UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES
From examining current issues and other countries to understanding the forces that have shaped human civilization, social studies gives you insight into both the present and the past. Grades six and seven focus on local history, US Government, geography and world cultures. World History, a two-year course for eighth and ninth graders, incorporates the study of art, religion and developing technology. Tenth and eleventh graders take a comprehensive two-year course in U.S. History. In grades 11 and 12, student can elect courses in economics, psychology, and Model U.N. and take AP courses in U.S. history and psychology.
HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES FACULTY
HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES OFFERINGS
Full year 1 credit, 9th grade
WORLD HISTORY 2 traces the development of many world cultures and looks at major themes of human development, such as society and politics, religion and government, and science and technology. Students examine the development of the Modern Era and the increased globalization of human interaction. Text: World History: Patterns of Interaction (McDougal Littell, 1999).
Full year 1 credit each year, 10 & 11th grade
UNITED STATES HISTORY 1 & 2 is a two-year comprehensive survey. Students explore the origins and development of U.S. political, economic, and social systems. Tenth graders examine the emergence of the U.S. as a unique entity from its native and colonial roots through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Eleventh graders study the 20th-century evolution of the U.S. from Westward expansion into a political and world leader following successive World Wars. Text: A People and a Nation (Houghton Mifflin, 2001).
Full year 1 credit, 11th grade Prerequisite: department approval
AP UNITED STATES HISTORY 1 & 2 prepare students for the AP test. The course parallels U.S. History 1 and 2 and includes intensive study of primary documents, advanced essay writing, and examination of the process of historical construction. Text: The Americans (McDougal Littell, 1998) and additional readers.
Full year 1 credit, 12th grade
AP PSYCHOLOGY surveys psychology concepts in depth; students study facts, principles, and phenomena associated with each of the major subfields. Students learn the history of psychology and research techniques in preparation for the AP test. Text: Psychology (McDougal Littell, 2000).
ELECTIVES
Full year 1/2 credit, 9th-12th grade
CIVIL & CRIMINAL LAW 1 presents civil and criminal cases through role playing, decision making, and debates. Emphasis is on recent legal questions and issues.
Full year 1/2 credit, 9th-12th grade
CIVIL & CRIMINAL LAW 2 presents current law cases, important historical cases, and a civil law review dealing with contracts and other commercial law issues. Emphasis is on major legal research, written projects, and individual and group presentation.
Full year 1/2 credit, 11th-12th grade
LATIN AMERICAN CULTURES 1 focuses on the encounter between Spain and Latin America — its history and cultural impact, past and present. Students study dictatorship rule, human rights issues, cultural beliefs and practices, and current issues facing people in Latin America. Texts: works by Julia Alvaréz, Isabel Allende, Jose Martí, etc.; additional resources: the Internet, historical documentary films, current magazines.
Full year 1/2 credit, 11th-12th grade
LATIN AMERICAN CULTURES 2 focuses on 20th century history of Latin America looking in depth at political issues in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Mexico. Texts: works by Julia Alvaréz, Isabel Allende; Internet research, documentary films, current magazines.
Semester 1/2 credit
POLITICAL SCIENCE provides an overview of this fascinating social science. Political Science, which is chiefly concerned with the description and analysis of political and especially governmental institutes and processes.
Semester 1/2 credit, 11th-12th grade, 10th grade with permission from instructor
MODEL UNITED NATIONS simulates the actual United Nations. Students discuss current world issues that include human rights, refugees, crime prevention, drug trafficking, and economic development and provide resolutions to these areas of contention. Student ambassadors debate various international topics as a representative of their adopted country when the class attends an off-site Model U.N. Conference. Text: Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, Up Front.
1st Semester 1/2 credit
PSYCHOLOGY 1 introduces developmental psychology, learning styles, dream analysis, personality testing, and abnormal behavior. The course includes active discussions, evaluation of various schools of thought, and applicable experiments. Text: Psychology (McDougal Littell, 2000).
Semester 1/2 credit
MODERN WORLD ECONOMY examines the fundamental principles of economics that apply to the functions of individual decision makers, both consumers and producers, within the framework of the larger economic system. Students examine the development of the "international system," aiming to understand historical origins and implications for global politics and U.S. foreign and economic policy. Students study the nature and functions of markets and the role of government in promoting greater efficiency in microeconomic applications. In macroeconomics students come to understand the principles that apply to the economy as a whole. Text: Economics (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1999).
2 nd Semester, 1/2 credit
MACROECONOMICS
Macroeconomics is designed to give students a thorough education and understanding of economic principles that apply to the economy as a whole. Students will gain working knowledge of supply and demand, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, unemployment, the role of government in the economy, international trade, and much more as the class progresses through the College Board’s AP Macroeconomics course description. The class will discuss current events related to the subject that are summarized in newspapers, online journals, and periodicals. In addition, students will learn to identify and explain how a country’s economic policy decisions impact and reflect its social, political, and cultural roots.
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