Students study United States and Maine history, with a focus on the state’s Native American tribes and early settlers.  Concepts in geography, culture, economics, government, and civic responsibility are key components of the social studies curriculum.  Individual projects develop critical research skills and provide opportunities for taking academic risks.

This course uses the five themes of geography (location, place, human/environment interaction, movement and regions) to explore four of the seven continents of the world: Oceania, Africa, South America and Asia. Students will work individually and in cooperative groups on interdisciplinary projects that help them to explore the geography of these continents. Weekly map quizzes will help students to learn locations of countries and capitals. Each week students will present current events relating to the continent being studied. Research using the school library and technology is emphasized.

Seventh grade history is a study of civics and economics. Students will study various governmental systems with a focus on the U.S. government. The goal is to impart the knowledge to help students become active and responsible citizens now and in the future. During the second half of the year, students will gain an understanding of basic economics and the role the U.S. economy plays in world markets. Over the course of the year, there will be interdisciplinary units with English and math classes. Many of the topics discussed in seventh grade will serve as a foundation for 8th grade U.S. History.

Eighth grade history is a study of United States History from the Civil War up through the Cold War. Students will use their knowledge of civics and economics, gained during seventh grade, to analyze and study the Reconstruction of the South, immigration at the turn of the 20th Century, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. Over the course of the year, students will complete a variety of assignments including research projects and class debates.

The aim of the 9th grade history course is to have students consider (and then attempt to answer for themselves) a series of essential questions that have confronted humanity across time and cultures. Some of these questions may include:

• When is authority legitimate?
• What is justice?
• What is a fair distribution of the world’s resources?
• What is the purpose of art?

     

• What is the purpose of religion?

      

• What makes a meaningful life?

 

It begins with a study of the world’s major religions.  Then students focus on three civilizations:  Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and Ancient China.  Through each civilization, students will consider how these questions have been answered in the past as well as to determine their own answers to these questions.  A culminating project will require the student to determine and present their own answer to one question of their choosing.

The final trimester of the course is a study of The Holocaust and other genocides in the Twentieth Century.  The central text for this part of the course will be “Facing History and Ourselves.” The essential question to be considered throughout is “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  Students will investigate the role of the individual in the rise of Hitler and the propagation of The Final Solution.  Similarly, students will consider other genocides including genocides in Armenia, Cambodia, and Rwanda.

This course examines key developments in western history from approximately 1450 to the present, with a particular emphasis on Europe’s interactions with other parts of the world. In addition to developing an appreciation for the political, economic, social, and cultural evolution of Europe, students will also examine the 20th century developments in China and the Middle East that help provide the context for understanding current world events. A major focus is to develop the ability to see the events of history in context, distinguish movements or trends and to determine causes, results and significance (the exercise of judgment). Students are taught to write with clarity and to read with a degree of discrimination and understanding.

Students look closely at the political and diplomatic, intellectual and cultural, and social and economic history of Europe from about 1450 to the present. In addition to mastering the narrative of major events in this period, students will evaluate historical material, weighing evidence and interpretations and researching and writing analytical essays. A considerable amount of time is spent practicing the writing of effective, convincing essays in preparation for a major portion of the AP exam. Students examine historical continuity and change in the modern world, with an emphasis on the peculiarly dynamic and revolutionary qualities of Western society. The course also examines the consequences of European contacts with other areas of the world.
Departmental recommendation required.

This course focuses on the cultural, social, economic and political history of the nation from its founding up through the 1970s. The course does not use a text book but rather focuses its inquiry through nonfiction, fiction, biography, autobiography and primary source materials. The course is designed to explore topics of major significance in American history in detail in order to get a clear idea of how events and people shaped the way America and Americans are today. Topics and readings include: The creation of the country from colonialism to the Constitution (1630-1787) through City Upon a Hill, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and The Constitution; The Civil War (1861-1865) through Abraham Lincoln’s Speeches and Civil War Stories by Ambrose Bierce; the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (1878-1913); The Great Depression (1929-1940); the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s through Eyes on the Prize and A Lesson Before Dying; the Red Scare and McCarthyism through Fahrenheit 451; and Nixon and Watergate through All the President’s Men.

This class is a one-year, intensive study of American history. Textbook readings serve as background for specific discussions and activities during class time. Students are taught to analyze evidence and interpret historical scholarship. They examine primary source materials (speeches, political cartoons, photographs, songs, and poems), different historical interpretations of events, and influences of past events in today’s world. Critical writing and reading are also heavily emphasized. Students will be expected to analyze and synthesize data, historical knowledge, and information from other classes. The course covers themes from Colonial times up through the Reagan Era. The goal of this course is to prepare students for the AP exam in May.
Prerequisite: Modern World History or AP European History
Departmental recommendation required. 

Although structured as a survey of art history from pre-history into the modern era in preparation for the Advanced Placement Exam, a fundamental goal of the course is developing the skill of artistic analysis. This development will come through daily in-class discussion, written analysis and testing culminating in a second trimester research paper. Museum visits and third trimester student-taught classes are used to deepen the students’ understanding.
Departmental recommendation required. 

Students may take this course for one, two or three trimesters.

First Trimester: Current Political Issues

How does the American political system work? To investigate this question, the course focuses on such topics as special interest groups and whether they hinder or help the political process, who has the most influence in elections, legislation, and government and why, what role money plays in the political process, especially on campaigns and legislation, and how mass media sways what Americans know. The class also investigates the politics of rhetoric paying careful attention to what is really being said and what is being heard. Readings come from magazines, newspaper articles and other sources.

