History & Social Sciences

Department Chair: Joel Seltzer

The History and Social Sciences faculty believes that an understanding of the past is essential in cultivating responsible global and democratic citizenship. Together with our students, we strive to make sense of a complex world by exploring the history of individual countries in a global context, utilizing themes to connect historical events, and deepening our understanding of world cultures. By sharing our passion for studying the forces that shape our world, we inspire life-long learning and motivate students to lead lives of “positive influence.”

In seventh grade, students explore the seven elements of culture by focusing on civilizations in the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa. Eighth grade students examine the historical development of the United States government. In ninth grade, students study the ancient and medieval world. In the tenth and eleventh grades, students simultaneously study the history of the United States and Europe in a global context. Our elective program is designed to encourage students to pursue their interests in other social sciences and histories.

Nine (9) credits in history are required for graduation: The Historian’s Craft (formerly The Ancient & Medieval World), US/European History I, and US/European History II.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

World Studies, Grade level: 7

This course approaches the regions of the world by looking at geographic, economic, political, social, historical, and cultural aspects of human activity. Major units include regional studies in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Themes typically include political and cultural history, economic development, the effects of colonization, current events, and an introduction to the world’s major religions. Students apply their knowledge in evaluating historical events as they apply to conditions in today’s rapidly changing world. Students develop reading, writing, and research skills necessary for the study of history and social studies. The course includes a field trip relevant to one of our units of study. Sources include text, films, news articles, websites, and other media sources.

U.S. Political History: Foundations of American Government, Grade level: 8

In this course, students study United States history through the lens of American government. Thematic in nature, the course is divided into three trimesters based on the Preamble to the Constitution. Trimester one, “To Form a More Perfect Union,” focuses on the creation of the American government, how government works today, and how government impacts the lives of students. The second trimester, “To Promote the General Welfare,” showcases times in American history where the government has promoted the interests of certain groups of citizens as well as the times government has failed to protect or actively oppressed certain groups. We will also explore the ways groups respond to the actions or inaction of government. Trimester three, “To Provide for the Common Defense,” allows students to dig into topics related to American foreign policy throughout history. Throughout the year, students hone their skills in discussion, oral presentation, critical thinking, research, and writing through a variety of projects and activities focused on developing the skills of a historian. The goal of this class is for students to leave with a better sense of the purpose of government and the role it has played in American history. Furthermore, students will be able to evaluate how government affects their lives and, knowing this, how they can have a positive impact on their communities.

UPPER SCHOOL

The Historian’s Craft, Grade level: 9, Credit: 3

This course serves as an introduction to the discipline of history. It is designed to teach students the skills they will need to be effective historians, including the ability to analyze historical documents, weigh evidence, expose bias and authorial intent, and conduct independent research. Students will explore ancient and medieval cultures through various lenses, including politics, social structures, religion, technology, and the arts. Societies we will examine include the Middle East, China, India, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. The goal of the course is to guide students toward achieving mastery of historical thinking skills such as causation, continuity and change, and comparison, as well as honing the intellectual skills of reading complex historical texts, writing persuasively, making effective oral presentations, and writing persuasively.

US/European History I: The West in the World: 1492-1870

US/European History I Honors: The West in the World: 1492-1870, Honors

Grade level: 10, Credit: 3

This is the first year of our two-year sequence emphasizing the interrelationship between American and European history, as well as the relationship of both to the wider world. The course begins with the Renaissance in Europe and the Age of Exploration that led to the first contact between Europeans and Native Americans and the origins of black slavery. The American and French Revolutions are examined as part of the same transatlantic revolutionary age. The course continues with an examination of the industrial revolution and its effects: the expansion of American democracy and the American frontier, the explosion of the forces of nationalism, liberalism, and socialism as well as the countervailing forces of conservatism. The climax of the year comes with the national unification movement in Germany as well as the expansion of slavery and the Civil War in the United States.

The Honors section of this course is reading and writing-intensive. In addition to summer reading (The Prince by Machiavelli and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs), students should expect lengthy nightly assignments that emphasize the reading of complex philosophical, religious, and political texts from the early modern period. The course requires that a student be able to work more independently: the student must be able to read the text, get the main point of the text, not be confused by the details. Students are expected to understand the “what” on their own so we can do the “why” in class.

