History students are asked to create meaning and understanding of our past and present, developing an ability to understand a historical framework for the world which is evolving around them. Classes stress analysis and interpretation. The use of primary texts is critical in all courses and student research often builds from primary document analysis. Classes emphasize the important tasks of discussion and oral skills, writing with an emphasis on analytical essays, and critical thinking. Students are also asked to write history to formulate, support and document their own views of the past. Finally, by its nature, history is an interdisciplinary study and our courses actively seek to bring a historical approach to a range of subjects. All students who enter 11th or 12th grade having been given credit for U.S. History at another school are required to take the Writing and Research: Humanities Thesis course.

History Courses

History 9 • Ancient History (full credit)

This course introduces students to a variety of original ancient texts from the East and the West. Students read a selection of epics, drama, and religious texts to consider the human values expressed in ancient civilizations. The epics and drama include The Gilgamesh Epic, The Iliad, Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, and Michael Cacoyannis’ film adaptation of Euripedes’ Ipheginia at Aulis. Religious writings include The Bhagavad Gita, The Tao Te Ching, and The Hebrew Bible. The course also uses texts more directly related to social structures. Law codes include, The Hammurabi Code, The Covenant Code, and The Laws of Manu. Theoretical writings on society include Confucius’ The Analects, the Chinese Legalists, the Greek Socratic Philosophers, and Ptah Hotep. Finally we use some selected literary and visual sources simply because they work well with this age group. Students learn to find their own insights to the texts, and to develop and express their own analysis of them. Students regularly write persuasive essays (both in class and overnight) based on the readings. The course leads students to the continuing process of developing their own world view based on connection between the past and the present.

History 10 • History of the Modern World (full credit)

This course focuses on the major themes in the development and “modernization” of western society and culture as we know it. Students analyze primary source material to study the spiritual base of medieval society, the individuality of the Renaissance and Reformation, the growth of constitutionalism from the Anglo-Saxon Witan through the French Revolution, and the process of industrialization and its early critics. The readings range from textbooks and documents to historical novels. Film and slides provide a visual component. Writing assignments include tests, papers and library research projects. Texts: Johnson, The Political Animal; France, The Gods Will Have Blood; Sturlson, King Harald’s Saga; Machiavelli, The Prince; More, Utopia; Zola, Germinal; selected other readings.

American Studies Requirement

These courses combine the previous courses United States History and American Literature to provide richer exploration of American society, politics, and culture. (Please see page 6 for complete description of American Studies and Writing and Research: Humanities Thesis.)

History 12 • African Anthropology and History (half credit)

This course explores topics in African Anthropology and History, including ethnicity, religion, economy, and culture, as it relates to contemporary developments in African society through a seminar format. Following a syllabus, students will read, discuss, and write on the selected topics, with some opportunity to emphasize an area of interest. The readings will include a variety of primary and secondary sources.

History 12 • The Middle East Cauldron (half credit)

Today, the Middle East remains a focal point of cultural misunderstanding and conflict. This course seeks a greater understanding of this complex and volatile region. The course begins with a look at the political, economic, cultural and religious influences in the region, from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire to the present, using both primary and secondary sources. Later the course will consider some selected topics from the history of the region, the Sunni Shiite split, and the growth of Islam. The course will conclude with an independent project. Either Economics or Latin American History will be taught depending on enrollment.

History 12 • Introduction to Economics (half credit)

The term economics is derived from the Greek “rules of the household.” In this course we look at the way in which economics governs our lives, homes, political, and international institutions. We will consider the way in which economic actors (ourselves included) make decisions. The course begins with a brief survey of basic economic concepts and terminology. We then look at a series of subjects: the power of markets; incentives and economic behavior; game theory; globalization; international economics; government and the economy; business cycles and the mortgage crisis; environmental economics; and market forces. Articles from the newspaper and news magazines will serve as the backdrop for the class. The class concludes with a research assignment in which students design and produce an independent work.

History 12 • Latin American History (half credit)

This course introduces some of the major forces and events that have shaped Latin America: conquest and colonization, economic imperialism, racial and ethnic integration, the church, migration, trade, and the environment. Sources include literature, art, film, historical essays, political documents, economic data, and current events to help us make sense of Latin America. Students will write two country-specific papers, one of which can involve creating an alternative project that is a non-writing research-based assignment (for example, writing a Mexican folk ballad, knitting an Andean earflap hat, or creating a Brazilian cookbook). Students should leave the class with a greater appreciation for the richness, complexity, and diversity of the region.

History 12 • Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Africa (half credit)

The curriculum will focus on four major time periods in African History. They include the pre-Western exploration of the continent, the colonial period, the post-colonial period, and the reconstruction era. Students will learn how Africa’s Western contact greatly affected the continent’s development and progress, positively and negatively. There will be a variety of primary, secondary, and mixed media sources. This course is a continuation, thematically, of African Anthropology and History. This does not mean that you need to have taken that course to attend this one, but they connect and relate well if you choose to take both courses.

History 12 • Comparative Religions (half credit)

This course seeks to understand the traditions of religious belief and the nature of the divine in history and across cultures. The course will emphasize religious texts in their historical and cultural context. Writing will include both analytic and personal response. Readings include Huston Smith, The World’s Religions; The Gilgamesh Epic; Herman Hess, Siddhartha; selections from the Bagavad-gita, the Old and New Testaments, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Dostoevsky, the Koran, Rumi, and the Tao Te Ching.

History 12 • Agrarian History: New England Farm (alternate years, half credit)

(See the Science section for a description of Environmental Studies: New England Farm).

Sociological Impacts of Food (half credit)

“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.” (Brillat-Savarin) Food is an ever-present part of our daily experience and a medium through which to examine our individual and collective heritage. In this course, food, an essential human need, becomes the basis for interdisciplinary study. The course is broken into several areas of inquiry: Food and Meaning; Food and Ethics; Food and Justice; and, lastly, Food and Culture. As a humanities course, we will take on each unit through a variety of lenses. Readings from the fields of anthropology, art, literature, psychology, religion, politics, ecology, economics, psychology and, of course, history, are central to the course. Drawing on primary and secondary sources we will have an opportunity to learn about the foods we eat and the global context of our food. Of course, one component will be the preparation of foods related to each unit topic. Students will have a chance to visit local food banks, food producers, help in the school supported Meals on Wheels program, and cook in our new bread oven. As a final project, each student will research a specific food or cultural meal, make a class presentation and a culminating meal or dish for service to the entire school. This course fills a senior humanities credit, but does not satisfy the history requirement for graduation. Available to juniors and seniors.