history

Global Cultures

No prerequisite. Required of 9th grade students. A limited number of 10th grade students have taken this course by student request with permission of the Department Chair.

In this course students learn about the history of the world from the beginning of civilization to the Renaissance through different global spheres: Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, East Asia and the Americas. Content is taught through themes, including: What does it mean to be civilized? How do themes such as law, military, freedom, wealth and piety influence cultures? Why do cultures in different areas differ? Why are they similar?

The course further develops the academic skills and critical and independent thinking necessary for success in a college-preparatory environment. In addition to a common text, students read primary and secondary sources, conduct their own research on smaller and larger research projects and write persuasive essays. Course activities are designed to facilitate discussion among classmates and an understanding of the issues across the world in the past and present.

Modern World History

No prerequisite. Requirements: Students must be in the 10th grade to take the course.

This course will continue to study topics introduced in the 9th grade Global Cultures course, and offers a survey of the Modern World. After a study of the Enlightenment, students will study the Age of Napoleon and the implementation (and failed implementation) of many of these ideas. Afterward, students will study changes brought about by industrialization, the changes of relationships between European and non-European nations, and how resulting nationalist pride begins a cause and effect that results in World War, economic and political instability, another World War and a resulting Cold War. Yet the truly modern aspect of the course examines how changes from war and suffering result in greater rights for individuals, the desire and need for stability in life, and how some populations succeed in a post-war capitalist society. At the center of this course will be a guiding question: What makes a modern nation, and how does this impact the relationship between people and the government? A key aspect of this course includes connections across English and History departments. This course will continue to build common skills across both departments.