History/Social Sciences

The study of history and social science serves to prepare students to be thoughtful, active participants in our democracy. The curriculum provides a framework for students to understand present-day cultural, economic, political, and social conditions by teaching them the essential interrelatedness of the individual to society, of our country to other nations and cultures, and of the past to the present. Throughout the curriculum, studying complex historical and social issues helps students refine their knowledge of human nature; studying the past and present also helps them become informed citizens of the future in an increasingly global society. Students’ exploration of the United States and its diverse heritage develops their understanding of themselves as members of American society. Students’ exploration of world cultures teaches them the value of cross-cultural inquiry both as an end in itself and as a means of gaining a deeper perspective on their own society.

Students at all levels are encouraged to develop and sharpen their powers of reasoning. They are asked to examine both primary and secondary source materials and to analyze and interpret historical situations. They become skilled in weighing arguments from every segment of the community, examining opinions, evaluating options, and judging outcomes. They gain a fundamental knowledge of geography and a vital understanding of economic systems. Literature, music, and art are often integral to their cultural investigations.

To encourage disciplined thinking, students learn how to organize their thoughts and perceptions in clear, logical prose in a variety of writing forms: short essays, briefs, scripts, editorials, research papers, and occasional field work.

Courses

9th Grade Program in History/Social Sciences:
Facing History and Ourselves: As part of their full year course of study, all ninth grade BB&N history students take an opening unit drawn from a traditional BB&N offering “Facing History and Ourselves.” Students are challenged to consider the relationship of individuals and society, the psychology of obedience, and the impact of extreme situations on human behavior. Students investigate the rise of anti-Semitism, Hitler’s path to power and the Holocaust. They do this through primary sources, films, speakers, library research, and class discussions. The Facing History unit concludes with a “Speak Out” project in which each student chooses a public issue, researches both sides, presents to the class and then does something. The student must take public action, such as writing a letter to a local paper, organizing a petition or some other form of civic involvement. This unit deliberately raises great moral questions and aims to promote in each student a sense of social justice.

Early World Civilizations (Grade 9): When their Facing History component is completed, students may figuratively travel down the Nile with Ramses the Great, debate the meaning of life with Aristotle and Confucius, walk the dusty streets of Rome, study the Han Dynasty and ponder the issues of karma and rebirth by the banks of the Ganges. In the fall and early winter students seek understanding of the earliest societies that developed in all corners of the globe. How did these civilizations operate? How did they interact with other cultures? What role did religion play in their lives? Where does myth end and amazing reality begin? Through primary and secondary sources, students study the civilizations of the Mediterranean, Africa, Asia and the Sub-Continent, and the Americas attempting to answer essential questions including: What was the role of religion in the development of civilizations? How did the exchange of ideas through trade and warfare impact these societies? How does interaction between humans and their environment shape a civilization?

Great empires, new religions, violent conflict, brave exploration, and the foundation of our modern world take center stage in the latter part of this course. Revel in the reign of Charlemagne, examine the impact of the Crusades, witness the birth and spread of Islam, ponder the effect of trade on sub-Saharan Africa, marvel at the devastation of the Black Death, admire the revolutionary artwork of the Renaissance and feel the wrath of Genghis Khan. From the ruins left by these clashes and catastrophes, students will examine the hope that emerges, seeing the seeds of modern-day conflicts and compromises planted across the globe from the 6th to 16th centuries. The formation of empires around the world will provide a glimpse of the different methods of governing and of the exchange of ideas through trade, warfare, and the spread of religion.

Early World Civilizations is a study of comparative government, society, and religion. The development of critical skills of a historian become essential: reading for content, note-taking, analytical writing, researching, test-taking, and debating. Assessments will include tests, a research paper, and projects. Several distinct units involving map work dot the course syllabus.

