High School Social Science Department
Teacher: Mr. Lucas Mays
WORLD HISTORY 1 YEAR 1.0 CREDIT (Required)
The primary aims of this course are to instill critical thinking and analytical skills. Students will explore primary and secondary sources by analyzing, critiquing, debating, and writing about the content they have learned about. Students will routinely be assigned reading homework and brief responses to the content they read. Students will also have several essays and presentations over the course of the year, assessing their ability to critically analyze material from a variety of primary and secondary sources.
As a result of this focus on analyzing multiple sources, our textbook will be used sparingly and in conjunction with primary sources from the era and we are studying. We will progress chronologically through history, quickly moving forward in order to spend the majority of our time on the post-Enlightenment era of 1500 to the present-day. This class will also attempt to take a non-Eurocentric approach to studying World History, a challenging task, given our cultural assumptions and the traditional way history is taught in the United States. In doing this, students will be exposed to a broader range of stories about groups of people they have likely never studied before.
UNITED STATES HISTORY 1 YEAR 1.0 CREDIT (Required)
The primary aims of this course are to instill critical thinking and analytical skills. Students will explore primary and secondary sources by analyzing, critiquing, debating, and writing about the content they have learned about. Students will routinely be assigned reading homework and brief responses to the content they read. Students will also have several essays and/or presentations over the course of the year, assessing their ability to critically analyze material from a variety of primary and secondary sources.
As a result of this focus on analyzing multiple sources, our textbook (a “tertiary source”) will be used more as a reference than as a key component of the curriculum. A supplementary source, James Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me, will be used routinely to help students critically analyze the content they have read in the textbook and other sources (including Loewen’s book itself). We will also use Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and a variety of other texts, videos, and audio interviews throughout the course. Students will be exposed to sources written by Americans with vastly different viewpoints and will be tasked with the challenge of critically analyzing each one and coming to an understanding of the similarities, differences and discrepancies between them. As our country becomes increasingly multicultural, it becomes imperative that we study history from multiple perspectives, reading accounts from both the “victors and the vanquished” (i.e. reading accounts from both a white supremacist and a black sharecropper), another key focus of this course.
We will begin our study of American history by (briefly) learning about the culture and history of Africa, the Americas, and Europe up to and including the 15th century. After that we will progress through the European discovery of the Americas and the subsequent chain of events that were set into motion. We will focus on the formal founding of the country and then progress unit by unit until reaching modern day issues by the end of the course. Each unit will be roughly 2-3 weeks in length, covering several decades’ worth of material at a time, although the 1800s will be skimmed while the 1900s will get significantly more attention.
Honors Course
AMERICAN STUDIES 2 CREDITS - U.S. HISTORY AND ENGLISH III
The objectives of this honors course are as follows:
- To enable the students to link the study of American history with American literature through a chronological approach
- To enable the students to read extensively and discuss their reading
- To enable the students to write for various purposes and audiences
- To enable the students to apply their knowledge of grammar, usage, and conventions in writing and speaking
- To enable the students to use technology extensively as they research and make presentations
CIVICS 1 SEM. 0.5 CREDIT (Required)
Students will learn how the US government functions and how it compares to other governments throughout the world. We will begin by looking at the origins of government, explore the Constitution and its creation, and then examine each branch of government. We will then move on to more contemporary issues, including public policy and foreign policy. We will periodically compare and contrast the US-American system to its counterparts in England, France, and other parts of the world.
At the conclusion of this class, students should be well versed in the functions of the US-American democratic process and be able to put it into a broader context. In the current political climate, it is essential for students to understand the nuances of our political process. Students who successfully finish this class should be ready to go forth into the world as informed, critical thinking citizens capable of analyzing and understanding political events/actions and public policies.
SOC 110: Intro to Sociology (Dual Credit through ICC)
In this course offered through ICC for dual credit, students will learn the basics of the field of Sociology. Students will learn to look at what society does, how it functions, and why it is the way it is. Throughout the course students will also develop their "Sociological Imagination," applying the science of sociological study alongside historical background in order to make sense of the world around them. By the end of the semester, students should know how to study the world around them in a sociological manner, not to mention be 3 credits closer to a college degree!
Economics:
This course will function as a survey, meaning that it will introduce you to the field of economics. By the end of the course, you should be able to examine current and historical events through an economic lens. This course will explore two core areas of economics: micro and macro. First we will study microeconomics, looking at the way individuals and particular factors can influence the economy. In the first two weeks you will learn such key terms as “supply” and “demand” as well as “elasticity” and “scarcity.” Then, in the second half of the course we will shift to the macro view of economics, exploring how large-scale changes to the economy occur. In this section of the course you will learn terms like “aggregate supply” and “aggregate demand.”
The second half of the course will shift to macroeconomics, as well as the applied fields of economics of war and peace, as well as environmental economics. Here we will shift a bit away from the theory and formulas and begin applying the content in more concrete, real life ways. By the end of the course, students should be able to examine and explore real life issues by using economic principles and the assumption that all individuals are rational and self-interested.
Mixed in throughout the course will be current events and articles that you will read and respond to, demonstrating your understanding of the economic vocabulary you are learning. For this, you will be reading primarily out of the London-based magazine The Economist, as well as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Marketplace.org.