US/European History II: The West in the World: 1871 to the Present

US/European History II: The West in the World: 1871 to the Present, Honors

Grade level: 11, Credit: 3

This course is the second year of investigation of European and American history in a global context. Major themes include mass movements of the political right and left, the growth of political consciousness among women and minorities in America, as well as colonial peoples throughout the world, the growing acceptance on the part of government of responsibility for the welfare of their people, and the increasing influence on the West of events and ideas of the non-Western world.

An Honors section is available that prepares students to take both the European History and United States History Advanced Placement examinations. In order to prepare students for the two Advanced Placement exams, this section moves through the curriculum at a much faster pace than the non-Honors section. Voluminous readings include selections from scholarly books and articles in addition to traditional textbook and primary source reading. Students will review and be tested on all materials learned during the 10^th grade. Assessment in the Honors section is based primarily on essays, document-based questions, and multiple choice tests. Significant participation in class every day is expected of all students.

Electives

Advanced Topics in Art History: Global Art History in Washington, D.C., Grade level: 11, 12, Prerequisite: Departmental Permission, Credit: 3

Washington, D.C. is one of the world’s best places to study art history. Focusing on the abundance of works of art of exceptional quality in local museums, students investigate diverse artistic global traditions: Europe and the Americas (National Gallery of Art, The Hirshhorn Museum, The Phillips Collection), Asia (Freer Sackler Galleries), and Africa (National Museum of African Art). They develop deep understanding of representative works of art from each global tradition and look for connections between them.

The course is structured like an undergraduate art history seminar. In addition to class discussions, the emphasis is on research papers for which students use books and scholarly articles to investigate and create arguments about works of art that they view in person. These papers, approximately 4-5 over the course of the year, require immersion in the topic over a period of weeks and synthesis of scholarly literature that is more specialized and challenging than in previous Holton research projects. Students are expected to manage their time well in order to make steady progress on research and writing, submitting work that is polished and contains sophisticated depth of thought.

Comparative World Religions, Grade Level: 11, 12, Credit: 3

Objectives of this course include an exploration of religion as a significant component of social organization and an introduction to the five major religions of the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The course will focus on understanding the salient principles of the major religions, as well as their historical origins and significant evolutions. The course will also address these religions as living traditions observed by a majority of the world’s population, with consideration given both to the enduring appeal of religious devotion in modern contexts and to recent and contemporary issues of religious conflict affecting our global society. Readings for the course will draw from Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions, scriptural sources, and studies of ritual practices and religious art and architecture. The course is primarily discussion-based with an emphasis on class participation, student presentations, and personal-response writing assignments. Films, podcasts, and field trips to local museums and places of worship will serve as supplements to course reading materials. Offered if numbers allow.

Advanced Topics in Psychology, Grade level: 12, Prerequisite: Departmental Permission, Credit: 3

Advanced Topics in Psychology will introduce students to scientific methodology and core concepts and theories in psychology. The course will promote psychological literacy through the study of established research findings and scholarly publications. The course will be divided into three major themes: scientific research, biopsychology, and the application of psychological science. Each theme will last one trimester and include research and topics that explore the contributions of psychologists from diverse backgrounds. Readings for the course will draw on challenging and foundational psychological texts drawn from The Norton Psychology Reader and landmark studies presented in Forty Studies That Changed Psychology. There will be one project each during the first and second trimesters. The culmination of student projects will be a final research paper which will be due at the end of the third trimester. Students will learn to write in the style of modern psychological science, using the American Psychological Association style for research and citation. Student research will also include oral presentations.

Advanced Topics in U.S. Government, Grade level: 12, Prerequisite: Departmental Permission, Credit: 3

This course integrates one semester of A.P. U.S. Government with selected global and local issues. Students learn about the institutions of American government, public opinion and voter behavior, public policy, and civil rights. Students link textbook concepts to real world situations by matching current news to their studies. Current events include both global and domestic issues with particular attention to the presidential nomination process during the second and third trimesters. In each trimester, students will chose a topic to research and then find a way to use that research to engage actively in the political process.

