Social Studies

This US History course is taught largely through a lens focused on young people and stories of overcoming - overcoming personal and structural battles and inequalities. Students will see themselves reflected in stories of diverse ethnicities, sexualities, genders etc., and will encounter the perspectives of young people in every unit. Students will also be encouraged to examine the relevance in their own lives, both of the historical thinking skills they learn (ex: determining the validity of a source, considering multiple perspectives) and the stories they hear (ex: those of overcoming adversity). The goal of this course is not to eliminate political or military history that drives so many courses, but to ensure our students understand that they too, whether or not they become leaders in politics, have a role in writing our country’s history. 

This world history course focuses on four themes that are relevant to today’s globalized world: government and society, technology, cultures in interaction, and global conflict. The course engages students in contemporary and historical inquiries that represent the intense, continuing and truly global development of human societies and their relationships to philosophy, religion, power and the physical environment. The course asks essential questions: 

What are the legacies of democratic revolutions and other forms of government?

What ideas and powers led to imperialism and what are its legacies?

How have global conflict, global independence and interdependence, and economic and technological change formed our globalized world?