ArtsWest Social Science Curriculum Overview

The goal of the social science department at ArtsWest is to produce citizens who have an exceptional ability to analyze, and if they wish confront, contemporary and past issues in the world through a deep understanding of history, culture as well as social, political and economic forces. In addition, students will be encouraged to foster a lifelong interest of history and social studies. These courses are designed to be innovative, exciting and rigorous. It is the department’s goal that all students finishing the social science sequence can successfully compete against students entering top-tier universities. To this end students will:

• Understand the significance of the past to their own lives, both public and private and to their society
• Distinguish between the important and the inconsequential, to develop the discriminating memory needed for discerning judgment in public and private life
• Perceive past events and issues as they were experienced by people at the time, to develop historical empathy as opposed to present-mindedness
• Acquire at one and the same time a comprehension of diverse cultures and of shared humanity
• Understand how things happen and how things change and how human interactions matter
• Understand the interplay between change and continuity
• Prepare to live with uncertainties and that not all “problems” have solutions
• Grasp the complexity of historical causation and avoid abstract over generalizations
• Recognize the importance of individuals who have made a difference in history, and the significance of personal character for both good and ill
• Appreciate the force of the non-rational, the irrational and the accidental in history and human affairs
• Understand the relationship between geography and history
• Read widely and critically in order to recognize the difference between fact and conjecture, between evidence and assertion

Students will also work to enhance their academic and cognitive skills and abilities in these courses. They will learn and hone their ability to:

• Analyze textual and non-textual sources
• Speak publicly
• Trace events
• Synthesize information
• Describe events
• Recall information
• Actively read and view
• Gather data
• Evaluate
• Conduct research
• Formulate a hypothesis

The Social Science department will be working closely with the other departments, especially Language Arts, in an effort to integrate our curriculum, eliminate redundant assignments and to allow students to take advantage of multiple teachers. This will permit students to turn classroom projects into finely crafted products.

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Grade 7: Introduction to Physical and Cultural Geography

In this course students will be introduced to the basic concepts and terminology of geography. Students will also begin to understand the world they live in via exposure to and analysis of contemporary events which are having an impact on the world today. Students will gain a deep understanding of the cultures they are studying via literature, art, music, film and perhaps food.

Areas Studied:

• North America
• South America

Issues addressed in depth:

• Climate change
• Culture
• World religions
• Migration

Grade 8: World Geography

In this course students will continue to apply the skills, knowledge, and abilities they mastered in the previous course to the physical and cultural geography of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Students will continue to stay abreast of current events through the reading of national and international newspapers and periodicals.

Areas studied:

• Africa
• Asia
• Europe
• Australia and Oceania

Issues addressed in depth:

• Genocide
• Colonialism
• Overcoming oppression

Grade 9: World History, the Ancient World to 1700

This course is a world history course. Students will learn the History of early man, as well as those of the ancient civilizations of the Middle East, China, India, the Americas, Africa and Europe. Students will learn the interplay of these civilizations especially during the Age of Discovery. Students will understand the social, political, economic and cultural histories of the areas studied through the reading and viewing of primary source documents, art, music and drama. Students will conduct research of an historic figure or event of their choosing and present their findings to the class.

Selection of class projects/ activities:

• Building the human city
• Participating in Athenian Democracy
• Participating in a Spartan hoplite
• Traveling along the Silk Road
• Selection of primary sources:
• Hammurabi's Code
• The Epic of Gilgamesh
• The Apology of Socrates
• Caesar's Commentaries
• The Prince

Grade 10: Modern World History

This course takes students from the European enlightenment to the present day. Students will learn why the modern world is considered "modern". Students will trace the development of the industrial revolution, neo-imperialism, democratic ideals and major turning points including such as the French Revolution and the two world wars. Students will research a major development in modern world history. Students will demonstrate mastery of this content in a mode of their choosing.

Selection of class projects/ activities:

• Discussion among philosophers on enlightenment ideals
• Identifying and comparing neoclassical, romantic, and realist art to see how it reflected changes in life during the industrial revolution
• Experiencing trench warfare

Selection of primary sources:

• Triumph of the Will
• Communist Manifesto
• Iron Curtain Speech
• All Quiet on the Western Front

Grade 11: United States History

Students will study the United States from the founding of the first colonies to the present. Students will pay especial attention to the affects of major turning points in American history including: the revolutionary war, the Civil War, World War I and II, urbanization in the 1920s, the Cold War, Vietnam War, and advances in technology.

Selection of Class projects/ activities:

• Working in a factory during the industrial revolution
• Participating in a lunch counter protest
• Tracing the historical roots of a contemporary issue

Selection of primary sources:

• The Autobiography of Ben Franklin
• The Declaration of Independence
• The Constitution
• The Federalist Papers
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
• The Grapes of Wrath
• Letter from Birmingham Jail

Grade 12: Economics

Economics is about choice. Students in this course will understand how economic choices and principles affect their lives and the lives of people around the world. This course will give them the tools to be smart consumers, and evaluators of economic policies. Finally, students will be able to evaluate our economic system in light of other countries' systems and against our own ideals.

• Selection of Class activities/ projects:
• Taking part in a labor-management dispute
• Building a stock portfolio
• Creating a school lunch menu

Selection of primary sources:

• Looking Backward
• The Wealth of Nations

Grade 12: Government

Students in this course will learn the theoretical foundations of politics, as well as the framework and development of the American political system. Students will examine and evaluate the processes and institutions and public policies of the American political system. Students will also research the nature of public opinion and the implications of the nature of public opinion for American democracy.

Selection of Class activities/ projects:

• Taking a citizenship test
• Creating a constitution
• Implementing a public opinion poll
• Researching national legislation

Selection of primary sources:

• The Republic
• Leviathan
• The Second Treatise on Government
• The Articles of Confederation
• The Constitution
• Federalist Papers
• A Brave New World
• Brown v. Board of Education
• Bakke v. The Regents of the University of California

Electives:

History, Culture and Current Topics of Mexico and Latin America

This course is designed to enhance students' understanding of Latin American history with a special emphasis placed on Mexico and Mexican-American relations. The course will look at the cultural achievements of ancient civilizations of Meso-America, the fight for independence by Latin American countries, the relationship between the US and Latin American countries, as well as Mexican-American history.

Selection of class activities/ projects:

• Examining Aztec codex images
• Identifying different types of Latin American music and discussing African, European, and indigenous influences
• Evaluating NAFTA