History students are asked to create meaning from our past and present, developing an ability to understand a historical framework for the world evolving around them. Classes emphasize discussion and oral skills, writing with an emphasis on analytical essays and critical thinking. Students are asked to write history—to formulate, support and document their own views of the past. The use of primary texts is critical in all courses, and student research builds from primary document analysis.
American Environmental History
Open to Grades 11, 12
0.5 credit
At the center of the course are two deceptively simple questions: What is environmental history? And how might studying it change our understanding of American history? This course locates historical inquiry at the interface of nature and culture. This course asks students to consider the influence of nonhuman nature on human history, the human transformation of the environment, and the dynamic interplay between the natural and human-built worlds. To gain an environmentally informed perspective of American history, students first examine the history of environmental thought from the nineteenth century to the present. Next, students explore new methods and frameworks for examining the past by turning their attention to the academic writings of professional environmental historians. Themes in this second part of the course include industrial capitalism, Native American history, public policy, urban history, and issues of environmental justice.
Comparative Religions
Open to Grades 11, 12
0.5 credit
What is religion? Why is religion different from other aspects of human experience? In Comparative Religions, students compare the world’s major religious traditions in an effort to begin answering these questions. Through a combination of sacred texts, believers’ testimonials, films, and music, students work to understand the perspectives of believers and consider how beliefs and rituals have shaped human experience. As they build content knowledge, students also pursue more in-depth learning by designing and completing projects about religious topics of interest to them.
History of Democracy
Open to Grades 11, 12
0.5 credit
What is democracy? How has democracy changed over time? This course explores key themes in the history of democracy by investigating its intersections with other aspects of society, such as religion, the press, the economy, and education. Students engage through active reading, writing, and discussion. Key assessments include weekly discussion questions, a conceptual notebook, in-class midterm and final exams, and a final research project. While focusing largely on the United States, the course also compares American democracy to global examples. Students practice foundational historical skills like identifying change over time, analyzing context and causes of change, and generating analytical questions. They learn to draw conclusions, write persuasively, and use academic resources to construct historical arguments.
History of the Cold War
Open to Grades 11, 12
0.5 credit
How did the Cold War impact the U.S. and the world? This course explores the Cold War from its roots in Marxist theory and the Bolshevik Revolution, to the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Collapse of the Soviet Union. Students consider how this “war” shaped and changed the world with a particular focus on how it affected foreign and domestic policy in the United States, how it shaped American culture, and how its legacy continues to impact the world today. Readings include primary and secondary historical documents, with The Cold War: A New History by John Lewis Gaddis as the main text. Assessments include class discussions, weekly written assignments and quizzes, a presentation-based project, and a brief research paper.
Introduction to Economics
Open to Grades 11, 12
0.5 credit
How does economics help us understand our lives, homes, and political institutions? And what is “economics,” anyway? In Introduction to Economics, students grapple with these questions as they consider how economic actors (ourselves included) make decisions. This course includes a survey of basic economic concepts and terminology that allows students to interpret and understand the world through an economic framework. The class concludes with a research assignment.
Modern World History
Required - Grade 10
1 credit
Modern World History explores the historical foundations of modern power structures, institutions, and cultural norms that have shaped our world with “modern history” defined as the centuries following European expansion over which time revolutionary phenomena, including liberalism, capitalism, and the nation state, among others, took shape. The first half of the course begins roughly around 1500 and continues through the Second World War, focusing on two fundamental questions: How did the modern world come to be? What makes modernity different from earlier periods of human history? The central goals of this term include understanding the broad strokes of this history, analyzing how differing interpretations of the past create meaning, developing active reading skills, and learning the fundamentals of strong essay composition with an emphasis on learning to actively use scholarly secondary sources. The second half of the course considers the major trends in world history since the end of the Second World War. During this term, students expand on their research and critical thinking skills and read a book-length work of history while also analyzing primary source documents organized around topics such as the Cold War, post-colonial independence movements, global economics, and the recent rise of China. By putting primary sources at the center of the second term of the course, students learn how to “read” sources for historical context and situate them in the time and place in which they were produced. Coursework culminates in a research project for which students locate their own primary sources and craft their own arguments.
Social Documentary Studies
Open to Grades 11, 12
0.5 credit
How does art reflect the world around us? How can artists influence our perception of truth? In this course, students explore these questions through a study of documentary photography, and in particular how documentary photographers use the thematic lenses of self, other, and society. The curriculum primarily focuses on photography, but complementary materials include literature, historical texts, census data, video, music, and meetings with photographers and archivists. Project-based work forms the centerpiece of this course and students should be prepared to create their own documentary work. Each student completes a major self-designed capstone piece that combines photography with research. This course satisfies a humanities credit.
Social Psychology
Open to Grades 11, 12
0.5 credit
How does a social context shape the way we understand, influence, and relate to ourselves and each other? How do we maximize the degree of choice we exercise in our lives? And what purposes are served by our behavior? The field of social psychology looks at how these questions and their answers stretch when the context shifts from the individual to the group. This course focuses on three core areas: social thinking, social influence, and social relations. Students learn from classic research studies in these areas and then embark on teaching one another key concepts and building a research project. Students work together, sharing skills and interests to animate a seminar that pursues both individual and group goals. While much of the learning happens collaboratively, the formal written assignments are designed as individual assessments. This course satisfies a humanities credit.
The Modern Middle East
Open to Grades 11, 12
0.5 credit
What does the geopolitical term “Middle East” mean? How has the concept of the Middle East and the places and peoples it describes changed over time? In this course, students approach these questions through historical, religious, political, and geographic lenses. Through analysis of primary sources, students build an understanding of the Middle East that prioritizes the perspectives of Middle Eastern peoples. Along the way, they learn about the role of Western powers in shaping this region, the ways different social categories (tribe, race, class, and gender) have evolved, and how the history of the Middle East expands our perceptions of modernity. Students also devote time to learning about the contemporary Middle East, including popular cultures and youth movements. Major projects have included producing a magazine, documentary films, podcasts, and analytical essays.