Early Western Civilizations (Grade 9): After the Facing History component is completed the students in this course embark on a study of the origins of Western Civilization in the Near East and Egypt. From the ancient Mediterranean they examine critical parts of the histories of Greece, Persia, Carthage and Rome and Palestine. In the winter the course focus shifts to Europe and North Africa from the 6th to the 16th centuries. This includes the rise of Christendom and the western nation-state, the commercial revolution and early forms of capitalism, the emergence of Islam, the Crusades and the Renaissance. This course seeks to investigate selected topics in some depth rather than in the fashion of a survey.

Skills such as primary source analysis, essay writing, and preparation of a research paper are an integral part of this curriculum. Map work is done in several small units during the year.

Early Western Studies (Grade 9): This is an interdisciplinary offering. Students in Early Western Studies examine essentially the same topics and acquire the same skills as the students in Early Western Civilizations (see above). However, during its first semester, Early Western Studies connects the disciplines of English, History and Photography. For instance, the study of The Odyssey and classical Greek history allow rich subject matter connections. Furthermore, the teachers of the three subjects emphasize common intellectual, pedagogical, and assessment approaches. Making use of the BB&N collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, students learn to use art and observation carefully as the starting point for deep inquiry. Docent Night, in which students present their research to parent groups at the MFA, and a final Banquet are the high points of this program. (The same students are in class together in three courses during first semester; appropriate science, language and mathematics full year courses are scheduled as usual. Second semester brings a new and separate elective in art.)

In January the formal interdisciplinary program comes to a close and the history course, having covered several Near Eastern and Ancient Mediterranean topics, shifts its focus to Europe and North Africa from the 6th to the 16th centuries in keeping with the Early Western Civilizations course of study. The Facing History component occurs in the second semester, to allow a more coherent interdisciplinary experience in the first part of the year.

Enrollment in this course is limited.

Modern World History (Grade 10): This is a course in geography and economics taught in a historical context of the last five hundred years. We will study the movement of people, plants, animals, and even diseases; also the exchange of, cultures, ideas and technologies as we trace the modern world’s story line all the way to the current economic crisis.

In the 1500s and 1600s the Indian Ocean was the richest trading area in the world. China, Mughal India and the Ottoman Empire were world powers. Europeans soon exploited a rich, new Atlantic trade and increasingly accessed the dazzling Asian trading system as well. By the 1800s new energy sources and technologies brought European global dominance and the 1900s saw the United States emerge after the Cold War as the world power. Now the 21st century finds the Indian Ocean reemerging as the hub of the world: home to its rising powers, its critical shipping lanes, and its most dynamic trade. We will study these developments, with currents events consistently part of our discussion.

United States in the Modern World I –early 14th to mid 19th century (Grade 10): This first year of a two year course of study examines both the development of modern nations around the globe from the early 1300s through the mid 1800’s and the serendipitous creation of the United States during that time. The course begins with the Mongols invasions throughout Eurasia and highlights the interconnected world that developed as a result. As the various regions interacted with each other they developed shared and yet distinct institutions. Well into the 17th century the central focus of economic power lay largely in East and South Asia. By the end of the 18th century, however, Europe had become a key and sometimes dominant player in those global economic systems. In their shadow, colonies in the Americas, especially the United States, were formed and became crucial players. In the course, we will examine the regions of the world on their own terms, with their evolutions studied both independently and in the light of increasing European incursions.

In due time, we will cover the colonization of North America, the road to revolution, the formation of the American Republic, the political and social developments of the 19th century, and the climactic Civil War and Reconstruction as part of the larger history of the world, while also accepting the special circumstances that both isolated the United States and later would force its entry onto the world stage. Students will develop their skills by reading various types of sources, taking notes, analyzing documents, writing essays and researching and writing a research paper. Map work will be covered in several distinct units during the year.

Modern European History - Grade 10: Commencing with a brief review of the Renaissance and Reformation, Modern European History analyzes the creation of Western culture from the 17th century to the present. The focus is upon integral history, the concurrent interplay of political, social, economic and intellectual forces upon the evolution of European life. This course follows in logical sequence from Medieval and Early Modern History offered in Grade 9. Study skills such as map analysis and the writing of concise and relevant essays supported by well-founded evidence are emphasized. Course materials include primary, secondary and visual sources. Essential subjects include Absolutism and Louis XIV, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, Napoleon, Industrial Revolution, Imperialism, Communism, Fascism and contemporary Europe.

