Social Studies Department

Department Social Studies

The High School social studies programme is designed to develop the ability to think critically about the human condition in order to make informed decisions that guide social action. Students are encouraged to reflect upon their own identities, and to recognize and respect similarities and differences of others within a global perspective. We aim to develop global thinkers, who openmindedly evaluate information, reflect critically, plan strategically, and can work both collaboratively and independently to understand global, regional and local problems.

World studies 9 and 10 are thematically organized and allow students to get a sample of many disciplines of the social sciences to prepare them for a variety of elective options in Grades 11 and 12. In addition, electives for grades 11 and 12 offer both IB courses, AP courses and ISB courses. Two credits of social studies courses are required for graduation and four credits are recommended for students intending to study at College/ University. It is strongly recommended that all students take a social studies course through to their senior year.

ISB

ATTRIBUTES

“I’ve absolutely loved being in politics class. As someone who loves learning about this topic, I never had an opportunity to talk or learn about it with students my age before this class. Beyond a place to talk about politics, the class is a great place to review the fundamentals of political theory in an engaging way through case studies and simulations. The environment is super positive with lots of opportunities for discussion and debate, and much of the class is voted on by students so everyone has a say in the content we learn. I’d really urge anybody interested in politics to consider taking the elective course.”

WORLD STUDIES 9

This is a required course for all grade 9 students

Grade: 9 | Length: 1 year | Credit: 1

Prerequisite: None

In World Studies 9 students will examine a wide range of aspects of human societies, both in our past as well as our present. Major course themes include Sociocultural Complexity, Conflict and Perspective, Political Theory vs. Political Reality and Population Geographies. Students will investigate the causes of human conflict and learn to identify bias and examine multiple perspectives through case studies. Emphasis is placed on students’ understanding of their own perspectives and how this shapes individual thinking both historically and in modern debate. Students will also practice and develop skills in research, critical thinking, and oral and written communication needed for success in their future Social Studies courses.

WORLD STUDIES 10

This is a required course for all grade 10 students

Grade: 10 | Length: 1 year | Credit: 1

Prerequisite: World Studies 9

In World Studies 10 students will investigate some of the major ideas and events of the past two hundred and fifty years that have shaped the world of today. The course focuses on the development of modern economic and social systems as well as the impact humans have on geography; looking at how changes have affected the way people live.

Major course themes include Economic Development, Imperialism, Political Change and Morality & Conflict. Primary importance is placed on making connections between broad themes and current issues facing nations today. Students will be asked to consider events from a variety of viewpoints, to develop research, analytical thinking and oral and written communication skills to help them successfully complete future Social Studies courses.

ELECTIVES: 2022-23

The following non IB courses will only run if classes meet a minimum size requirement. Incoming grade 10 students may select these courses, however approval may be required from the student’s counselor and the Social Studies Head of Department.

• Global Politics • The Social Bases of Behaviour

GLOBAL POLITICS

(grade 10 students will need approval) Grades: 10 – 12 | Length:1 | yearCredit: 1 Prerequisite: None

local and community levels. Understanding the role politics plays in our complex world is key to becoming an informed global citizen.

This course will cover foundational issues that have been at the heart of the subject for centuries such as freedom, equality, power, rights and justice but also offer a modern lens to the world we live in. Topics to be covered include:

• Foundations of Global Politics:

Power, Sovereignty, Legitimacy and

Interdependence • Peace & Conflict • Development & Political Economy • Human Rights • Geopolitics

This course will develop reading, writing, discussion, debate, presentation and research skills. There will be a mixture of individual, paired and group tasks throughout the course. Students wanting to join this course should be motivated to learn, have good listening skills, willing to discuss and share ideas and take a keen interest in the world around them including current affairs.

THE SOCIAL BASES OF

BEHAVIOUR:

(grade 10 students will need approval) Grades: 10 – 12 | Length: 1 year | Credit: 1 Prerequisite: None

Understanding why people do what they do has been questioned, pondered and researched for centuries. Anyone interested in this course shares the fascination of philosophers and scientists who have been dedicated to understanding individuals, groups and societies in general. Disciplines in the social sciences have proposed and developed a range of plausible theoretical frameworks to explain what shapes human behavior. What is unquestionable is that individuals influence groups and groups influence individuals. The social environment plays a significant role in who each individual is, how they behave, and how individuals and groups interact. In order to understand the social factors which influence individual and group behavior this course will investigate several broad social issues and mental processes related to social influence. The course combines the disciplines of psychology (and some sociology) to consider topics such as personal and social identity, human attraction, conformity, obedience, discrimination, stereotyping, culture, social responsibility, and the role of the the media. The course is a hands on, topic based course which encourages individual enquiry and student choice in demonstrating their learning.

ELECTIVES 2023-24 AND BEYOND

We will be offering two new electives for school year 2023-24:

• Enterprise • Equity and Social Justice

Rotation of electives 2022-25:

School year Social Studies Electives offered

2022-23 1. Global Politics & 2. Social Bases of Behaviour 2023-24 1. Equity and Social Justice & 2. Enterprise 2024-25 1. Global Politics & 2. Social Bases of Behaviour

IB GROUP 3 OPTIONS: INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETIES

For non IB diploma students IB Group 3 courses may be taken as an IB certificate course, students will complete all the IB requirements, including IA’s and the IB exam and be issued certification of the completion of this course from the IB.

