Philosophy | Form III: Western Civilization | Form IV: World History
Form V: United States History B | Form V: Advanced United States History
Form VI: Social and Political Change | Form VI: Advanced European History
Forms V and VI: Art History

Philosophy

The History Department program in Forms III through VI is designed to provide students with the skills needed to meet the challenges of even the most rigorous college education. Emphasis is placed on the development of comprehension and communication skills and facility with handling primary and secondary source evidence. Students master the craft of essay writing. Research techniques are stressed, in particular library skills and the judicious and careful use of the Internet as well as the use of proper bibliographic citations.

Form III: Western Civilization

Fall Term: Religion and Culture in the Ancient World
This is a study of the African and Near Eastern origins of the first human beings; the evolution of small kingdoms and mighty empires in Egypt, Israel, Assyria, and Persia; and the great legacy of Greece to Western Civilization. There is an early visit to the American Museum of Natural History. Analysis of a wide range of primary and secondary sources is encouraged, including appropriate selections from the Old Testament, film, poetry, and literature. Text: McKay, Hill, and Buckler, A History of Western Society, vols. A and B.

Winter Term: Rome, Christianity, and the Making of Europe
Students analyze the fall of the Roman Republic and its transition into Empire, the rise of the great monotheistic religions, Christianity and Islam, and the rediscovery of Empire under Charlemagne. Judicious use is made of a variety of sources, including Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Text: McKay, Hill, and Buckler, A History of Western Society, vols. A and B.

Spring Term: The Challenge of the West from the Renaissance to the French Revolution
This class traces the growth and expansion of France, Portugal, Spain, and England into the Americas and India; their role in the African slave trade; and the growing conflict between authoritarian and constitutional forms of government culminating in the French Revolution. The importance of the scientific revolution in increasing the power of the West is also analyzed. A variety of primary sources and secondary sources is used, including film, especially Zinneman’s A Man for All Seasons and Wajda’s Danton. Text: McKay, Hill, and Buckler, A History of Western Society, vols. B and C.

Form IV: World History

Fall Term: Ideology and Revolution from the French Revolution to World War I
The great forces unleashed by the French Revolution are analyzed in depth. Nationalism, liberalism, socialism, Marxism, and democracy are also seen within the context of 19th century Industrialization. Imperialism in Africa and Asia is also examined. World War I is seen as the culmination of the ‘isms.’ Text: McKay, Hill, and Buckler, A History of Western Society, vols. B and C.

Winter Term: The Rise of Single-Party Dictatorships, the Crisis of Democracy, and the Coming of World War II
This sequence analyses the rise of fascism and authoritarian government in Nazi Germany and Japan, international communism in the Soviet Union, the weakness of the great democracies, and the coming of World War II in 1939. Text: McKay, Hill, and Buckler, A History of Western Society, vols. B and C.

Spring Term: China and Japan
This course analyzes the cultural and social foundations of traditional Chinese and Japanese society. China and Japan’s interactions with the West in the early modern era are compared and contrasted, and their differing responses to Western imperialism are evaluated. The course also traces the rise of the communist party dictatorship in China under Mao Ze Dong, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Zemin. Texts: Moise, Modern China; Spence, The Search for Modern China; Duus, Modern Japan.

Form V: United States History B

The goal of the non-AP section of United States history is an understanding of the key personalities and events in U.S. history from English colonization to the present day. The class makes extensive use of primary sources drawn from diaries, letters, speeches, newspaper, photographs and film. Secondary sources include a textbook, monographs, and documentaries.

Fall Term: From Jamestown to the New Republic.
The term begins with a study of the thirteen English colonies. The religious, economic, and political motives of the various groups are examined. The focus then turns to the tensions between the colonies and Britain and the ensuing war for American independence. The term ends with a close examination of the 1787 Constitutional Convention and the establishment of the republic.

Winter Term: Jacksonian Democracy to the Civil War.
The increasing democratization of American politics and society, the impact of the idea of Manifest Destiny on the settlement of the West, the increasing industrialization of the North and the establishment of the Monroe Doctrine are the first topics of the term. Next, students examine the sectional differences dividing the North and South in the antebellum period. Finally, students look at the key personalities and events in the American Civil War. Ken Burns’s documentary Civil War provides a visual portrayal of the key battles and personalities of the period.

Spring Term: The Gilded Age to the Present.
The term begins with an examination of the role of industrialists, labor unions, journalists, and reformers in shaping the latter part of the 19th century. The Spanish-American War leads into an examination of America’s role abroad. Next, the course focuses on World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the New Deal. Finally, U.S. involvement in World War II, the Cold War and civil rights are the final topics of investigation.

Form V: Advanced United States History

Advanced United States History is an intensive college preparatory course covering major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in American history from 1600 to the present. The course is designed to provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the intellectual challenges of United States history. Students will learn to assess historical materials—their relevance to a given interpretative problem, their reliability, and their importance—and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. In addition, there is a heavy emphasis on essay writing and defending a strong thesis. This course is the formal preparation for the AP exam given every May.

