AP Human Geography builds on the introduction to fundamental concepts and methods of human geography introduced in the 10^th grade Geography curriculum. Patterns, models and theories of population, culture, politics, economic development, rural and urban land use are studied through academic literature and interpretively applied to real world events introduced through long form journalism and scholarly writing. Since geography is a discipline characterized by methodology rather than a discrete body of knowledge, students practice geographic methods using both primary and secondary data, culminating in analysis that emphasizes independent observation and interpretation from a spatial perspective. Students are expected to complete an independent research project.

Open to grade 12.

This course focuses on the characteristics of Chinese and Japanese civilizations and traces the history of increased interaction among Europeans and Asians since the late 13th century. Special attention is given to the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China, the Sengoku and Tokugawa Period in Japan, the Chinese Revolution, and World War II. Coverage focuses primarily on the cities of Xi’an, Hangzhou, Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Osaka, Kyoto, Edo, Jakarta, Macao, Nagasaki, Manila, and Hong Kong. Students read a variety of primary texts (in translation) including Edward Snow’s Red Star over China and one historical novel, James Clavell’s Shogun. Students also evaluate the work of Akira Kurosawa (specifically the film Kagemusha), Juzo Itami, and Bernardo Bertolucci. Assessments include formal essays, document-based essays, reading quizzes, participation in discussions, gaming, conventional unit tests, and a comprehensive final exam.

STA

Directed Readings in Early Modern Europe is European history through an in-depth study of some of the most influential works from the era. In this one-semester course, we will delve into the rich tapestry of Early Modern Europe (c.1500 to 1800), a period of profound change in Europe and one that experienced the first ructions of globalization. Rather than following a traditional lecture format, this course will adopt a Great Books tutorial approach, allowing for a more focused and personalized exploration of the primary texts that have significantly shaped the cultural, intellectual, and political landscape.

 

Students in Directed Readings learn to analyze complex literary and philosophical texts, to engage in thoughtful discussion of fundamental philosophical, political, and cultural questions, and to write clearly and persuasively. This course will emphasize the reading and discussion of foundational works in Western literature, philosophy, and history.

 

Each week, we will delve into a specific theme or historical period, engaging with foundational texts from prominent thinkers such as Machiavelli, Milton, and Hume. The course will prioritize interactive discussions, providing you with the opportunity to analyze and interpret primary sources critically, fostering a deep understanding of the historical context and the evolution of ‘big ideas’ during this transformative period. Through Socratic discussions, students learn to articulate their ideas, defend their viewpoints, and engage with new perspectives. Students engage in close readings and written assignments to deepen their understanding of the ideas and the age.

Open to grades 11 and 12.

This course will examine the history of American Indian cultures from North, Central, and

South America. Beginning with a study of the various theories surrounding the original

migration of peoples into the Americas, students will then spend the semester exploring specific cultures: the Olmec, the Maya, the Inca, the Triple Alliance, the city of Cahokia, the Wampanoag Confederation, the Haudenosaunee, the Lakota, and, lastly, the Yanomami. Native American civilizations constructed large cities with remarkable infrastructures, built empires that extended for thousands of miles, and created complex technologies that allowed them to manipulate their environment to serve their needs. We will come to see that much of this rich history was lost to those who wrote it—early European explorers and settlers—because by the time most Europeans arrived in the Americas, disease had already decimated the vast majority of the Indian population, dramatically disrupting their complex social systems. Although the course will spend much time studying the Americas before the arrival of Europeans, it will also study the effect of European colonization on indigenous populations. The class will end with an examination of the current state of American Indians, focusing on the Amazon, Central America, Canada, and the United States.

Cancel culture, history wars, BLM, #MeToo, CRT, LGBTQ+, masks, guns, abortion, immigration, globalization, family values, religious rights, identity politics, Occupy Wall Street, Red v. Blue, MAGA, “Yes, we can!” Why is the United States so divided presently, and how did we get here? A torrent of recent scholarship—bearing titles such as Fault Lines, Age of Fracture, Why We’re Polarized, American Discontent, Divided We Stand—has sought to explain America’s fracturing across the past half-century, which thunders today. In broad strokes, America’s mounting divisions and discontents—particularly concerning varied inequalities, social dislocations, and “culture wars”—have emerged from outsize public actors and seismic shifts in social, cultural, economic, political, demographic, geographic, and technological/media dynamics to produce an unprecedented, structural “Great Alignment” divided along opposing, partisan, evenly matched political poles—with each faction feeling their America is existentially threatened. This honors seminar will examine the origins of these fault lines in the “long 1960s” and track their rupturing across the decades into epic domestic battles over, and dueling dreams about, the meaning and identity—the soul—of America. Along with mastering America’s domestic history from 1945-2020, we will focus on vivid, thematic case studies grounded in leading scholarship and key primary sources, especially multimedia. Students will lead daily discussions, analyze complex debates, decode culture, unpack ideologies, write scholarly journalism, reflect critically on their own views, and lean openly into our nation’s “unfinished work” of democracy and how “We the people” can help bridge America’s divides.

Open to grade 12 only.

 

This course is designed to introduce students to visual arts throughout world history.  As an interdisciplinary elective course, Honors Art History will draw on critical skills from both the Visual Arts and Social Sciences to hone student fluency in analyzing major works of art and architecture from various eras, cultures, and media.  As an honors class, students will be expected to prepare at a level higher than the traditional upper school course as they develop skills to critically analyze the formal, social, and cultural contributions of art.  This course will not attempt to cover the scope of art history from prehistory to the present, as many traditional art history courses do, but rather it will frame the study of art history around themes that allow students to delve deeper into specific topics and questions.  This thematic approach will provide opportunities for students to study art to which they find meaningful connections, and as an interdisciplinary course, students will write, speak, present, and engage in hands-on art making to explore these connections in depth. The semester will culminate with an opportunity to conduct independent research for the final project.   

