History

The history curriculum strives to develop awareness and an understanding of the past as a prerequisite to a full understanding of the present. History is the third dimension; it gives depth and perspective to the great issues of today. Above all, classroom techniques and the organization of the program attempt to encourage intellectual and cultural curiosity and a genuine interest in history.

The initial courses develop the story from ancient times to the present, with emphasis on Europe and the United States in the last two centuries. Three courses, one of which must be U.S. History, are required of all students. Five full-year elective courses are open to seniors and qualified juniors who have completed the required courses: Microeconomics, U.S. Government, Advanced Placement Economics, Advanced Placement U.S. Government, and Advanced Placement World History. These students may also choose to take one or more of the semester courses: The World at War, Criminal Law, the Civil War in Film and Fiction, and Honors Asian Studies. Mechanics of all courses include extensive reading, oral reports, class discussion, and a research paper.

Ancient History/Study Skills

Ancient History is a freshman level course designed to introduce the students to the roots of western and eastern civilizations. Students explore Pre-History and the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, Rome, India, China, Byzantium, and Europe through the Middle Ages, as well as looking at the world's major religions. The course emphasizes the development of political and cultural systems within ancient civilizations, and explores their relevance to the modern world. Throughout the year students are taught and implement a variety of skills that will help them in all areas of academia.

American History

American History is presented in a two-year sequence: Foundations of U.S. History (ordinarily for sophomores) and U.S. History (for juniors).

Foundations of U.S. History

During the first half of the year, this course introduces important antecedents to U.S. History from the Renaissance to the late 18th century. Several topics relating to the founding of the colonies and the new nation in the Americas are discussed: the Renaissance liberalization of thought and expression, the age of exploration, the Protestant Reformation, the development of Constitutional practices in government and Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence in England, the great ideas and thinkers of the Enlightenment, and the economic trends of Western Europe. The second half of the year begins the study of U.S. history itself and surveys the development of the American nation from the colonial period through the age of Jackson.

U.S. History

The U.S. History course begins where Foundations ends, leading students through the 19th and 20th centuries to the present. The course stresses political, social, and economic issues, with special emphasis on people, causality, and the underlying trends and movements that link past to present. Students are thrust into a history that lives and breathes. Confronting the problems of historical objectivity and varying interpretations, the student develops the ability to judge the past for himself.

Microeconomics

The Microeconomics course analyzes the economic choices, decisions, and issues facing individuals and individual business enterprises. After an introduction to basic economic concepts, the course presents topics including theory of markets for products, the nature of demand, costs of production, and decisions regarding pricing and output of competitive firms, monopolies, and oligopolies. Issues relating to markets for products are also introduced. The theory of factor markets is addressed, looking at markets for labor, land, and borrowed and equity capital. Issues such as taxation and welfare are examined in the microeconomic context. Finally, issues surrounding international trade, finance, and development are presented.

U. S. Government

The U. S. Government course explores the workings of the government in less intensive fashion than is required in the Advanced Placement U. S. Government course. The course leads the student to understand the principles and the mechanics of American democracy, toward the purpose of higher citizenship. Students explore philosophical and cultural factors underlying our form of government, constitutional issues, major institutions of both federal and state government, the separation of powers among branches, the creation of laws, the court system, and the federal budget. Students learn to appreciate and articulate differing sides of controversial questions related to government.

Semester Courses

Criminal Law and the Legal Process

This course will explore the court system and the basics of state and Federal criminal law. After going over how the court system works, we will then look at various aspects of criminal law, focusing on some of the more modern/current applications of the law -- terrorism laws, police investigations and the use of evidence, car and home searches, juvenile law, the death penalty controversy, etc.

The Civil War in Film & Fiction

In writing or making films about the United States' Civil War, artists have chosen to represent the war and its consequences in a variety of ways and to focus on a number of different themes. The Civil War in Film & Fiction is an elective semester course that examines how the war has been portrayed in both novels and films over the years. The challenge of this course is not simply to learn about the war and the various works we study, but to assess how those works present different facets of the war and what that tells us about both the war era and those who created the film and fiction. Ideally, the students will emerge as more discerning readers of fiction and viewers of film.

WWI and WWII

Following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in on June 28, 1914, the world changed forever. Thirty-one years later, the mighty British Empire had fallen, Germany rose and was defeated twice, the Far East became a central part of world politics, and the USSR and the US emerged as the world's only super powers. How did so much change take place in three decades? This course will explore the people and events that helped tear down the ruling structures of Europe, Asia, and North America and created the modern world. Special focus will be given to military and diplomatic history.

Departmental Honors

Honors Ancient History/Study Skills

Honors Ancient History is a freshman level course designed to introduce the students to the roots of western and eastern civilizations. Students explore Pre-History and the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, Rome, India, China, Byzantium, and Europe through the Middle Ages, as well as looking at the world's major religions at an accelerated rate. At the honors level students are challenged with a variety of readings from primary source documents, as well was response papers, projects, and presentations. The course emphasizes the development of political and cultural systems within ancient civilizations, and explores their relevance to the modern world. Throughout the year students are taught and implement a variety of skills that will help them in all areas of academia.

Foundations of U.S. History Honors

This course is intended for sophomores who plan to take Advanced Placement U.S. History in the junior year. The honors course draws extensively on primary sources and engages the student in interpretive study beyond the scope of the non-honors sections. Critical research and writing assignments assume a prominent place in the curriculum. Greater attention falls on the interpretive aspects of the historical study.  

Advanced Placement U.S. History

Advanced Placement U.S. History provides a college-level approach to the American past from colonial beginnings to the present. The student is required to handle primary source and documentary materials and to grapple with the problems of conflicting historical interpretation. The underlying objectives of the course are to develop the necessary tools for critical historical analysis and to stimulate an appreciation for the genuine vitality and color of our national experience.

Advanced Placement Microeconomics

The Advanced Placement Microeconomics course focuses on providing students with a thorough knowledge of the principles of economics and preparing them for them for the Advanced Placement exam. At the heart of the course is basic decision making skills. This includes the concepts of scarcity, choice and tradeoffs, opportunity costs, basis for trade, marginal analysis, and more. Students also learn extensively about the concepts of supply and demand, and about both the product market and the market for factors of production. The course also explores the causes of market failure, the role of government intervention in a market economy, and the concept of international trade. 

Advanced Placement U.S. Government

This course gives students an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. It examines the various institutions, interest groups, political ideas, and beliefs that together constitute the political life of the United States.  Topics include constitutional underpinnings, political beliefs and behaviors, political parties, pressure groups and the mass media, the presidency, Congress, the federal courts, bureaucracy, public policy, civil rights, and civil liberties. The course addresses both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific political issues.

Advanced Placement World History

The AP World History course is designed to help students develop a deeper knowledge of the evolution of global processes and contacts, in interaction with different types of human societies. This understanding is advanced through a combination of selective factual knowledge and appropriate analytical skills. Students gain a greater understanding of past world events by examining diverse cultures from around the world beginning in 8000 BCE and working their way to the present. Throughout the year students are challenged with a variety of readings from primary source documents, as well as response papers, projects, and presentations. The course emphasizes the development of political and cultural systems and explores their relevance to the modern world.

Honors Asian Studies

Honors Asian Studies is a semester course designed to introduce students to touchstones of traditional East Asian culture and modern East Asian history. Students engage traditional thought, including selections in Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Buddhism, and Shinto; they study traditional culture through reading an eighteenth century Chinese detective novel and a Japanese puppet play set in the feudal era. The more modern studies focus first on Asia's initial interaction with the West and then on East Asian development since World War II.