The Ethel Walker School
Curriculum: History and Social Science
Though it ended over 30 years ago, it is almost impossible to understand the geopolitical world that we currently live in without understanding the Cold War and its legacy. Students in this class will learn about how and why two superpowers divided the world into “spheres of influence” and will then, through a series of case studies, examine how the entire globe, particularly areas outside of Europe, were affected and shaped by this conflict. Students will develop in-depth analysis of complex topics. Students will complete advanced level research and writing assessments. Students will also consistently demonstrate independence and preparedness with their work.
Offered Spring 2027
Covert Ops: Women Spies
Credits: 0.5
This course will explore the casestudies of CIA and OSS agents Valerie Plame Wilson, Lindsay Moran, Gina Haspel, Mary Bowser, Virginia Hall, Elizabeth Friedman, and Elizabeth McIntosh who served their country with distinction; however, their country continues to redact their stories and their accomplishments. Students will embark on the hard work to make sure that female spies’ legacies are acknowledged, critiqued, and validated. We will actively remember women and people of color’s contributions to the United States to acknowledge resistance movements and individuals to create lasting change in society. In Covert Ops, students will focus less on political and military history, and more on questions of culture, especially in terms of gender, race, religion, class, and power. We will use recently declassified files about female intelligence officers during WWII, and focus on Virginia Hall’s (the Limping Lady) legacy in the advent of the Office of Strategic Services in her biography. In the present, we will work with Valerie Plame’s redacted autobiography, Fair Game, within the context of the War on Terror.
Offered Spring 2027
Before 1492: The Americas Prior to European Contact
Credits: 0.5
This course examines the rich, complex societies of the Americas prior to European contact in 1492. Students study indigenous cultures through archaeology, material culture, trade networks, agriculture, and technologies to understand how communities interacted with one another and shaped their environments. Emphasis is placed on challenging narratives of isolation by exploring exchange, innovation, and continuity within and across the Americas.
Offered Spring 2027
This advanced level course is designed for students who are interested in diving deeper into the complexities of government and politics in the United States. In addition to learning about the structure of government, students will also engage with contemporary debates and controversies in American politics, such as campaign finance, gerrymandering, and civil liberties protections. In this advanced course, students are expected to engage extensively with challenging source material, including primary sources and academic articles. Students will develop in-depth analysis of complex topics. Students will also consistently demonstrate independence and preparedness with their work.
Offered Fall 2026
Modern microeconomics studies how society’s needs can be met when consumption and production decisions are made by individuals seeking their own benefit. This course will teach foundational concepts in microeconomics including incentives, supply and demand, the law of diminishing returns, marginal analysis and equilibrium prices. Finally, students will examine and debate the proper role of government in regulating the economy by considering how governments should shape markets in order to lessen such problems as affordable housing shortages, pollution, global warming and widespread obesity. Modern economics has a foundation in mathematical analysis and, while this course will not involve any calculus or advanced mathematics, students will need to create and interpret graphs of economic situations.
Offered Fall 2026
Queering American History
Credits: 0.5
In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided by the New York Police Department. This was hardly the first time that police had raided the popular gay bar, and yet the riots that ensued were both historic and unprecedented. While extremely significant, the Stonewall Riots are just one moment in the much longer history of LGBTQIA+ activism that came both before and after 1969. In this course, students will explore the broader presence of queer activism with the goal of charting a more equitable narrative of American history – one that highlights the often understudied, yet vital roles of people who were marginalized both within and outside of the queer community. Students will finish this course by completing research on a topic of their choosing that clearly centers and restores agency to the lived experiences of the people and communities that it studies.
Offered Fall 2026
Land use will take an intensive look on how people use land in our world today, and how this use is a shift from years past. The desire for profits and the ease with which goods and people can move have combined to create this shift. Over this semester, we will look at real world examples that will help us to see and understand the causes of this change in land use and will hypothesize about some potential effects. As this is an advanced course, students should be expected to work independently on assignments, stay up to date with work, and read thoroughly and at length about topics. Written assignments will be assessed with the expectation that students are formulating opinions using evidence and are clearly stating both in writing.
Offered Spring 2027
Advanced Topics in Psychology
Credits: 0.5
This is an elective course that introduces students to the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. Students will explore topics such as personality, learning, memory, emotions, development, and psychological disorders. The course emphasizes critical thinking, research methods, and the application of psychological principles to everyday life. Throughout the course, students will examine key psychological theories, conduct hands-on experiments, and analyze case studies to gain insight into the complexities of human thought and behavior.
Offered Spring 2027
Introduction to Archaeology
Credits: 0.5
This history elective blends theoretical study with practical experience to provide an immersive introduction into the field of archaeology. Students explore the history, methods, and ethics of archaeological research and learn how archaeologists uncover and interpret material remains to understand human history. A significant component of the course involves hands-on experience through a supervised excavation, held on campus. Students practice excavation techniques, proper documentation methods, and artifact handling in a team setting. The class culminates in a project where students analyze artifacts uncovered during their dig and craft a research paper that utilizes one or more of the artifacts as a primary source. They will also work together to develop a museum-quality physical and digital exhibit to display their artifacts.
Offered Fall 2026
Advanced Macroeconomics
Credits: 0.5
This is a course that explores the principles of economics that apply to an economic system as a whole. Students will examine key topics such as economic indicators, national income, price determination, economic growth, and international trade. The course emphasizes the analysis of fiscal and monetary policy, the role of government in the economy, and real-world applications of macroeconomic theories.Through data analysis, graphical models, and critical thinking exercises, students will develop a deeper understanding of how economies function and how policymakers address economic challenges.
