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Upper School
Upper School

History

By its very nature, history is a synthesizing discipline which seeks to clarify contemporary issues and concerns in light of past experience and changing concepts that invite us to rethink the record of human experience. In all courses our goal is to lead students to an awareness of the forces and conditions that transform human society. We are committed to developing the basic competencies for academic achievement — critical reading, reasoning, writing, speaking, listening, and effective research skills. Our objective is to enable our students, through thoughtful examination of the human environment, past and present, and the development of basic competencies, to gain a deeper understanding of their social, cultural, and physical environments and to empower them with the tools they will need for a lifetime of learning.

All elective courses in the department are subject to enrollment and may be offered in alternating years. Enrollment in all honors and AP courses is subject to departmental approval.

Courses in this department:

History

Introduction to U.S. History

Grades 9-12
Credit: 1

This course is designed for new International students. The class will survey United States history from the era of European exploration and settlement to the present. Students will have an opportunity to focus in greater depth on specific events or cultural aspects of this country in which they have a particular interest: life among Native Americans when the Europeans arrived, how slavery began and ended, and the impact of World War II on American families are recent examples of topics chosen by students. Readings from a variety of sources, videos, written assignments, and oral presentations are among the activities designed to encourage critical thinking about historical topics as well as to strengthen English language skills.

Global Connections

Required course for Grade 9
Credit: 1

This course is designed to develop critical thinking skills through units of regional study in which students consider the relationship between physical systems and human systems. Students learn general information about resources, population, land use, government structures, and economic systems relevant to the unit they will be examining. That information is built upon over the course of the year through its application to the research projects. Students learn to formulate questions, select data, look for cause and effect relationships, and make assumptions about consequences all while working in collaborative groups, further developing this critical skill. Each unit has a presentation and critical writing component. Students are evaluated in groups and as individuals and are required to evaluate each project upon completion.

Foundations of the Modern World

Required for Grade: 10
Credit: 1 

This course is designed to introduce students to the people, events and ideas that have shaped the 20th and 21st centuries in cultures around the world. During the first semester, emphasis will be on the period from the 1400s through the 1800s. Units include: (1) the world in 1400 as reflected in the Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal Empires, the civilizations of China and Japan, the empire of Mali, and the Aztec and Inca civilizations; (2) the European explorations and conquests in the 15th and 16th centuries; (3) European religious, political and economic revolutions, such as the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution; and (4) European Imperialist in Africa and Asia. In the second semester, the units of study will focus on the 20th century and feature units on: China’s and Japan’s response to imperialism; World War I; the rise of fascism and communism; World War II and the Holocaust; the Cold War; the independence movements in Africa and Asia; and contemporary issues, such as recent genocides. The class will include a major research paper, power point presentations, primary document analyses, essay writing and discussion of documentary films relevant to the topics being covered.

Honors Foundations of the Modern World

Required course for Grade 10
Recommendation of the department required.
Credit: 1 

Students in this honors course use an Advanced Placement World History text. They plunge more deeply into the material and move through a substantially larger body of reading assignments. While bound by the same expectations for presenting, students in this honors course also spend a considerable amount of time on challenging writing assignments, grappling all year with Document Based Questions and embarking on a substantial research project in the spring. Students begin their study of World History circa 600 C.E. and learn about the expansion and flowering of the first truly global civilization: Islam. After studying the rise of the West and imperialism, they end the year examining human rights. While investigating the causes and consequences of twentieth century genocides, and the first 21st century one in Darfur, they will also evaluate the response of the United States government.

U.S. History: From Jamestown to 9/11

Required course for Grade 11
Credit: 1

This course surveys the history of the United States from early European/Native American encounters up through the 1970s. Extensive use of primary documents familiarizes students with voices of the past, while secondary readings offer students varying scholarly opinions on such issues as ethnohistory, slavery, social reform, labor, Vietnam, and globalization. Students study the influence of geographic features on agricultural and industrial development, foreign policy, and the character of American people. The interaction between the private life of citizens and the public world of government is examined in each unit as students consider how people seek to safeguard their way of life or to press for change and, in doing so, alter the role of government.

