History

Philosophy

The History Department program in Forms III through VI is designed to provide students with those skills which will enable them 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. The First World War 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 the Second World War

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 the Second World War 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 depth rather than breadth. The course focuses on key periods in American History from English colonization to America’s role as a superpower in the twentieth century. The class makes extensive use of primary sources including presidential speeches and congressional debates, newspapers and film. Each student has access to Boorstin and Kelley’s A History of the United States as a foundation for the study of this course.

Fall Term: From Jamestown to Philadelphia

The fall term begins with a study of the English colonies and their impact on and relationship with Native Americans. The competing visions of worldly and spiritual profit as evidenced in Jamestown and Massachusetts Bay are explored in detail. The American Revolution and the constitution are also studied. Students examine how the colonies successfully won their independence and went on to create the first democratic republic in modern history. Finally, we look at the first presidents as they attempt to establish the new government as well as the role of John Marshall and the establishment of the Supreme Court.

Winter Term: From Civil War to Gilded Age

The winter term focuses on the dark night of the American soul. This is the growth of sectionalism, which ultimately leads to the Civil War. The course of the war and the seminal role played by Abraham Lincoln are covered in depth. The term project entails a study of contemporary British, European and American newspaper reaction to the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This project makes an extensive but controlled use of the Internet. The winter term ends with a glimmer of light as America moves into the Gilded Age. The two prominent features of this period, namely progress and poverty, are the focus of the study.

Spring Term: From Isolation to World Power

After examining the Great Depression and the New Deal, the spring term shifts the focus from domestic to foreign affairs. The increasing role of the United States abroad is examined, particularly with respect to whether or not in the era of cold war conflict and the new age of international terrorism, the United States has been faithful to the principles laid down at the beginning of the Republic.

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 h3 thesis. This course is the formal preparation for the A.P. United States History examination given every May.

Fall Term: Settlement of the New World to the Era of Good Feelings

The course will examine the religious, economic, and political motives of the first English settlements. In addition, students will 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 will examine 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 will also study 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 will discuss the rise of industrialism and how Big Business changed America’s landscape.

Spring Term: Progressivism to the Post-Cold War Era

The students will continue to pay special attention to the democratizing of America. To accomplish this, emphasis will be placed on the increasingly inclusive nature of the United States. Students will read and analyze primary sources, such as Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives, William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold Speech” to the 1896 Democratic Convention, political cartoons drawn 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 will examine the causes of the Conservative movement in U.S. politics in the late Twentieth Century.

Form VI: Advanced European History

The Advanced European History course 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 a very effective vehicle for the acquisition of those skills of critical analysis needed for success in college. It is the formal preparation for the A.P. European History examination. 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. There is a heavy emphasis 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 in depth Europe in the 17th century, the great conflict of ideas brought about by the Scientific Revolution and the European 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. The First World War 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 the Second World War. The collapse of European power as a result of the Second World War 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, student will have the opportunity to see some of the works first hand 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 will begin to consider the historical, social, and cultural influences, which have generated artistic accomplishment throughout the ages. In addition, the class will discuss general principles of composition and incorporate artistic terminology in written analyses of artworks. During this term, students will also study Egyptian, Ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, and Gothic art.

Winter Term: Italian Renaissance to Baroque.

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 will 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 will examine how twentieth-century artists challenged the idea of “representation” through Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, and Abstraction.