WORLD HISTORY 1 YEAR 1.0 CREDIT (Required)
The primary aims of this course are to instill critical thinking and analytical skills. Students will explore primary and secondary sources by analyzing, critiquing, debating, and writing about the content they have learned about. Students will routinely be assigned reading homework and brief responses to the content they read. Students will also have several essays and presentations over the course of the year, assessing their ability to critically analyze material from a variety of primary and secondary sources.
As a result of this focus on analyzing multiple sources, our textbook will be used sparingly and in conjunction with primary sources from the era and we are studying. We will progress chronologically through history, quickly moving forward in order to spend the majority of our time on the post-Enlightenment era of 1500 to the present-day. This class will also attempt to take a non-Eurocentric approach to studying World History, a challenging task, given our cultural assumptions and the traditional way history is taught in the United States. In doing this, students will be exposed to a broader range of stories about groups of people they have likely never studied before.
UNITED STATES HISTORY 1 YEAR 1.0 CREDIT (Required)
The primary aims of this course are to instill critical thinking and analytical skills. Students will explore primary and secondary sources by analyzing, critiquing, debating, and writing about the content they have learned about. Students will routinely be assigned reading homework and brief responses to the content they read. Students will also have several essays and/or presentations over the course of the year, assessing their ability to critically analyze material from a variety of primary and secondary sources.
As a result of this focus on analyzing multiple sources, our textbook (a “tertiary source”) will be used more as a reference than as a key component of the curriculum. A supplementary source, James Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me, will be used routinely to help students critically analyze the content they have read in the textbook and other sources (including Loewen’s book itself). We will also use Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and a variety of other texts, videos, and audio interviews throughout the course. Students will be exposed to sources written by Americans with vastly different viewpoints and will be tasked with the challenge of critically analyzing each one and coming to an understanding of the similarities, differences and discrepancies between them. As our country becomes increasingly multicultural, it becomes imperative that we study history from multiple perspectives, reading accounts from both the “victors and the vanquished” (i.e. reading accounts from both a white supremacist and a black sharecropper), another key focus of this course.
We will begin our study of American history by (briefly) learning about the culture and history of Africa, the Americas, and Europe up to and including the 15th century. After that we will progress through the European discovery of the Americas and the subsequent chain of events that were set into motion. We will focus on the formal founding of the country and then progress unit by unit until reaching modern day issues by the end of the course. Each unit will be roughly 2-3 weeks in length, covering several decades’ worth of material at a time, although the 1800s will be skimmed while the 1900s will get significantly more attention.
Honors Course
AMERICAN STUDIES 2 CREDITS - U.S. HISTORY AND ENGLISH III
The objectives of this honors course are as follows:
- To enable the students to link the study of American history with American literature through a chronological approach
- To enable the students to read extensively and discuss their reading
- To enable the students to write for various purposes and audiences
- To enable the students to apply their knowledge of grammar, usage, and conventions in writing and speaking
- To enable the students to use technology extensively as they research and make presentations
CIVICS 1 SEM. 0.5 CREDIT (Required)
Students will learn how the US government functions and how it compares to other governments throughout the world. We will begin by looking at the origins of government, explore the Constitution and its creation, and then examine each branch of government. We will then move on to more contemporary issues, including public policy and foreign policy. We will periodically compare and contrast the US-American system to its counterparts in England, France, and other parts of the world.
At the conclusion of this class, students should be well versed in the functions of the US-American democratic process and be able to put it into a broader context. In the current political climate, it is essential for students to understand the nuances of our political process. Students who successfully finish this class should be ready to go forth into the world as informed, critical thinking citizens capable of analyzing and understanding political events/actions and public policies.
SOC 110: Intro to Sociology (Dual Credit through ICC)
In this course offered through ICC for dual credit, students will learn the basics of the field of Sociology. Students will learn to look at what society does, how it functions, and why it is the way it is. Throughout the course students will also develop their "Sociological Imagination," applying the science of sociological study alongside historical background in order to make sense of the world around them. By the end of the semester, students should know how to study the world around them in a sociological manner, not to mention be 3 credits closer to a college degree!
Economics:
This course will function as a survey, meaning that it will introduce you to the field of economics. By the end of the course, you should be able to examine current and historical events through an economic lens. This course will explore two core areas of economics: micro and macro. First we will study microeconomics, looking at the way individuals and particular factors can influence the economy. In the first two weeks you will learn such key terms as “supply” and “demand” as well as “elasticity” and “scarcity.” Then, in the second half of the course we will shift to the macro view of economics, exploring how large-scale changes to the economy occur. In this section of the course you will learn terms like “aggregate supply” and “aggregate demand.”
The second half of the course will shift to macroeconomics, as well as the applied fields of economics of war and peace, as well as environmental economics. Here we will shift a bit away from the theory and formulas and begin applying the content in more concrete, real life ways. By the end of the course, students should be able to examine and explore real life issues by using economic principles and the assumption that all individuals are rational and self-interested.
Mixed in throughout the course will be current events and articles that you will read and respond to, demonstrating your understanding of the economic vocabulary you are learning. For this, you will be reading primarily out of the London-based magazine The Economist, as well as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Marketplace.org.
