Upper School Course of Study: Social Science
  >> Electives

COURSE OF STUDY 2009-10

(All courses are not offered every year.)

SOCIAL SCIENCES

World History I (intended for freshmen) (course number 201)
World History I focuses on “Western” civilizations (or those centered around Europe) beginning with the European Renaissance and continuing on to the present day.  Modern European history is the context used to help students develop critical skills key to success in the social sciences in high school, college, and beyond.  Objective analysis, critical thinking, and analytical expression are key skills pursued in this freshman history course.  Students also focus on practical skills such as critical reading, note-taking, information ordering, analytical writing technique, and strategic test-taking skills that will be critical to success in their academic careers.

World History II (intended for sophomores) (course number 211)
World History II focuses on the history and cultural development of communities beyond the scope of Western civilization, including Asia, Africa, India and South Asia, Polynesia, and the Middle East. Students are responsible for learning a base of specific facts but more emphasis is placed upon themes, concepts, and valuable skills such as critical reading and writing, primary source analysis, research techniques, and current event interpretation. Each of these skills is practiced in a variety of contexts and assignments, and students are exposed to a wide assortment of teaching methods. The class constantly utilizes a variety of primary and secondary sources, including films, speeches, memoirs, documentaries, music and art.

United States History (intended for juniors) (course number 204)
The American History Course focuses primarily on student understanding of and appreciation for the contours and development of American History in the 20th & 21st Century. Students survey aspects of contemporary topics of American History.  Emphasis is the evolution of socio-economic structure, the progression of minority movements, and the development of the American Democracy both real and ideal. The structure of this course is designed to hone the critical and analytical skills of students by making the connections across different time periods. Writing, oral articulation, and research are also emphasized.

Advanced Placement United States History (with permission) (course number 208)
The Advanced Placement program in United States History is designed to provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge to deal with problems and materials in United States History. The Curriculum begins with European Exploration and concludes with the Bush Era. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making the demands upon them equivalent to those made by full year introductory college courses; moreover, the AP curriculum stresses higher order thinking skills within a rigorous academic context. Students are required frequently to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate primary and secondary sources in addition to memorizing, comprehending, and applying facts. Students learn to assess historical materials for their relevance, their reliability, and their importance, and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. In addition, AP US History prepares students to pass the AP examination in May 2006, for which valuable college credit can be earned. To achieve this goal, students should be prepared to spend significant amount of time outside of class on homework and research.

Advanced Placement European History (with permission) (full year) (course number 205)
This course prepares students for the Advanced Placement Exam in European History (1450-present).  It emphasizes acquiring the required factual knowledge, developing the requisite analytical and writing skills, and practicing with the kinds of questions and formats used on the AP exam.  Students interpret primary sources, trace cause and effect chains, explore similarities and differences across nationalities, time periods, and subject areas, and adjudicate for themselves, the major historical controversies presented in the history of this fascinating and turbulent period.  The course emphasizes the integration of information across the fields of social developments, politics, religion, intellectual concepts, technology, and economics.

Government (semester course that is required for graduation) (intended for seniors) (course number 206)
This introductory course in Government is designed to examine the role that American government and politics plays in our lives, as well as to provide a better understanding of the functions and responsibilities of our governmental system. In order to learn more about the nature and context of American political institutions, students study various features of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, as well as the role of political parties, interest groups, and the bureaucracy in our political system. Students gain an in-depth understanding of the Constitution and how it is applied.  In addition, students examine the purpose and evolution of the governmental and political system of the US and examine how it differs from systems used in other countries.  Students have a chance to propose and debate their own ideas on what our government should look like and how it should be run.

SOCIAL SCIENCE ELECTIVES
All Social Science electives are open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Comparative Religion (semester elective) (course number 212)
In this course students develop the background necessary for an appreciation of the basic beliefs and practices of the world's religions.   Emphasis is placed on historical origins as well as on current beliefs. Students study Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, and other belief systems.