Fall Term: Settlement of the New World to the Era of Good Feelings
This course examines the religious, economic, and political motives of the first English settlements. In addition, students study how salutary neglect led to an independence movement, gain some understanding of the foundations of federalism, and explore the political and social changes resulting from Jacksonian democracy.

Winter Term: Sectionalism to the Gilded Age
Students study the idea of Manifest Destiny, its effects on both American politics and the Native Americans, and the significance of the “closing of the frontier.” The course also examines the different economies of the North and the South, the causes of the Civil War, and the congressional and presidential plans to reconstruct the wounded nation. During this term, the class discusses the rise of industrialism and how big business changed America’s landscape.

Spring Term: Progressivism to the Post-Cold War Era
Students continue to pay special attention to the democratizing of America. To accomplish this, emphasis is placed on the increasingly inclusive nature of the United States. Students read and analyze primary sources, such as Jacob Riis’s How the Other Half Lives, William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech to the 1896 Democratic Convention, political cartoons by Thomas Nast, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s A Letter from a Birmingham Jail, and the Port Huron Statement written by the student activists of the 1960s. Finally, the course examines the causes of the Conservative movement in U.S. politics in the late twentieth century.

Form VI: Social and Political Change: U.S. Since 1945

This course introduces seniors to major movements for social and political change in the United States since W.W. II, and allows them to think about current challenges facing our system today. The course is conducted mainly in a seminar format, with participation in discussions forming a considerable portion of the student’s grade. Additionally, writing is a major component of the course work. Students write reflections on readings, and respond to major thematic questions through longer essays.

Fall/Winter Term: Case Studies in Change
The course begins with a look into the civil rights movement, a strong foundation for the nonviolent protest that followed through much of the following decades. The documentary series Eyes on the Prize is used for its rich use of primary source interviews as the basis for garnering information about motives, inspirations, and frustrations of the movement. From there, the Vietnam War is investigated from the standpoint of the growing credibility gap between the American people and their government, and the resulting effects of this rift today.

Winter/Spring Term: Taking on the Challenge
After looking at several case studies, students are armed with knowledge of successful and unsuccessful movements for change, and can begin to investigate issues that they feel need to be addressed currently in our system.

Form VI: Advanced European History

Advanced European History is a rigorous college preparatory course covering major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in European history from 1450 to the present. This course is an effective vehicle for the acquisition of those skills of critical analysis needed for success in college. It is the formal preparation for the AP exam. The great breadth of content of this course necessitates considerable reading beyond the confines of the classroom. A significant interest in history itself is a prerequisite for success. Heavy emphasis is placed on essay writing under time constraints in the course. Texts: Palmer and Colton, A History of the Modern World; Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers; and a variety of primary texts and sources.

Fall Term: European History from the Renaissance to Napoleon
The significance of the Renaissance and Reformation in creating the European nation state is studied. Students also examine  Europe in the 17th century, the great conflict of ideas brought about by the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment, and factors leading to the French Revolution.

Winter Term: From Vienna to Versailles
Peacemaking efforts in Europe in 1815 and 1919 are compared and contrasted; revolutionary ideologies such as revolutionary nationalism, liberalism, socialism, Marxism, and anarchism are analyzed in great depth. Economic developments, especially Industrialization, are also examined. World War I is seen as the logical outcome of these cataclysmic forces.

Spring Term: From Versailles to the Fall of the Soviet Union
Students study the rise of fascism and communism, the collapse of capitalism, and the crisis of democracy leading to World War II. The collapse of European power as a result of World War II and the emergence of the superpowers and Europe’s resurgence after 1945 with the growth of the European Union are analyzed. Europe’s role in the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 complete the sequence.

Form V and Form VI: Art History

This course is an introductory survey of art, beginning with the cave paintings of Lascaux and finishing with contemporary artists such as Christo. While the class primarily emphasizes the art of the Western world, students will also study art from ancient and modern India, China, Japan, and Africa. Considering the school’s proximity to many cultural resources, students will have the opportunity to see firsthand some of the works through field trips to museums or independent research assignments. No prior experience in art is necessary.

Fall Term: Caves to Cathedrals.
The course begins in 15,000 B.C.E. with the prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux and Altamira. Students consider the historical, social, and cultural influences that have generated artistic accomplishment throughout the ages. In addition, the class discusses general principles of composition and incorporate artistic terminology in written analyses of artworks. During this term, students also study Egyptian, Ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, and Gothic art.

Winter Term: Italian Renaissance to Boroque
This term continues chronologically with an understanding of the respective purpose and patronage of art during the Italian Renaissance and concludes with the seventeenth century. In addition, students examine ancient and modern non-Western art.

Spring Term: Neo-Classicism to Postmodernism
During the spring term, the course continues to examine the relationship between art and society as cataclysmic events such as the French Revolution, the two World Wars, and the Vietnam War are depicted and memorialized in painting, sculpture, and architecture. Finally, students examine how twentieth-century artists challenged the idea of “representation” through cubism, Dadaism, surrealism, and abstraction.