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You should study history if you wish to learn how and why the world and its people came to be as they are today. At the same time, History also recognizes that there is far more to the past than the events that created the world we know today. Recognizing what we share with people in the past, while simultaneously exploring how profoundly their lives differed from our own, provides some of history's most fascinating insights.
History teaches analytical skills, and is a good place to learn the craft of fine writing. Because History gives us tools for analyzing and explaining problems in the past, it is an essential tool for problem‐solving in the present and future. Any career that rewards clear thinking, good writing, articulate speaking, and the ability to ask and answer complicated questions about how the world works will be open to a well‐trained history major. History students often pursue careers in Journalism, Politics, Teaching, Lecturing, Writing, and as career Historians. (Source: http://history.wisc.edu)
The approach in the FET Phase (Grades 10–12) is to encourage critical thinking so that different approaches to History can be accessed and understood, helping students to make sense of the world in which they live. The focus is on the development of skills. These skills form a basis of life‐long learning. The study of History encourages students to be sensitive to cultural, ethnic, racial, class and gender issues. Learners are encouraged to challenge bias, stereotypes and discrimination found in texts. Besides engaging with sources in a variety of contexts, various essay writing formats are emphasised. These include the discursive essay, in which the learners argue and debate a particular question or statement; the extended writing, which tests a learner’s command of information; and the source-based essay, which challenges the learner to create arguments based on information in a variety of sources.
Curriculum Overview:
Grade 10: The World around 1600 and Expansion and conquest: 15th– 18th centuries
The American War of Independence; The French Revolution; The Revolution in Haiti
Colonial Expansion in Southern Africa in the 1800s; The South African War and Union
Gangs and gang culture, Modern terrorism, Superheroes within historical context
Grade 11: Communism in Russia 1900–1940; Capitalism in the USA 1900–1940
Ideas of Race in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; Nationalism: South Africa, the Middle East, Africa Apartheid and resistance to apartheid in South Africa 1948 – 1963
Grade 12: The Cold War (with China and the Vietnam War as alternating case studies)
Independent Africa (Tanzania, Congo, Angola as case studies)
Civil Society Protests 1950s to 1970s
Civil resistance in South Africa 1970s to 1980s
The coming of democracy in South Africa and dealing with the past (the TRC)
The end of the Cold War and a new world order (1990 to present)
Assessment Requirements: (By Matric the following exam structures will be in place)
1. Examinations:
Paper 1: Extended writing: In this two hour exam paper candidates will be expected to write an essay in which they develop an argument and express historical understanding. They will also have to demonstrate extended writing skills to illustrate a factual understanding of identified events and the significance thereof. This Paper is out of 100 marks.
Paper 2: Source‐based Paper: In this three hour paper candidates will be expected to engage in source analysis and write a multiple‐source essay to develop an argument based on the sources. This is a 200 mark Paper.
2. The Portfolio – Continuous Assessment:
History students will collect all the work that is completed and ultimately will select the best pieces to be used in the portfolio assessment, following the precise requirements provided by the IEB.
Project work or investigations as well as presentations will form an important and integral part of the CASS assessment.
History is one of the subjects that participates in the Matric One Research Task Option.
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