Students may also take these courses for one or two years as an elective at standard level with no IB exam requirements, this will gain ISB credit. If this option is being considered students must speak to their World Studies 10 teacher and a current teacher of the IB course to assess their suitability.

IB BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

(Standard & Higher Level) Grades: 11 – 12 | Length: 2 years | Credits: 2 Prerequisite: Social Studies teacher recommendation

The aim of this course is to develop an understanding of business theory as well as an ability to effectively apply principles, practices and skills to business case study situations. Students will examine a diverse range of cultural and economic situations in which modernday businesses operate and will be asked to consider ethics and social responsibility in an international business context. Syllabus topics include: marketing, types of organizations and their environment, human resources, operations, accounting and finance.

Students will learn about the business world via a case study approach; successful students will take a keen interest in current affairs and the world around them. IB assessments will challenge students to assess a business situation and through critical thinking, analysis and synthesis suggest an appropriate course of action or at times make a recommendation.

The course is anchored by four key concepts; creativity, change, ethics, and sustainability.

IBDP Business Management Course Guide (note: some course changes will be implemented starting Aug 2022 - we are awaiting release of the new guide from the IBO). Differences between IB Business and IB Economics

IB ECONOMICS

(Standard & Higher Level)

Grades: 11 – 12 | Length: 2 years | Credits: 2 Prerequisite: Social Studies teacher recommendation

This course is focused on six real world issues. Phrased as questions they are,

• How do consumers and producers make choices in trying to meet their economic objectives? • When are markets unable to satisfy important economic objectives—and does government intervention help? • Why does economic activity vary over time and why does this matter? • How do governments manage their economy and how effective are their policies? • Who are the winners and losers of the integration of the world’s economies? • Why is economic development uneven?

Topics to be studied include basic market microeconomic theory, market failures and government intervention, macroeconomic theory including economic growth, inflation, unemployment, international trade and the particular economic challenges facing developing nations.

Both SL and HL students develop quantitative skills, but HL students will need to further develop these as appropriate, in analysing and evaluating economic relationships in order to provide informed policy advice. These skills are specifically assessed in HL paper 3. The SL course will sit for only 2 exam papers. The HL course includes one major additional topic, Theory of the Firm

All economics students will create a portfolio of commentaries analyzing and evaluating economic current events; called the Internal Assessment (IA).

Economics students will not examine policies, theories or case studies regarding the successful operations of business firms (marketing, managing human resources, etc). Students interested in these topics should consider IB Business Management.

The course is anchored by nine key concepts; scarcity, choice, efficiency, equity, economic well-being, sustainability, change, interdependence, intervention.

IBDP Economics Course Guide Differences between IB Business and IB Economics

IB GEOGRAPHY

(Standard & Higher Level) Grades: 11 – 12 | Length: 2 years | Credits: 2 Prerequisite: Social Studies teacher recommendation

Geography is a dynamic subject that is firmly grounded in the real world and focuses on the interactions between individuals, societies and the physical environment. It investigates the way that people adapt and respond to change and evaluates management strategies associated with such change. The course examines key global issues, such as population, climate change, resource consumption and

globalization through detailed case studies at a variety of scales. The course is designed around five big concepts: place, power, process, possibilities and perspectives. These concepts drive the essential questions asked in each unit. Within group 3 subjects, Geography is distinctive in that it occupies the middle ground between social sciences and natural sciences. The Geography course integrates both physical and human geography, and ensures that students acquire elements of both scientific and socioeconomic methodologies. There is a required trip (2-days) to the ISB Wilderness Campus to do fieldwork on river processes.

IBDP Geography Course Guide ISB Geography website with course information

IB HISTORY

(Standard & Higher Level) Grades: 11 – 12 | Length: 2 years | Credits: 2 Prerequisite: Social Studies teacher recommendation

IB History students will gain an in-depth and comparative understanding of the influential people and dynamic forces that have shaped our modern world during the past two centuries. We will explore political, economic and social history across five continents in an attempt to learn how nations struggled and continue to struggle today to develop their identities amongst the competing forces of authoritarianism and democratization. To better understand this tension, in the first year we will study the movements for equality and civil rights in the 20th century US, as well as South Africa’s journey on this same path. We will later explore the uncertainty of economic hardship and conflict leading to the development of single-party states and authoritarian leaders, and examine in great depth the global conflict between authoritarianism and democracy that dominated much of the last century, the Cold War.

As students train to think like historians, they will significantly improve their analytical skills, sharpen their evaluation and interpretation of evidence, and significantly increase the effectiveness of their oral and written arguments. Throughout the course, we will engage with the people and events of the past through lively debates, role plays, small-group seminar discussions, artsbased activities, and independent historical investigations on topics of student interest.