This course transcends traditional film studies, offering an in-depth analysis of how movies construct, challenge, and shape historical representations of Black Americans. With a critical focus on the intersections of race, culture, gender, and identity, students will navigate the complexities of cinematic historiography, treating films not merely as cultural texts but as sophisticated artifacts that shape and reflect the ideological underpinnings of the 20th and 21st centuries. This methodology of this course will allow students to delve into the nuanced ways in which cinema became a powerful medium for both reflection and critique of the Black American historical narrative. The honors designation indicates that students will engage in advanced skills of the social sciences discipline, including study of historiography, reading of in-depth scholarly articles, student-led discussions in a “seminar” setting, introduction to different modes of writing, and historical analysis based on research of both primary and secondary sources.

This one-semester course is designed for students who are interested in modern political issues. The course looks at political events currently in the news and tries to analyze and interpret the motivation of people. Students conduct moot court hearings on current judicial cases and try to understand the arguments on both sides of the issue. In addition, students examine the Constitution and debate possible amendments to it, and they also read analysis of modern political issues and debate their solutions. 

This course offers a comparative, transnational study of the dramatic social, scientific, political, and cultural transformations that occurred in the decades following World War II, with particular attention to the 1960s. The course will cover topics including the Cold War, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, nationalism in Latin America, Asia and Africa, the global civil rights movement, and international student protest movements. The cross-disciplinary curriculum introduces students to these topics through primary sources that run the gamut from political documents to art, film, and music, and asks students to take a lead role in discussions and simulations. Over the course of the semester, students will be challenged to consider what the “Global 1960s” means. To what extent are the events of the 1960s transnational or global, and how much are they responses to particular national circumstances? Similarly, does the idea of the 1960s as an historical epoch hold water, especially considering that many of the phenomena associated with the decade originated in the 1950s or even the 1940s (and in many cases continued on into the 1970s)? By covering a wide variety of primary sources across disciplines, students will analyze the intellectual sources of the major transformative events of the 1960s, develop an understanding of the historical circumstances under which they occurred, and assess their long-term effects. The interdisciplinary approach is designed to stimulate out-of-the-box critical thinking about the increasing interconnectedness of ideas, politics, economies, and cultures after 1945.

Open to grades 11 and 12.

From the 1771 return of Joseph Banks from his three-year voyage to the South Seas on the Endeavor with Captain Cook, to the 1831 departure of Charles Darwin for his five-year voyage on the Beagle, this period of extraordinary adventure and discovery has earned the name of the Romantic Age.  Continental Europe, Britain, and America experienced in this age revolutions, not only the ones in politics that we are most familiar with, but also in the arts, sciences, and technologies – profound revolutions that still shape our lives today. 

In the arts, this was the time in which creative artists developed an exhilarating new relationship between the human mind and the natural world, as seen in the works of Goethe and Beethoven, Wordsworth and J.M.W. Turner.  In the sciences, this was the magical time of electricity: Franklin’s kite-flying opened the way to understanding the earth’s atmosphere, and Galvani brought electricity even into the muscles of the human body.  In technologies, Davy’s electric lamp and Faraday’s electric motor changed the world forever.  Humboldt in natural history and Herschel in astronomy likewise revolutionized our knowledge of, respectively, the biosphere and the cosmos.

To capture the spirit of this “age of wonder” and its revolutions, we will examine journals and other texts of the times; we will look at the art and listen to the music; we will sample the crafts and the experiments – in a word, we will dig down into the cultural history of this exciting, formative 60-year period.  And from time to time we will look at specific instances of how the revolutions of this time can be seen to manifest themselves in the world of today.

Open to grades 11 and 12.

This is an in-depth examination of American history, from the first encounters between Europeans and Native peoples in the early 16th century to a globalized America in the late 20th century. Through primary and secondary sources, students study the political, economic, social, cultural, and geographic history of the United States. In addition to learning the main themes, figures, events, and debates of American history, and to making meaningful connections between past and present, a primary course objective is for the student to apprentice the historian’s craft—to develop the critical skills necessary for the advanced study of history and for making analytical, evidence-based arguments. Toward that end, students focus – verbally and in writing – on the processes central to “doing history,” including interpreting historical evidence, analyzing historical scholarship, posing historical questions, framing historical arguments, and writing a research paper. In consultation with the teacher, and with extra preparation, students may elect to take the AP US History examination in May.

Unconventional warfare transcends traditional battlefield confrontations, employing creative, but often condemned, tactics and unorthodox means to achieve strategic objectives. Since ancient times, unconventional warfare has often emerged as a potent force, challenging conventional norms and reshaping the course of nations. In this course, students will examine case studies spanning different epochs and geographical regions. From 18th-century rebellions to modern-day cyber warfare, we will dissect the methods, motivations, and consequences of unconventional warfare, exploring its myriad forms, and its profound impact on societies, politics, and global dynamics.

 

Students will engage with foundational texts and primary sources to analyze pivotal moments in history where unconventional warfare played a decisive role. We will investigate the military methods of both guerilla fighters and state actors that opposed them, and will assess the reasons for and consequences of unconventional conflict in the modern era. We shall attempt to understand the guerrilla fighter and the ‘freedom fighter’ on their own grounds and place them within the broader context of political struggle. With a rigorous focus on critical analysis, students will unravel the complexities of unconventional conflict in the modern era.  Topics in the past have included: The American Revolution, US Civil War, Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. 

Open to grades 11 and 12.