American Government

Elective for Grades 11-12
Credit: .5 

This American government and civics elective will give students the opportunity to gain an understanding of the American political system, but more importantly, it will provide a forum for them to apply their understanding as they discuss their role, as women, in the American political system. The core of the course will focus on developing a sound knowledge base by discussing the development of the democratic-republican system through a traditional study of the American Constitution, and readings from Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and W. C. Mills The Power Elite. However, with each topic addressed we will also narrow our lens to mediate the role of women in the development of the American system of government, and the role of women in American politics today. Linda Kerber’s No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies will be a seminal source as summer reading to facilitate these discussions. Teaching this course in an election year, during the 2012 presidential elections, provides a natural segue from discussing exciting news of the day, to evaluating the intent, purpose and role of the documents from the 18th century. An integral part of each day will be the presentation of current events, and tracking the progress of the election. The course will prepare students to approach active citizenship and participation in the democratic process by helping them understand their historic role as women in America, and to understand the issues they will have to confront as they become effective citizens.

World Outreach: African Studies

Elective for Grades 11-12
Credit: .5 

This elective is designed to give students a broad view of the historical record and contemporary issues of Africa. While some attention will be directed toward the Islamic societies of the area bordering the Mediterranean, most of the focus will be on sub–Sahara Africa. Units of study will include: early pre–colonial empires, the age of imperialism, independence, and present–day challenges. Case studies will be of such countries as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. Features of the course include the use of novels and short stories, student PowerPoint presentations, and research papers on significant people and events.

World Outreach: Caribbean Studies

Elective for Grades 10-12
Credit: .5 

Geography may not be destiny but it has certainly played a critical and constant role in shaping the history of this region. It is a place of spectacular beauty. People from all continents have played a role in its often-turbulent history: one that has been molded by colonialism, slavery, and resistance. The shape and evolution of societies in this region have been both enriched by its multi-ethnic identity and burdened by the control and intervention of foreign powers up to the present day. Students will consider the central themes of slavery, capitalism, emancipation, colonialism, revolution and imperialism. Because the Caribbean is a place whose history has been written and rewritten by European and U.S. scholars, students will discuss historiography and concentrate on the voices of people native to the island countries by studying the art, music, and literature of this culturally vibrant region.

World Outreach: East Asian Studies

Elective for Grades 10-12
Credit: .5

This is a one–semester course that gives students the opportunity to understand “a fundamental shift in world history — a basic realignment of global stature and political power that will change the way the world has worked for the past five hundred years...we are launching the Asian century.” T.R. Reid, Confucius Lives Next Door. This course focuses on the history of two Asian super–powers: Japan and China. One of them, Japan, has emerged in the last 30 years to become a wealthy economic power, while the other, China, has more recently come on to the international scene as a major economic, political and military force. Features of the course include the use of novels and short stories, student PowerPoint presentations, and a research paper about significant people and events.

World Outreach: Russian Studies

Elective for Grades 10-12
Credit: .5

Russia is the largest country in the world, a major nuclear power, and a nation rich in resources. This course covers the study of important people and events in Russian History beginning in the 13th century. Starting with the early Tsars and continuing with the Romanov dynasty through World War I, the course will focus mostly on the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent history of the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. Emphasis will also be placed on literature (Tolstoy, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Solzhenitsyn), music (Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky), and films of the Russian and Soviet eras.

World Outreach: The Middle East & Beyond; Islamic World

Elective for Grades 10-12
Credit: .5

The United States has frequently defined its national interests in terms of securing vital natural resources, seeking and supporting friendly allies, responding to acts of aggression, providing aid to nations in need, and seeking ways to defend democracy and human rights. This course will focus on how the U.S. has used these national interests to deal with events in countries that are mostly Islamic, that are mostly associated with oil and strategic locations, and that are at times involved in conflicts that have resulted in our intervention. Major emphasis will be on the background to the events leading up to and following 9/11.

Introduction to Anthropology

Elective for Grades 10-12
Credit: .5

Anthropology is commonly referred to as the science of humanity, and is the study of humans, past and present. To understand the full sweep and complexity of cultures across all of human history, anthropology draws and builds upon knowledge from the social and biological sciences as well as the humanities and physical sciences. A central concern of anthropologists is the application of knowledge to the solution of human problems. Historically, anthropologists in the United States have been trained in one of four areas: cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics. Anthropologists often integrate the perspectives of several of these areas into their research, teaching, and professional lives. We will look at all four fields of anthropology – biological, linguistic, archaeology, and cultural – but focus mainly on cultural anthropology.

Clifford Geertz stated; "Man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun. Culture is those webs." Throughout this course we will find the webs that connect us to other cultures, and challenge your understanding of how to study these connections. Because not only is anthropology an academic field, but it is also a way of thinking. In order to study these connections and transform ourselves from ethnocentric thinkers, we will be using an array of ethnographic studies, films, first hand narratives, conducting and transcribing interviews, academic journals, and much more!