Offered Spring 2027
Art History: Art of Ancient Civilizations
Credits: 0.5
In this class, we will gain an understanding of the cultures of ancient civilizations through the study of the objects they produced. We will grapple extensively with issues such as who decides what is art, the ethics surrounding display and repatriation, and the difference between art, artifact and cultural object. By studying the objects produced by these great civilizations, we will gain a better understanding, not simply of the objects themselves, but of how they fit within the context of their time and place.
Offered Fall 2026
This course takes as its basic question, “What does it mean to be American?” Students explore the foundation of American democracy, examining the ways in which the American government functions, and how citizens engage in that process. Students dig deeper into the experiences of three groups who have been influential in the development of this country: indigenous peoples, Black Americans, and the Latinx community. Students also have the opportunity to explore groups that resonate with their own American experience. Students use a variety of sources ranging from primary documents to academic articles to help them improve their ability to think like historians.
Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Topics in Philosophy is an introduction to thinking clearly about universal questions that have been asked from the beginning of time. We will survey great thinkers from both Western and Eastern traditions and make philosophers of you by entering into the creative activity of thinking deeply. We will think about things which we believe to be of ultimate importance such as how we know what we know, what it means to be a self, what is real, and how we define truth, beauty, goodness, freedom, personhood, and God. Students will develop in-depth analysis of complex topics. Students will complete advanced level research and writing assessments. Students will also consistently demonstrate independence and preparedness with their work.
Offered Fall 2026
UConn ECE Course: Advanced Contemporary Issues in Sports
Credits: 0.5
Prerequisite: Departmental Approval
This course examines issues, challenges, opportunities and constraints within the domain of sport. The course will explore socio-cultural, economic, political and other related issues in sport. Students will locate sport as a social institution, and as such, examine the impact of sport in American culture and how American culture impacts sport. The course will cover sport at the youth, intercollegiate, professional and international level, considering how sport at these levels is differently experienced by individuals, communities, organizations, and broadly by society. Students will also engage in discussion of issues in sport relative to gender, race (ethnicity), differing physical and intellectual ability, sexual identity, and gender identity. Students will develop in-depth analysis of complex topics. Students will complete advanced level research and writing assessments. Students will also consistently demonstrate independence and preparedness with their work.
Offered Fall 2026
World Religions
Credits: 0.5
In order to be a culturally competent global citizen, one must understand the motivations, traditions, and cultural forces that influence the globe, including religion. Though the United States is an increasingly secular state, other parts of the world are strongly influenced by their religious traditions, informing international relations, social values, and the global marketplace. This class will address the religious practices of the major world religions and the vast spectrum of beliefs within each that makes it difficult to generalize about them. To honor the living traditions that we are studying, we will not only examine but will also find ways to experience the Hindu Traditions and various Yogas, Buddhism and Meditation (or the interpretation of a Koan), Taoism and Tai Chi, Islam and Prayer, Christianity and Worship, Judaism and the study of the Torah, and native Aboriginal and American relationships to the Earth. In the midst of this quest, we will consider the way astrology, cults, New Age practices, and mindfulness function as derivatives of religious intent.
Offered Fall 2026
Introduction to Ethical Reasoning
Credits: 0.5
Human society has always looked for answers to big questions: Why am I here? What is my place in society? How should I behave toward others? What is the nature of good and evil? This course introduces students to tracts of moral and political philosophy from Aristotle to Nussbaum. Ethical reasoning is applied to an examination of contemporary issues such as bioengineering, human rights, social justice, our relationship to the natural world, and the obligations of citizenship. Students will be encouraged to use what they are learning as a framework to develop and support their own opinions on these topics.
Offered Spring 2027
This course requires the ability to read a wide variety of texts closely, write incisively, and argue persuasively. Political and economic forces are viewed through the lens of social movements. Students explore extensive primary and secondary sources, consider the conflict and unity underlying these movements, and draw conclusions. Instead of interpreting issues and evaluating people solely through their 21st-century lens, students are encouraged to consider two questions: what did the people they are studying know and what could they have known? Assessments will largely center around document-based writing, and students will use scholarly sources to complete a final research paper.
This course takes a thematic approach to the study of the history of the United States from early European and Native American encounters to the start of the 20th century. Rich content and intentional skill instruction work simultaneously throughout the year, as students engage with a variety of written, visual, and primary and secondary sources, hone their historical thinking skills through developing evidence-based arguments, and communicate their ideas through clear and compelling speaking and writing.
This course is designed to challenge students to assess the modern globalized world through the study of systems and processes that have shaped the countries and cultures that exist within it. Students will learn to work collaboratively in researching topics such as exploration, colonization, revolution, industrialization, and globalization. Global History provides students with an intensive introduction to, and ongoing instruction in, the research and writing process. Students will also develop historical thinking skills such as evidence evaluation, corroboration, and interpretation, deploying these skills not only to study the past, but to grow as critical consumers of information in the digital world.
This course focuses on allowing our students to see how our world looks today. With the purpose of allowing our students to understand the way that geography impacts our lives, students will undertake a unit on reading and understanding maps as well as a unit on important geography terms, including the study of geography itself, climate, and vegetation. They will then study various regions, focusing on themes of geography, including themes of place, location, and the movement of people and ideas.
Support
The Match
for Girls
Support The Match for Girls and double your impact.
Whether you’re making your first gift or renewing your annual support at the same or an increased amount, your contribution will be matched dollar for dollar up to $25,000.
