The primary mission of the department of History and Social Studies is to teach a curriculum of history, culture, and heritage that will enable students to know themselves more fully as developing individuals in a changing historical context and as active participants in their local, national, and world communities. The department seeks to nurture each student’s enjoyment of history; teach a body of knowledge; develop skills in research, writing, and oral expression; implement learning activities that systematically develop critical thinking; and instill in students a sense of service to others and responsibility for their world. The program examines global human experience in light of such unifying themes as the process of change over time and the interrelationships among societies. Information is selected to stimulate student interest in and understanding of historical concepts and patterns. Issues of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, and class are incorporated into the curriculum along with current events and geography. Methods of evaluation in all courses include tests, reading quizzes, essays, and research papers. Students should expect that at each grade level the reading will become more challenging. Numerous elective courses are also offered, including several introductory courses in the social sciences, political science, and international relations. All non-Advanced Placement elective courses adhere to similar standards regarding reading assignments, research papers, and grading. All courses in the department have final examinations except for Advanced Placement courses in the second semester.

TENTH GRADE

This course presents a European perspective on the political, economic, intellectual, and cultural developments of the seventeenth through the late-twentieth centuries and the impact of those developments on world cultures. Students focus on the significance of key ideas and movements: Revolution, Industrialism, Nationalism, Socialism, Marxism, Imperialism, Colonialism, Decolonization, and Totalitarian models. In addition to mastering the content, students continue to develop skills in reading primary and secondary sources, critical thinking, coherent argumentation, research, and expository writing.

This course is part of a program developed jointly by the departments of History and Social Studies and Visual Arts. The historical content of this course is the same as that of The World and Europe II, but is coordinated with the activities of the Drawing and Painting course (0280-0). The two curricula parallel each other chronologically and thematically. In the history part of the course, art is used as a primary source. In the art studio part of the course, students learn the principles of design and visual literacy and develop their perceptual, analytic, and expressive drawing and painting skills while working on projects that involve the same concepts and subject material they are concurrently studying in history. A wide variety of media and techniques are explored in the process. Success in the course depends upon motivation and self-discipline.

ELEVENTH GRADE

Students examine the main features of the American experience: the nature of colonial life, the reasons for the revolutionary break from England, the constitutional system, the development of democracy and capitalism, reform movements and the Civil War, the impact of the frontier, the changing nature of business and government, the changing role of the United States as a world power, and the struggle to achieve class, ethnic, racial, and gender equality. Students develop the ability to read historical material analytically and critically and to pursue independent research. In addition to primary documents and historical narratives, selections from American literature and audiovisual materials are used.

The Advanced Placement version of the United States History course prepares students for the Advanced Placement examination in American History. As stated by the College Board, “the Advanced Placement Program in United States History is designed to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in American History. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by introductory college courses.” In addition to essential primary and factual information, this course also seeks to acquaint students with a variety of scholarly interpretations of major historical issues.
Prerequisite: The History and Art of Modern Europe and the World or B+ or higher in The World and Europe II and permission of the department.

YEAR-LONG ELECTIVES

This course prepares students for the Advanced Placement examination in Art History. It presents a chronological study of architecture, painting, and sculpture from prehistoric times to the present. The emphasis is on Western European Art and its cultural context. Students learn to interpret works of art in terms of the aesthetic principles of each period. This is primarily a college-style lecture course.

The goal of Advanced Placement World History is to develop an understanding of the evolution of world history and the interactions of human societies from earliest times to today. This course looks at the history of the world from the earliest civilizations in Sumer, Egypt, India, and China to the present, emphasizing history from approximately 500 CE on. Students look at the histories of peoples in every part of the world. They discuss the rise and fall of the world’s great empires, the development of the world’s religions (Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and others), philosophical traditions (Confucianism, Daoism, etc.), the roles of law and government, and social changes (history of women, technological developments, important trade routes, cross-cultural exchanges such as the Crusades, the development of the Silk Roads, the Mongol Empire, and others). The second semester focuses primarily on the modern era from about 1500 CE to the present, a period in which the world became increasingly integrated.
Prerequisite: Advanced Placement United States History or a grade of B+ or higher in United States History or permission of the instructor.

This course prepares students for the Advanced Placement examination in American Government and Politics by analyzing the constitutional underpinnings of American government, the civil liberties guaranteed to the people of the United States, the political beliefs and behaviors of American citizens, political parties and interest groups, and the institutions and policy processes of the national government. Current political, legal, and governmental issues are used to illustrate major points and refine students’ understanding.
Prerequisite: Advanced Placement United States History or B+ or higher in regular United States History.

SEMESTER ELECTIVES

This course focuses on subjects of controversy in current American politics. The classroom experience is organized along the lines of a college-level seminar. About five weeks are spent on each topic. For the first three weeks, students discuss a series of common readings and prepare to undertake specialized projects. Projects are done by groups within the class. The last two weeks of each subject study includes presentation and discussion of the group projects. Topics include poverty in the United States, an in-depth look at the political career of Richard Nixon, and the controversy surrounding immigration.

This course examines the growth and development of mass culture in the United States during the twentieth century. The course focuses on sports, film, radio, and television to illustrate various aspects of American social history. It uses audiovisual material, lecture, and class discussion to help students reach an understanding of how popular culture affects and reflects American society.

The purpose of this course is to enable students to develop an analytical model so that they can examine and understand issues in American society that relate to racial, ethnic, and other cultural differences. This course utilizes: seminar-style discussion; varied resources (articles from academic journals, magazines, and newspapers, excerpts from fictional works and memoirs, video and film, Internet, and personal interviews); and students’ individual experiences. Students construct an interpretative framework that allows them to explore—in an informed and analytical manner—areas of individual interest (whatever that may be: race, gender, religion, sexual preference, age, regional differences, etc.) through their work in writings and on projects. Projects in the past have included research papers, video and multimedia presentations, and interpretative artwork.

This introductory course examines those factors that promote both cooperation and conflict between and among nation-states in the international system. Topics covered in the course include rules of effective diplomacy, economic development, the use of force, and human rights. The centerpiece of the course is a simulation exercise in which the class assumes the identity of a contemporary nation. The students then develop diplomatic relations with several West Coast schools also posing as nations. Communication among the schools/nations takes place online. The first third of the course is devoted to preparing for the simulation, the middle third to the simulation itself, and the final third to a continuation of the study of the principles of international relations. In the case of overenrollment, year in school and grades in previous history courses are used as the criteria for admission.

Understanding and explaining cultural diversity around the world is the mission of human geography. The main objective of this course is to introduce students to the systematic study of the patterns and processes that have shaped humans’ understanding, use, and alteration of the earth’s surface. It also introduces students to geography as an academic field of inquiry. Topics covered in the course include: human population growth and movement, including urbanization; patterns of culture; the economic use of the earth, including industrialization, agriculture, and general economic development; and the political organization of space. Geography analyzes human social organization—places, people, and events—as well as how these factors interact.

This course examines: the sources of public authority and political power; the relationship between state, society, and citizen; the political and institutional framework of various governments; and the ways in which political change occurs. The course focuses on the governments of Britain, Russia, China, Iran, Mexico, and Nigeria in analyzing these topics.
Prerequisite: Advanced Placement United States History or B+ or higher in regular United States History.

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(from the 2008-2009 Curriculum Guide)