Inequality in the United States

Elective for Grades 11-12
Prerequisite: Completion of U.S. History 
Credit: .5

This course will introduce students to systems of social inequality in the United States. The structural, interpersonal and psychological dimensions of oppression will be investigated. Course material will explore the ways that racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism and religious oppression have developed over time as well as the ways they impact each of us every day. As a result of this class, students will be able to link course concepts to their observation and experience of the world around them, develop an awareness of their own complex social identity, and gain the tools needed for productive dialogue about systems of power, privilege and difference in the United States.

History Teaching Assistantship

Grade 12
Credit: .5

This position is open to seniors in good academic standing who have a strong interest in history. Students will assist teachers with the required ninth grade history course, Global Connections. After a series of training workshops, teaching assistants will help present new material to the ninth graders and reinforce the research, writing, and presentations skills that the course is designed to develop through project work. In addition to their involvement during class time and preparation outside of class, these senior assistants will meet weekly with the teacher to review, assess, and preview units of study and student work. They will keep a weekly log and must submit an in-depth, formal evaluation of the course and their performance at the end of the term. Interested students apply to the history department in the spring of their junior year during course registration. The history department reviews the applications and makes its decisions by the end of the year.

AP U.S. History

Open for Grade: 11
Recommendation of the department required.
Credit: 1

This course fulfills the U.S. History Requirement and and covers events from the seventeenth century through the end of the Cold War. Chapter tests, the primary assessment tool, are designed to familiarize students with the format and types of questions they will face on the AP examination in May. The course emphasizes critical reading, techniques for improving the organization and development of essays, and primary document analysis. After the AP exam, students work exclusively on a research project. Students who enroll in this rigorous course must be willing to commit at least 12 hours of reading and studying per week. They will also be expected to get a jump on their coverage of U.S. History during the summer with required reading, as well as study during vacation breaks.

AP European History

Elective for Grade 12
Recommendation of the department required.
Credit: 1 

This upper level history course provides an in-depth study of European History from the 1400’s to the present. Emphasis is on such skills as critical thinking, writing essays, researching controversial topics and presenting information by means of PowerPoints and debates. Other features include summer reading, an additional lab period per week, and a commitment to work during vacation breaks. The course is intended to prepare students to take the AP exam in May, and students will be required to take that test.

South Africa and the US: Historical Parallels

Elective for Grades 11
Credit: .5

This course is team taught by staff at Ethel Walker, the Metropolitan Learning Center (MLC) in Bloomfield, CT and the Plowshares Institute. Students from Walker’s and the MLC will be selected to participate in this course that, in addition to South African and US history, focuses on social activism, conflict resolution, and civic engagement. The course includes both on-line and classroom work and includes a two-week field study in South Africa for a dynamic 21st century learning experience. During the trip students will have an opportunity to meet with government leaders, teachers, economists, activists and more.

PLEASE NOTE: There is an application process and travel costs for this class.

AP Human Geography

Elective for Grade: 10, 11 and 12
Recommendation of the department required
Credit: 1

This course is a fast-paced upper level social studies course that introduces students to the patterns and processes that have shaped the understanding, use and alterations of Earth. Students will be expected to not only understand but also analyze maps and spatial data, to recognize the different regions of the world and to understand how events and processes influence one another. Topics covered will include population, cultural patterns, cities and urban land use, and economic development. Students will be required to take the AP Exam in May.

AP Microeconomics

Elective for Grade 10, 11 and 12
Recommendation of the department required
Credit: 1

 

From the College Board website: The purpose of the AP course in Microeconomics is to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to the functions of individual decision makers, both consumers and producers, within the economic system. It places primary emphasis on the nature and functions of product markets and includes the study of factor markets and of the role of government in promoting greater efficiency and equity in the economy. Students will be required to take the AP Exam in May. (www.collegeboard.org)

AP Macroeconomics

Elective for Grade: 10, 11 and 12
Recommendation of the department required
Credit: 1 


From the College Board website: The purpose of the AP course in macroeconomics is to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to an economic system as a whole. The course places particular emphasis on the study of national income and price-level determination, and also develops students' familiarity with economic performance measures, the financial sector, stabilization policies, economic growth, and international economics. Students will be required to take the AP Exam in May. (www.collegeboard.org)