The summer reading assignment leads to the beginning theme of the year: an examination of challenges facing inner cities in America, including poverty, education, drugs, politics, the urban environment, and the police. The centerpiece of this part of the course is the epic history of a year in the life of inner-city Baltimore, The Corner, by David Simon and Edward Burns, and the HBO miniseries based upon this work.

While the course prepares students to take the AP US Government exam in May, students achieve a depth of learning that will benefit them in a range of social science courses in college and beyond. Students study foundational documents such as the Constitution and the Federalist Papers and portions of several important Supreme Court decisions. Assessments require analytical thinking and the ability to apply what students have learned in new contexts.

Advanced Principles of Economics, Grade level: 12, Prerequisite: Departmental Permission/Co-requisite: Pre-calculus or higher, Credit: 3

Advanced Principles of Economics covers all of the topics and tools taught in a typical introductory principles of economics course in universities across the United States in addition to providing an introduction to personal financial planning and macroeconomic forecasting. The methods and tools used by economists are developed with applications to investigate how markets work, how the macroeconomy functions and how policies are formulated, and how and why individuals make decisions to enhance personal welfare. This course provides a framework for understanding personal choices about what products are manufactured and consumed, how and why the economy generates jobs and production, and how students can plan for the future to budget for current expenses while planning for major life events and retirement. The tools of economics presented in this course encompass simple graphical analysis, and some elementary mathematics along with a nod to algebra. No knowledge of calculus is assumed or is necessary.

After a unit on personal financial planning, students play in an online competition that simulates the situation of a recent college graduate. Expenses and salary are generated in a world that also has unplanned and unforeseen financial mishaps and small windfalls. Students also participate in an online macroeconomic forecasting competition run by the St. Louis Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. Students work in small teams to research current levels of economic activity, weigh them against possible changes in national activity, and provide forecasts of key economic measures. Other activities include meeting with local women economists to learn more about the profession and the opportunities for young women to study and work in economics. In recent years the class has visited the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland at College Park and has met here at Holton with an economic researcher with the Federal Reserve Bank in Washington.

Global Perspectives, Grade level: 11, Required for students participating in Junior Journeys. Credit 1

This one semester minor class is designed to give students the foundation necessary to link what they are learning in their courses to the role they will play in an increasingly global world. We hope the course will promote intellectual curiosity, encourage students to investigate their world, and help them become active agents of change. In this discussion-based class, students will interact with guest speakers, faculty, and media sources as they investigate challenges and opportunities in Latin America, China, and the Indian subcontinent. While this class will culminate in the Global Education Journeys to China, Peru, and India during the summer after grade 11, it is open to, and valuable for, all juniors and approved seniors. The course does not have regular homework and it will be graded high-pass, pass, fail.

History FAQs

What is “Core” and why does it have that name?

The official title of the grade 10-11 course is “The West in the World.” As we created the course, we asked ourselves the question, “What is the core historical knowledge a graduating student needs as she leaves Holton-Arms?” We referred to the curriculum that emerged as “the core,” and students picked it up because it was so much easier to refer to than the longer, more descriptive title. The two-year sequence teaches American History in the context in which it occurred. The grade 10 year is primarily U.S. and European History, and the grade 11 year is U.S. History in a Global Context.

Why don’t you teach American and European histories separately?

The histories of different civilizations happened at the same time and constantly affected one another. Students understand their own history better if they learn it in the context in which it happened.

Why do you offer an Honors section in grade 10?

We believe that it allows us to better meet the needs of individual students. Since students develop intellectually at different rates and differ in their ability to handle increasingly complex reading assignments, we feel it is in the best interests of all our students to provide more choice in selecting the pacing and depth that best serve their needs.

If my daughter does not take Honors in grade 10, can she take Honors in 11th grade?

Yes, a student who shows she is capable of handling honors work in her grade 10 year will be able to enroll in honors history in grade 11. She will have to do some extra work over the summer to make up for materials she missed in 10th grade, but the 11th grade honors teacher will help guide her.

How do I know if Honors or Advanced is a good choice for my daughter?

Start by having her ask her teacher. If she likes studying history, reads well, and has a good record of success in the history courses she has taken, she probably should at least consider an advanced program.