AP European History (Grade 10): Following the established Advanced Placement chronology, we will examine political, intellectual, social, cultural and economic aspects of Western European history between 1450 and the present. In addition to the textbook; primary sources and several novels are also included in the syllabus. Writing skills are emphasized. Students are expected to take the Advanced Placement examination in May. The course is available to qualified tenth graders who receive departmental approval.

The United States in the Modern World II (with Honors option) late 19th century to present (Grade 11)
Prerequisite: The United States in the Modern World I:
This course is the second part of a two-year sequence that explores the global dimensions of American history. This year we will start in 1865 and end with the Gulf War.

Traditional high school U.S. History courses, by their very nature, focus on our nation’s unique qualities; they often describe our country’s special place in the world. Therefore, they often miss important aspects of our national experience by narrowly focusing on domestic explanations for phenomena that are global in nature. U.S. in the Modern World aims to transcend those confines, and illuminate American history from a global perspective. This course’s central narrative describes the processes by means of which the globe has become increasingly interdependent and America’s role in shaping those processes and being shaped by them. Nonetheless, it will also cover traditional topics in US History from the Gilded Age to the Present. Students will develop their skills by reading various types of sources, as well as analyzing and discussing them, taking notes, writing essays as well as a major research paper. They may elect, during the first quarter, to seek an honors designation by presenting a portfolio of selected assignments and self-assessments for review in the spring to a panel of teachers. In class, there will be no distinction between students taking the course at honors or non-honors levels.

United States History - with Honors option (Grade 11): This course explores the traditional major constitutional, political, economic and social themes in our nation’s history from colonial time to the complex world of the 21st century. It also aims to prepare students for the world they are facing and to develop a more international context for U.S. History by examining the relationship between the United States and the rest of the globe. Students will refine their skills in reading various types of sources, taking notes, analyzing documents, writing essays and then researching and writing a major research paper. Map work will be covered in several distinct units during the year.

Students may elect, during the first quarter, to seek an honors designation by presenting a portfolio of selected assignments and self-assessments for review in the spring to a panel of teachers. In class, there will be no distinction between students taking the course at honors or non-honors levels.

Senior History Electives Twentieth Century U.S. Culture and Society (Grade 12): This course examines the social and cultural history of the United States since 1900. In a decade-by-decade approach, we explore how Americans live and why we live the way we do. We examine the varied fabric and common themes of American life: family and residential patterns, issues of class, race, gender and wealth, changes in social mores and the lives of women. The cultural expressions of these themes and values as shown in the art, commerce, radio & TV, music, film and fashion of each decade offer ample material for lively class reports. Class is conducted in a seminar (discussion) format. Students choose and investigate various topics and share their findings with their classmates. Topics for major projects in have included American music genres, photojournalists, and American ethnic groups. In addition to traditional texts, we rely heavily on films and videos representative of the various periods under discussion.

AP U. S. Government and Politics (Grade 12): Readings from Plato, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, Locke, Hobbes, Jefferson, and Madison provide this study of US Government an emphasis on political philosophy. We view political speeches, interviews, documentaries and Congressional committee hearings. We read the U.S. Constitution carefully. Active participation in class discussion will be expected and required. Students will write several papers and regularly lead class discussions. The text is Wilson and DiIulio's American Government. Students will prepare for and are expected to take the AP examination in May 2010; this covers federalism, separation of powers, civil liberties, the Congress, the Presidency, the bureaucracy and the court system. Enrollment is limited. Students who commit to taking to AP exam will be given priority.

AP Economics (Grade 12): This rigorous course is designed to give students the foundational skills necessary to have an understanding of the major macroeconomic topics: scarcity, opportunity costs, GDP, supply and demand, inflation, unemployment, fiscal policy, monetary policy, the Fed, exchange rates and international economics. Analysis of current events will supplement the historical theories and data studied in the course. Frequent journal reviews and classroom debates will allow students to apply these concepts to recent headlines and they will write a significant research paper on a topic of interest to them. The assessments will be designed to prepare students to sit for the very challenging AP examination in May. Due to limited enrollment for this course in 2009-10, priority will be given to students who are committed to taking the AP exam.

