Through the framework of the curriculum, students are prepared for their role as thoughtful, informed, and active world citizens. The primary goal of the curriculum is to increase students’ understanding of and respect for their own and other cultures and points of view. Particular emphasis is placed on analyzing primary sources, interpreting maps, tables, and graphs, and writing thoughtfully about history. The skills of outlining, note-taking, listening, and discussing are reinforced throughout each course. Through the study of the past, students see its connection to the present and its impact on the future.
CLASS VIII: CONTEMPORARY WORLD
This course builds on the foundations in world geography and history that the students have gained through the Lower and Middle School curricula. Using a variety of sources, including The New York Times online, students explore issues of current importance from a number of perspectives. Topics may include political developments in selected African and South American nations, society in post-Soviet Russia, the modern vs. the traditional in South Asia and the Middle East, and economic and social change in China. Students examine current domestic issues through preparation for a multi-school Model Congress held in the spring. They also develop their skills in critical reading, writing, note taking, and study and research methods. In addition to regular tests, assignments include a major research paper and responding to articles in The New York Times within a class blog.
CLASS IX: INTEGRATED HUMANITIES
CLASS X: GLOBAL HISTORY
College Preparatory and Honors
The Class X Global History course builds on the global perspective and skills development of Class IX Integrated Humanities. The course is designed to provide students with a balanced examination of a variety of world regions and spans the time period from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era. Students explore these regions with a focus on pertinent transformations in political, social, and economic, and cultural spheres. Among the topics included are PreModern European, American, and Asian civilizations, the rise of nationalism and the establishment of world empires, political and economic revolutions and European imperialism expansion, the worldwide impact of the World Wars and Cold War, and background on pivotal modern issues such as the challenges faced by post-colonial Africa, the evolution of the Indian and Chinese economies, and the roots of current tensions in the Middle East. Critical reading expectations include a wide variety of primary source documents and supplementary secondary sources such as the writings of professional historians and journalists. Students develop their writing abilities through analytical essays, creative explorations of historical topics, and a semester research paper. Through this course students gain a greater appreciation of the diversity of world societies and the increasing interdependence of the world community. The text used in this course is Roger Beck, World History: Patterns of Interaction.
CLASS XI: UNITED STATES HISTORY
This course is designed to provide the students with a comprehensive survey of the history of the United States from its colonial beginnings up to the modern era. Following a chronological format, the course includes coverage of the significant cultural, economic, political, and social trends in the development of the nation. Major emphasis is placed on the Constitutional era, the development of nationalism, the causes and consequences of the Civil War, the Industrial Age, and the impact of the rise of the United States to a position of world power in the twentieth century. Critical reading expectations include a wide variety of primary source documents and supplementary secondary sources such as the writings of professional historians and journalists. Students develop their writing abilities through analytical essays, creative explorations of historical topics, and a research paper. Throughout the course, the students are made aware of the unique privileges and responsibilities held by members of a democratic society. The text used in this course is Paul Boyer, The American Nation.
CLASS XI: ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY
This course approximates a college survey of the history of the United States from settlement to the modern period. In addition to acquiring a firm grasp of the factual narrative sequence of the nation’s history, students focus especially on the development of critical and analytical skills in reading and writing. Students read a standard college-level text as well as articles by major historians. They also examine the historiography of significant debatable issues. All writing in the course is aimed at clear analytical expression by students on issues of historical interpretation. Students also work with specific Advanced Placement requirements, such as the Document-Based Question, which prepare the students for the College Board’s Advanced Placement Examination in the spring. The text used in this course is Paul Carnes and Garraty, The American Nation.
CLASS XII: HISTORY ELECTIVES