History - Senior

AP U.S. HISTORY (111)

Grades 11-12:  Advanced Placement

(Year) 1.50 credits

Advanced Placement is intended for those students with a serious interest in history.  Students recommended should be able to identify relations in readings and show direction and change in long term trends.  Students need good writing skills since expository writing is an essential activity.  The course fosters a critical appreciation of American traditions and institutions, toleration of differing viewpoints and respect for history's complexities and ambiguities.

Advanced Placement is a chronological survey of American history since 1492 with emphasis on the post-Civil War period.  In addition to exposing students to the historical content, Advanced Placement will train students to analyze and interpret primary sources, including documentary material, maps, statistical tables, and pictorial and graphic evidence of historical events.  Students will learn to take notes from both printed materials and lectures or discussions to write essay examinations, and to write analytical and research papers.  They will be able to express themselves with clarity and precision and know how to cite sources and credit the phrases and ideas of others.  The course is also linked to the History, Geography, Economic and Civics/Government Strands of the Massachusetts Frameworks.  The above mentioned units should be completed by mid-May; thereafter, students will be working on special projects.

This course uses college level texts and readings, primary sources and selected audio-visual materials.  Written work constitutes an integral part of skill development.  Essay assignments are given to develop expository skills.  This is a student-centered course which emphasizes informed dialogue and the seminar format.  Students are expected to take the Advanced Placement Examination in May, and those who do so will be exempted from the course final examination.

AP UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT & POLITICS (124/127)

Grade 10 and 12:  Advanced Placement
(Year) 1.50 credits

This course provides a college-level, nonpartisan introduction to key political concepts, ideas, institutions, policies, interactions, roles, and behaviors that characterize the constitutional system and political culture of the United States.  Students will study US foundational documents, Supreme Court decisions and other texts and visuals to gain an understanding of the relationships and interactions among political institutions, processes, and behaviors.  They will also engage in disciplinary practices that require them to read and interpret data, make comparisons and applications, and develop evidence-based arguments.  In addition, they will complete a political science research, or applied civics project.  

Students enrolling in this course should have a high level of interest in history, government and politics. This is a college-level course that requires a substantial amount of daily reading and preparation.  There is a heavy emphasis on writing, debate, and discussion.

ANCIENT WORLDS GREEKS (145) / ANCIENT WORLDS ROMANS (185)

2023-2024: 

Semester 1: Greeks, Semester 2: Romans

Grades 9-12: Level 2

(Semester) .75 credit

The ancient world was a time of excitement and of danger. The world was newer and full of unexplored wonders. It was also a time of danger and mystery, when cruel God-Kings decided the fate of millions and savage rites were performed for even crueler Gods. Every semester the students and the teacher will explore one or two different societies that existed in this time period (3000 BC-1000 AD). We will examine not only their wars and adventures, but also their entertainment, art and when possible their lost languages and mysterious writing systems. The realms of the Gods and demons will also be explored, with an emphasis on the rites and magic used to satisfy and control these dangerous beings. 

The idea behind Ancient Worlds is to introduce students to the events, peoples and ideas that existed between 3000 BC and 1000 AD. This time period is crucial for the development of modern society both in cultural terms and in technological terms. As part of the course, the students will make connections between the philosophies (both secular and religious), events, arts, and architecture of the society under study and their counterparts in the modern world.  Join us as we explore Ancient Worlds!

The class will read original texts, observe and recreate the art of the period, discuss important events, learn how to pass notes in dead languages, and use technology to explore the ruins and objects left behind by these societies. The class will be assessed through a series of short papers, a small number of standard tests, a creative project and a final exam.

ECONOMICS (173/174)

Grades 10-12: Level 2 and Honors

(Semester) .75 credit

Contemporary Economics introduces students to key concepts and principles of the American economic system and relates these concepts and principles to students’ future economic roles.  Content includes the following: a survey of economic systems as societies decide what to produce, how and for whom; a study of the role of supply and demand, prices and profits in a market economy; and understanding of the organization and role of business firms in terms of how decisions are made as they respond to market structures.  Further topics studied in this course are an understanding of economic performance indicators, along with fiscal (taxation) and monetary (money and banking) responses to market failures and what these mean in terms of poverty, employment, and other quality of life indicators. World trade, exchange rates and Third World development are additional topics for study.  

Instructional methods include class discussion, inquiry, lectures, and audio-visual materials.  Skill development concentrates upon critical analysis and application of concepts to assignments and activities. Course materials include an assigned textbook, and reprints from contemporary economics journals as well as other readings.