IBDP History Course Guide

IB PSYCHOLOGY

(Standard & Higher Level) Grades: 11 – 12 | Length: 2 years | Credits: 2 Prerequisite: Social Studies teacher recommendation

This two-year course asks students to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the most important theories and studies in the discipline of Psychology through a scientific approach to human behavior. Students will be asked to develop their critical thinking and writing skills in order to effectively evaluate and interpret and explain a wide range of human behavior and mental processes. Students will investigate the biological, cognitive, social and cultural influences or “approaches” to human behavior. Specifically, students will learn various theories and studies to help them understand human aggression, criminology, social helping, attraction, stereotyping, memory, emotion, thinking and decision-making, stereotyping, and many other real-world topics. In addition to these behaviors and processes, selected options will be covered in the first and/or second years. These include 1) Human Relationship and 2) Abnormal Psychology. Both of these topics are studied in the higher level course but only one of the topics is studied in the standardlevel course. Finally, the IB Psychology internal assessment project requires students all students to plan and conduct their own experimental research.

IBDP Psychology Course Guide

ONLINE COURSE

IB Digital Society

(Standard & Higher Level)* (on-line course) *** Students wishing to study Digital Society should directly contact Mr Picton and/or Mrs McMillan for more information

Grades: 11 – 12 | Length: 2 years | Credits: 2 Prerequisite: Students need to demonstrate an appropriate skill set to be online learners

IB Digital Society is the study and evaluation of the impacts of IT on individuals and society. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of the access and use of digitized information at the local and global level. Although Digital Society shares methods of critical investigation

and analysis with other social sciences, it also considers social and ethical considerations. Students come into contact with IT on a daily basis because it is so pervasive in the world in which we live. This increasingly widespread use of IT inevitably raises important questions with regard to the social and ethical considerations that shape our society today.

The main difference between Digital Society and computer science relates to the focus of study. Digital Society is about how people are affected by systems already in use and those planned for the future. Computer science looks first at the technology and then later at its interaction with those affected by it.

The HL course in ITGS differs from the SL course in ITGS as follows.

• HL students study the following as part of the

HL extension, which consists of two additional topics in the IT systems strand: • IT systems in organizations • robotics, artificial intelligence and expert systems. • The HL course has an additional externally assessed component that comprises a pre-seen case study based on a fictitious organization; this allows students to research various aspects of the subject, which may include new technical concepts and additional subject content, in greater depth.

IBDP Digital Society Subject Brief

Advanced Placement (AP): Social Studies options

AP classes are accredited by the College Board in the USA. These are new courses at ISB for 202223. These courses are open to students in Grades 10-12. They culminate in externally examined assessments.

US HISTORY

(grade 10 students will need approval) Grades: 10-12 | Length: 1 year | Credits: 1 Prerequisite: Social Studies teacher recommendation

In this year-long class you will study the cultural, economic, political, and social developments that have shaped the United States from c. 1491 to the present. You’ll analyze texts, visual sources, and other historical evidence and write essays expressing historical arguments.

Skills You’ll Learn include:

• Evaluating primary and secondary sources • Analyzing the claims, evidence, and reasoning you find in sources • Putting historical developments in context and making connections between them • Coming up with a claim or thesis and explaining and supporting it in writing

The AP U.S. History Exam is sat in May and is externally assessed. It will test your understanding of the historical concepts covered in the course units, as well as your ability to analyze primary and secondary sources and identify patterns and connections that can support a historical interpretation.

AP US History College Board Site

MACROECONOMICS

(grade 10 students will need approval)

Grades: 10-12 | Length: 1 year | Credits: 1

Prerequisite: Social Studies teacher recommendation

In this course you will learn about the principles of economics that apply to an economic system as a whole. You’ll use graphs, charts, and data to analyze, describe, and explain economic concepts. As this course is being run as a year-long course there will be opportunities to explore some topics in more depth and allow for more project-based learning. However, preparation for the May AP examination is the main focus of this course.

Skills You’ll Learn

• Define economic principles and models • Explain given economic outcomes • Determine outcomes of specific economic situations • Model economic situations using graphs or visual representations

If a student takes Macroeconomics or Microeconomics in Grade 10 they will not be able to take IB Diploma Economics in Grades 11/12.

Depending on student sign ups the AP Macro- and Microeconomics course may run concurrently or every other year.

MICROECONOMICS

(grade 10 students will need approval)

Grades: 10-12 | Length: 1 year | Credits: 1

Prerequisite: Social Studies teacher recommendation

In microeconomics you will study the principles of economics that apply to the behavior of individuals within an economic system. You’ll use graphs, charts, and data to analyze, describe, and explain economic concepts. As this course is being run as a year-long course there will be opportunities to explore some topics in more depth and allow for more project-based learning. However, preparation for the May AP examination is the main focus of this course.

Course Content includes:

• Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts • Unit 2: Supply and Demand • Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model • Unit 4: Imperfect Competition • Unit 5: Factor Markets • Unit 6: Market Failure and the Role of Government

If a student takes Macroeconomics or Microeconomics in Grade 10 they will not be able to take IB Diploma Economics in Grades 11/12.

Depending on student sign ups the AP Macro- and Microeconomics course may run concurrently or every other year.

AP Microeconomics College Board Site