Modern China (Grade 12): Through an exploration of a tumultuous period from 1842 to the present in China, this senior elective course will focus on the confrontations between traditional Chinese values and Western influences, the dilemma of revolution vs. reform, and the resulting hybrid of communism and capitalism. Major topics include the Opium War, the Taiping Rebellion, the Boxer Rebellion, the Qing Reform, the Republic Revolution, the Sino-Japanese Wars, the Civil War, the Cultural Revolution, the Economic Reform, and the Population Control. Special attention will be given to the impact and the role of the West (especially the U.S.A) in the shaping of modern China. Course textbook: Jonathan D. Spence, The Search for Modern China (New York, 1990 New York Times Bestseller). Videos from Ambrica: China: A Century of Revolution and the movie, To Live, will also be used.

Philosophy (Grade 12): This is a course in philosophy learned through its works. It will not focus on themes or schools or personalities; nor will it be a course on Philosophy/ Religion. We will try to understand philosophy by reading as much of the works of the Presocratics, Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas, Confucius, Berkeley, Sartre, etc. as we have time to, by writing papers and dialogues, and by discussions. We will try to cover the time from before the Golden age to the present in the first term and go to some East Asian philosophy during the second term. Although “the Way that can be spoken of/is not the constant Way” (Lao Tzu), assessment will still be by essays, dialogues, and discussions.

Politics in a Global Age (Grade 12): This senior elective focuses on the current challenges the United States faces in formulating foreign policy in the area known as the Fertile Crescent and beyond. Among the topics to be considered are (1) the India-Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict, (2) the rise of Iran as a world power, (3) Iraq and the Sunni-Shi'a-Kurd problem, and (4) the founding of the State of Israel and its relations with the Palestinian Authority.

There will not be a text but rather readings from works of history and political science, journal articles, and newspapers. Outside experts will be invited to participate, including those from the Kennedy School.

World Religions - Historical and Contemporary Contexts: Understanding of today’s world requires study of its major religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. We will study the development of these religions and the way in which they have both influenced and been influenced by their historical contexts. Students will read portions of the sacred texts of these faiths, including selections from the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, the Qur'an, the Rig Veda, the Baghavad Gita, the I Ching, the Tao Te Ching, and the Analects. We will devote the latter portion of the course to examining the way in which followers of these religions impact world politics. Assignments will include tests, essays, and a research paper. Guests will visit the class to talk about their various faiths and religious practices. Students should plan to attend scheduled field trips to local churches, temples and mosques.

African-American History (Grade 12)
Not offered in 2009-10:
This course will examine the status of Africans and their struggle for freedom in America. Beginning with a study of the culture, politics, and economy of great African Dynasties of the 13th-15th centuries, the course will culminate with an intense study of the “modern civil rights movement” of the mid-1950s through 1965. Through extensive use of the critically acclaimed Eyes on the Prize series, we will examine all of the elements related to the successes and failures of that movement. The course will include a study of the African experience in America, from the Colonial period through Reconstruction. A great deal of time will be spent examining racial attitudes then and now, with the idea of developing a greater understanding of the great black leader W.E.B. Dubois’ prophecy that America’s greatest challenge will be solving its "Race Problem."

Psychology (Grade 12)
Not offered in 2009-10:
Throughout history there have been numerous examples of people demonstrating boundless acts of generosity as well as committing hideous atrocities. This range of human behavior has been and continues to be a fascination for people. Psychology will explore this fascination by adopting a scientific approach toward the traditional topics in Psychology: development, the brain and behavior, social influence, learning, sensation and perception, cognition, personality and abnormal behavior. In our course of study, we will seek to better understand, explain, predict and control people, their behaviors and mental processes as well as their environment(s). Lecture, research, simulations and outside readings will be utilized as we investigate behaviors ranging from conditioned reflexes to creative and social behavior.