EUROPEAN HISTORY (191/143)

Grades 10-12:  Level 2 and Honors

(Semester) .75 credit

In many ways, the modern world is a creation of Europe. This may not be politically correct, but it is essentially true. Politically, the world is dominated by liberal democracies, totalitarian dictatorships and nationalistic regimes, all of which emerged in Europe first and are grounded in the European Enlightenment and Romantic movements of the 18th and 19th century. Economically the world economy with its stock markets and driving consumerism has its beginnings with the Atlantic economy created by Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. The critiques of this system in the forms of Socialism and Marxism emerged in Europe in response to the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. Socially, the artistic bedrock upon which the world judges art and music and allows for the importance of the individual artist, for the most part is a product of European cultural developments dating back to the Renaissance. The understanding of European history is very important, in order to understand the modern world. Beginning with Europe’s emergence from the political and economic chaos of the Middle Ages in the Renaissance and continuing up to Europe’s partial unification under the European Union following the Cold War, the class will examine the amazing six hundred years that forms the basis of so much of our world today.

Honors Option: Honors level work in an upper grade level class requires students to consistently exhibit strong class communication skills and high quality written work. Honors level students should expect to substantially contribute to all class activities, as well as being willing to personalize class concepts and take intellectual risks in applying sociological theories to real life. Honors level students will often have more homework and longer assignments. It is important that honors level students are also active listeners, able to consider and respectfully respond to other’s comments and always exhibit a reliable work ethic.

PHILOSOPHY AND RHETORIC (153/154) 9- 10

Grades 9-12: Level 2 and Honors

(Semester)  .75 credit

Did you ever stop to wonder why you have to go to school? Perhaps you have always wanted to know why the things that you do are judged to be either right or wrong or good or evil? Perhaps you have noticed great conflict in our society of late and have been curious to know its source? If any of the answers to these questions are yes, then you are a potential student of Philosophy! Congratulations, this is the class for you!

Every semester the students and the teacher will use the Socratic Method to explore different philosophical debates and topics. We will examine not only eternal debates such as what the nature of reality is and our relationship to that reality, we will also connect these classical arguments to our own lives and the society that we live in today. We will also examine the various philosophers themselves over time, such as Socrates, Aquinas and Nietzsche, in order to understand not only their world view, but to make our own world view clearer as a result.    

The class will read original texts, debate philosophical questions, discuss important events, and learn how to grasp more clearly philosophical concepts by learning basic concepts of Rhetoric and Logic. The class will be assessed through a series of short papers, a small number of standard tests, a creative project and a final exam. Join us as we explore your mind!

WORLD WAR II AND THE HOLOCAUST (150)

Grades 10-12: Level 2

(Semester) .75 credits

What brought Europe to experience the rise of the Nazis, the Holocaust, and countless millions dead, all in thirty years? This course will examine this and other questions by looking at the social, cultural, and political aspects surrounding the World Wars and the Holocaust. Students will study the rise of radical and reactionary governments in Europe such as Hitler’s Germany, the causes and effects of World War I and II, the evolution of the Holocaust, and what this era means for Europeans and the world. 

The period of the World Wars provides us with valuable lessons on the human condition.  Compassion, cruelty, anger, forgiveness, responsibility, our constraints and capabilities, will all be considered as we analyze individual and group choices then and now.  In addition, the class will explore issues of government and the importance of democracy.

This class will utilize various texts, film, class discussion, debate, period propaganda, accounts from perpetrators and victims, individual and group projects, political cartoons, as well as current technology. Students will be expected to critically analyze material with a mature, empathetic attitude.

DEBATE (134) 

Grades 10-12:  Level 2

(Semester) .5 credits

This course introduces students to the principles and practices of debate. It is highly recommended that students have already taken Communications. Employing cooperative learning and seminar format, Debate emphasizes the development of skills in critical thinking, organization, leadership, responsibility for teamwork and creative investigation of selected topics.  No prior experience in debate is required.

The short-term goal is to enable students to thoughtfully analyze a topic/issue from opposing viewpoints, develop an argument in a carefully designed framework and practice teamwork skills.  The long-term goal is to enable students to transfer skills acquired from debate to practical, real-life situations.  Through hands-on activities, students learn to use library indexes and the internet to research, locate and use government documents and understand how and why current laws are enacted.

Concepts include:  debate format, basic elements of debate process and types of propositions.  Topics are chosen mutually by the teacher and students to reflect current issues and concerns.

Attitudes fostered are an appreciation for differing viewpoints, courage to defend a position and open-mindedness as the basis for reasoned thought and opinion.  

In the class, a heavy emphasis will be placed on examining the evolution of the political, economic and social philosophies that emerged in Europe as well as their influence not only on the course of events in the time period but on the modern world today. The students will be examining the evolution of the arts, both visually and musically, and their impact on modern culture today. In addition students will read and discuss primary source documents as well as examine how historians assemble history from such sources.

BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (654)

Grades 10-12 Level 2 

(Semester) .5 credits

Students explore qualities of individual enterprise. They develop skills needed to advance in an ever changing work environment. Specifically, students develop competencies in decision making, long-range planning, effective communication, accountability, responsibility, and continuing education. This course is designed for students who wish to concentrate on strategies for career development through ownership/management of their own businesses. Although individual skills are emphasized, the focus of the course is on development of a business plan, including the following: determination of the type of business enterprise, legal considerations, location selection, financing, steps in getting the enterprise started, marketing strategy, and interaction with successful entrepreneurs.