Cultures in Conflict:  Assimilation, Adaptation, and Extermination (semester elective) (course number 221)
This class is dedicated to exploring the historical relationship between peoples of the Developed, Developing and “Third” worlds, and the legacies left by clashes of “western” and “non-western” cultures. Throughout history, cultures have come into conflict.  Some cultures by their nature act “aggressively” toward other cultures, replacing the other culture’s values with its own (even though such effects are not consciously directed).  The aggressiveness of one culture can have a devastating impact on another culture, and the results of cultural conflicts are the assimilation of the weaker culture into the stronger, the adaptation of the weaker culture to the stronger, or the extermination of the weaker culture by the stronger.  When finished with this course, students will have an understanding of the inevitability of cultural change over time, of the factors that make Western culture “aggressive” whether one wants it to be or not, and a feel for the position of those who belong to a culture under attack by a more aggressive culture.

Economics (semester elective) (course number 218)
This course teaches students the basics of economic theory, the distinctions between public and private sector economic decision-making, markets, labor theory, factors affecting national and local economics, and personal finances.  Students evaluate the impact of real world events on the supply and demand of various commodities and perform cost/benefit analyses of both personal financial decisions and national monetary and fiscal policies.

International Flashpoints (semester elective) (course number 217)
International Flashpoints is a fast-paced and fascinating tour of various important conflicts around the world.  Although this course does by its nature focus on important events in the news, students can also expect to cover such long-standing trouble spots as North Korea, Iraq, Palestine, Taiwan, Kashmir, and civil wars in Africa.  Depending on student interest, we may also cover non-geographically specific issues, such as epidemics (AIDS or SARS), drug smuggling, ecological change, terrorism, religious conflicts, and the roles of America and the UN in the world.  Students are expected to keep up with daily newspaper and magazine reading as well as assignments covering background information for each topic.  Students have the opportunity to explore an area of individual interest through an in-depth project at the end of the course.

Nuclear Power Politics (semester elective) (course number 222)
This classexamines the history and role of nuclear weapons in world affairs as well as the international/diplomatic implications of the development and acquisition of nuclear power by governments. The course examines in broad depth how “nuclear power politics” have shaped 20th and 21st Century diplomacy and society in both the nuclear and non-nuclear nations. The course traces the history of the development of nuclear weapons and power systems and the influence that countries or organizations have gained through the acquisition of these weapons and systems. Students also encounter cultural impacts of the nuclear age that have not only changed military or political reality, but how we live our lives.

Peace and Conflict Studies (semester elective) (course number 223)
This class is an inter-disciplinary inquiry into war as human condition and peace as human potential.  This course enables students to explore conflict and resolution from a number of academic perspectives, honing and exercising a range of critical thinking skills and their knowledge of the social sciences.  Students study the causes and realities of current and historic national and social conflicts, and they explore the ways these conflicts were brought to an end or have otherwise been avoided. Looking at the careers and teachings of 20th century peacemakers such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and Jimmy Carter, students seek common themes and methodologies in the establishment of peace that can be generalized to other forms of current conflict both in the world and even around their own lives. By the end of the semester, students will put their knowledge into action by applying the concepts they’ve encountered to a current real-world situation, either interning at a local organization focused on a current conflict, or even forming an “interest group” on their own to bring awareness and potential solutions to the table.

Revolutionaries (semester elective) (course number 224)
This course focuses on the people and ideas throughout modern history that have stirred the hearts of millions and caused radical change (both productive and destructive) in societies around the world. The idea of Revolution sparks the interest of all students interested in politics, society, and ideas. This course challenges students to look beyond the heroes enshrined in the marble statues of the western “developed” world and to focus instead on revolutionaries of the “third world” or developing nations who exist in the shadows of the west, who nonetheless left their impact on ideas and the way of life all over the world. This course forays into several regions of the non-Western World and determines how these individuals came to power and how the impact of their ideas either benefited or deterred the growth of their regional influence.

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