Social Studies Courses

20TH Century History 12 examines the history of the world throughout the twentieth century. The course focuses on:

• Europe and the two world wars;

• The rise of the interwar dictators, i.e. Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin;

• The evolution of the USA and USSR as superpowers; and

• Cold War altercations, i.e. Korean War, Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

• The rise of Asian and Middle Eastern Nations and the evolution of civil rights through case studies are also examined.

Students will be interpreting evidence, assessing continuity and change, considering perspective, understanding cause and consequence, and making ethical judgements of various events with the given time period.

BC First Peoples 12 is a course that looks at contemporary BC First Nations, with an emphasis on celebrating the Secwepemc people and the local context.

You will examine:

• pre-contact traditions and ways of living

• the impact of colonization

• Indigenous resilience and resistance to settler hegemony

• the quest for self-determination, in addition to legal challenges to colonization

• cultural and linguistic revival in the 21st century.

Students will be interpreting evidence, assessing continuity and change, considering perspective, understanding cause and consequence, and making ethical judgements of various events.

Comparative Cultures 12 is a dynamic course that takes you around the world. You will experience what life was like in many of our Ancient Civilizations.

A trip back to ‘Ancients’ to visit the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Medieval Europe, Mayans, Japanese, and Incas to just name a few of the civilizations we will look at.

Students will expand their knowledge on the following:

• Definitions of culture and how these have changed over time

• The belief systems, social organization, languages and artistic expressions of cultures

• How geographic and environmental factors influenced the development of cultures.

• How value systems and belief systems shape cultures

• The Systems of power, authority, and governance of various cultures

• Conflicts within and between cultures

Students will be interpreting evidence, assessing continuity and change, considering perspective, understanding cause and consequence, and making ethical judgments of various events within the given time-period. We also examine the myths and realities of the modern global culture.

Why do some people think they are superior to others? Why do humans constantly find new ways to harm each other? When does a crime against humanity result in genocide?

Students in Genocide Studies 12 will use case studies from around the world to examine conditions that lead to genocides, stages and characteristics of genocide, strategies used in carrying out genocides, recognition of and responses to genocides, movements to deny or minimize genocides. Case Studies that may be examined are:

• The Holocaust in Nazi Germany

• Cambodian Killing Fields

• Rwanda Genocide

• War in Darfur

• Armenian Genocide

• Cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples

Students will be interpreting evidence, assessing continuity and change, considering perspective, understanding cause and consequence, and making ethical judgements of various events.

Speeding tickets! Party shut-downs! Jury duty! Buying, selling, renting! Law touches every aspect of our lives. This course will provide students with an understanding of the legal rights and obligations of citizens within Canada.

Students will examine:

• The Charter of Rights & Freedoms

• Court structure & trials

• Criminal Law & Police procedures

• Family & Contract Law

• Current events, contemporary legal issues, & First Nations perspectives

Students will learn through a variety of methods: case studies, field trips, research presentations, and listening to community resource speakers.

Students will be interpreting evidence, assessing continuity and change, considering different opinions, understanding cause and consequence, and making ethical judgements.

Do you want to understand how the world works and how human activities have changed our planet? Want to be part of solving world problems? How much responsibility do you feel towards our planet’s environment? Intend to travel and want to learn about different locations? This course is all about helping you to gain a greater understanding of our planet and the challenges that we have in living on Earth.

Students will explore topics in physical geography such as:

• plate tectonics and its effects on human and natural system.

• gradation and its effects on human and natural systems

• natural disasters and their effects on human and natural systems

• climate, weather, and interactions between humans and the atmosphere

• characteristics of global biomes

• natural resources and sustainability

Students will be using geographic inquiry processes, assessing, and interpreting geographic evidence, evaluating the reciprocal relationship between humans and the environment, continuity and change, perspective and ethical judgement of various geographic topics.