue through independence and revolution, constitutional debate between the Federalist and Republicans, Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy, sectionalism and civil war, reconstruction and industrialization, immigration and urbanization, imperialism and the progressive era, World War I and the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. The course concludes with a study of the emergence of modern America.

AP United States History: (Alternative to United States History – Year Long – 1 Credit – Grade 10)

The Advanced Placement program in U.S. History provides students with factual knowledge and analytical skills in the interpretation of the history of the United States from the 1600s through the 1990s. Political, economic, and social issues are stressed through the following topics: The Colonial Period; the American Revolution; the Jacksonian Period; Civil War and Reconstruction; Populism and Progressivism, the New Deal; and International Affairs and Domestic Changes in the Post-1945 Period. The objectives for this course follow the College Board syllabus, preparing students for the Advanced Placement exam.

*Requires departmental recommendation based on solid A achievement in prior coursework, including well-developed analytical writing skills and demonstrated potential to actively participate and succeed in a college-level course. Must take College Board AP exam in the spring.

American Government: (Required – 1 Semester – ½ Credit – Grade 11)

Political Systems is a required course designed to provide students with a fundamental understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens by examining the American political structure and process. Topics of study include the origin and growth of representative democracy, the development of the U.S. Constitution founded on the concept of federalism, landmark legal decisions and their impact on constitutional government, the adaptive nature of the political process as influenced by political parties, special-interest groups and media coverage, as well as a comparison of our political system with other forms of government throughout the world.

Economics: (Required – 1 Semester – ½ Credit – Grade 11)

Economics offers students the opportunity to study the issues of scarcity and choices related to the use of limited resources. Students learn how to apply the tools of economic analysis to personal, community, national, and international issues. Economic preparedness enables students to make choices relying on past historical and geographical knowledge to actively and successfully engage in our complex society.

AP Human Geography: (Elective – Year Long – 1 Credit – Grade 12)

The Advanced Placement program in Human Geography is a college-level course designed to introduce students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of the Earth’s surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to interpret human social organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice. The objectives for this course follow the College Board syllabus, preparing students for the optional Advanced Placement exam.

AP European History: (Elective – Year Long – 1 Credit – Grade 12)

The goals of the Advanced Placement program in European History are to develop an understanding of some of the principal themes in modern European history and an ability to analyze historical evidence. Students are expected to demonstrate knowledge of a basic chronology of major events and trends from the Renaissance to the present. Students also should have some familiarity with those aspects of the late medieval period. The major themes to be covered are political and diplomatic history, intellectual and cultural history, and social and economic history. The objectives for this course follow the College Board syllabus, preparing students for the optional Advanced Placement exam.