Second Trimester: The Criminal Justice System

Who is behind bars and why? This question drives the class and generates discussion on issues such as the benefits and drawbacks of focusing on the prevention of crime, the social, economic, and cultural issues of incarceration, and recidivism rates. In addition, there is a focus on the economic, social, psychological, and cultural costs of the death penalty, life imprisonment, and rehabilitation as well as a look at prison culture and juvenile offenders.

Third Trimester: Race, Class, and Gender in Pop Culture

How have gender roles, class identity, and race been portrayed in television, movies, music, and advertisements? These are the topics that the class covers when taking a closer look at our past and present culture and society. Special attention is paid to cultural literacy, a greater understanding of the popular culture of the past, how these forces helped shape and influence current popular trends and thinking about society and race, class, and gender. 

Students may take this course for one, two or three trimesters.

First trimester: Baseball
The class looks at American History and Culture through America’s greatest pastime, baseball. An exploration of the minds and spirits of the American people and her institutions through literature, history, and film gives students a better understanding of the country. Students study such topics as baseball’s impact on social change with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier to gender issues with World War II’s interruption of the game and the ensuing women’s league to the current controversies of steroid use and bloated salaries. The course incorporates a multimedia approach through readings from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Wait Till Next Year and David Halberstam’s The Teammates, and videos ranging from Ken Burns’ documentary Baseball to the documentary on the Dominican “invasion” of American baseball, The Republic of Baseball to A League of Their Own, among others.

Second trimester: Music
This course examines the way in which Americans have allowed music to become their social, cultural, and political voice for both protest and patriotism and how music has allowed generations of listeners to identify with certain genres and events in American music history. Joe Hill, Irving Berlin, the Dixie Chicks, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Indigo Girls, Toby Keith, and Lee Greenwood share in the fact that their songs have been embraced by listeners who identify with the messages expressed in the lyrics and rhythms. The class looks at the way protests and patriotic feelings have been enhanced with music and how certain musical events such as Woodstock have helped to define a generation. In addition to an examination of how music shapes and reshapes how Americans see events – from World War I protest songs to the Vietnam War to being “Proud to be an American,” the class looks at the powerful influence of music on the daily lives of Americans. The class uses a multimedia approach.

Third trimester: Hollywood
Since the creation of Hollywood, movies and television have helped shape the way Americans think about themselves, their government, and other nations and cultures. The class focuses on such issues as how movies deal with the ever-changing roles of men, women and families; how they shape America’s perception of her perceived enemies; and how the industry attempts to sway events in politics, history, and society, and continues to do so. Students will study films such as The Manchurian Candidate and its remake to see how America perceives its enemies and demonizes its opponents; they chart the evolving cinematic roles of women (from the role of helpless female to G.I. Jane), blacks (from stereotypes to serious roles), and gays and lesbians (from caricatures to characters), all of which have helped prepare and sometimes hinder changing societal norms and customs. This course uses a multimedia approach. 

Students may take this course for one, two or three trimesters.

First trimester: History of the Cold War.
This course covers the history of the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States from the end of WWII to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Students examine the origins of the Cold War, when the Cold War turned “hot,” the major turning points in the era, how the Cold War influenced culture in both countries, how the allies and surrogates of the superpowers experienced the Cold War, and why the Cold War ended the way it did. Students read a variety of primary and secondary source materials, examine period film, literature, and art, participate in simulations, and write a series of short analytical papers.

Second trimester: Modern Middle East.
This course examines the origins and development of the most important Middle Eastern regions since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. Although the Arab-Israeli conflict plays a central role in this course, students also study the modern history of such important regional states as Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey. Students will have opportunities to explore the rich variety of Islamic cultures through art, literature, and primary and secondary sources.

Third trimester: Current Issues in U.S. Foreign Policy.
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has confronted a series of foreign policy problems of a different nature than those it faced in a bipolar world. This course examines the options and responses of the United States to a series of global crises including North Korea, China/Taiwan, Kashmir, the Balkans, Afghanistan and various African hot spots. Students consider the advisability of humanitarian interventions, the changing relationship between the United States and Europe, and the ways globalization has affected U.S. national interest calculations. Students simulate policy debates, write short briefing analyses and read extensively from periodical sources. 

Students may take this course for one, two, or three trimesters.

First trimester: Chinese Cultural Revolution.
The course covers Communist China during Mao’s Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Nien Cheng’s autobiography, Life and Death in Shanghai, is the primary reading. The idea of the Communist state’s desire to rid the culture of capitalists and intellectuals is discussed as well as the nature of Communism. Students evaluate power, oppression, communism, and Marxist ideals through the eyes of those most affected by the Cultural Revolution.

Second trimester: Latin America.
This course examines the Dominican Republic, the rise of the brutal dictator Rafael Trujillo, and the attempts to overthrow the government. Julia Alvarez’s historical fiction In the Time of the Butterflies and Mario Llosa’s The Feast of the Goat serves as a basis for learning about this Caribbean nation’s struggle from 1930 to 1961. The class also investigates other Latin American countries and their struggles for democracy both today and in the past.

Third trimester: South Africa and Apartheid.
This course covers South Africa from the beginnings of Apartheid in the 1930s to the present. Through literature, students discover who holds the power in South Africa and all those who were/are oppressed. The Power of One, by Bryce Courtenay is used to delve into the country’s history.