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Instruction in the History Department

After taking the appropriate number of years of courses in the History Department, students will be able to demonstrate and/or articulate the following at levels appropriate to the level and length of time of their study:

  • Understanding, outlining, critical comprehension of reading material.
  • Taking notes: whether taking notes from lectures, class discussions, readings, or research.
  • Geography and map skills: students will know major/significant/ relevant nations, cities, and natural formations (oceans, etc.) in all portions of the world.
  • Knowledge, understanding, and ability to "connect" appropriately various critical events, developments, concepts, eras, etc. in humankind's historical experience.
  • Ability to research a topic using diverse primary and secondary source material in various media, and to provide documentation in proper historical methodology.
  • Recognition of and ability to deal with divergent opinions and interpretations through critical analysis.
  • Ability to articulate ideas and information in a clear, straightforward writing style.
  • Ability to use historical knowledge to analyze and understand contemporary situations or problems.
  • Recognition and appreciation of value and necessity of self-organization, self-motivation, and self-discipline.
  • Recognition and appreciation of importance of active citizenship, through voting and other civic responsibilities.
  • Respect and tolerance for others.
  • Ability and willingness to stand for and on ethical values, to always do what is right, even in the face of adversity.
  • Appreciation of History as a discipline, how it connects/relates to other disciplines, and the rest of the curriculum.
  • Appreciation/respect/understanding of those who came before us and how their actions have shaped our lives and times, and a concomitant realization that our actions will shape the lives and times of others.

Curriculum

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Economics
This course will offer students a study of economic principles and theories that try to explain how we - as individuals and society - make rational decisions about using scarce resources. The course will feature two parts: Micro Economics - a study of economic principles and theories applied to individual, and firm-level decision-making, and Macro Economics - a study of principles and theories that apply to the economic system as a whole. Offered in the AP format, the goal of this course is to help students become informed and active citizens, aware of the major economic problems facing our society and the world at large, and able to conduct an intelligent, critical analysis of policy options discussed on the public forum.
History of African-Americans
This full-year elective course is open only to seniors who have satisfactorily completed the year-long course in United States History, whether college preparatory level or Advanced Placement level. This course thus builds upon the foundation of knowledge students have already obtained in both World History and United States History. The History of African-Americans course will begin with a brief survey of pertinent African History, and will then move into the earliest days of European exploration in the New World, beginning approximately 1500. From that time on, people of African descent have played an important role in the development of both the Western Hemisphere and the United States. This course then will focus, beginning approximately 1600, on the history of Africans and African-Americans in what eventually became the United States. The political, social, economic, cultural, and intellectual contributions of African-Americans to the history, heritage, and development of the United States will be studied through the late twentieth century. This study will not only further broaden the understanding and appreciation of students for African-Americans' experiences and roles in America's diverse past, but it will also serve to explore the on-going theme of how Americans of successive generations have worked and must continue to work to perfect democracy in America's multi-racial society. The course will explore not only history, but also avenues of constructive, informed citizenship for the future.
Imperial Russian and Soviet History
This course is designed to present a survey of Russian and Soviet History, introducing students to the major themes and issues that have defined the country's past and that are framing its existence since the end of the Soviet period. Lectures will address issues that include the foundations of the Russian empire, territorial expansion, causes for the failure of the imperial structure, relations with European powers, national identity, revolutionary politics, the role of terror, nationalism and ethnic relations, everyday social practices, the experience of total war, the Cold war, the rise of political dissent, gender, and the causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The final section of the course is designed to present the major problems facing the Russian Federation in the modern period. The aim of this course is to introduce students to not only internal developments of Russia, but to also provide a foundation for understanding Russia's relationships with neighboring states and to underscore the value of regional studies in the field of history.
United States History Advanced Placement
The Advanced Placement course in United States History offers qualified Santa Catalina students an opportunity to participate in a challenging program which allows them to undertake college-level work while still in secondary school. Students in the United States History AP course take the Advanced Placement examination in United States History at the end of the academic year. The course itself presents a balanced portrait of American History from pre-Columbian times until the present day. The course covers diverse aspects of US History, including political, economic, social, cultural, military, diplomatic, and intellectual facets. The course is organized not only chronologically, but also thematically around issues such as the on-going process of perfecting American democracy, the balances of a federal form of government, social and economic evolution and reform, and expansionism. In addition to establishing this wide base of historical knowledge, comprehension of the American character, and constructive citizenship, students also receive a heavy emphasis on the comprehension and utilization of primary sources and historiography, learning about the divergencies of historical thought, and how to deal with these divergencies. In addition, students will learn to develop a historical thesis and articulate a well-supported interpretation/analysis in the historical essay format. Students will also gain a fundamental understanding of the economic system and various economic philosophies and principles.
United States History College Prep
As knowledge and understanding of United States History is vital for all Americans, the United States History course at Santa Catalina aims to impart to students not only the factual material of US History, but also an appreciation of our heritage and understanding of the American character. The US History course presents a balanced portrait of the American past via political, social, intellectual, economic, military, diplomatic, and cultural history. From pre-Columbian times to the present day, concentration is on the development of continuing themes such as the shaping of the national character, the origins and on-going process of perfecting American democracy under the Constitution, nationalism versus sectionalism, expansionism, and social and economic evolution and reform. The course, by such means, seeks not only to establish historical appreciation of the American past, but to lay the foundation of constructive and active citizenship. The course also continues to sharpen and refine students' historical sophistication and methodological skills. Students will be expected to analyze, synthesize, and articulate both factual and interpretational material in the oral and written media.
World History from 1500
This course will offer students a broad sweep of history since 1500, tracing the major ideas and events that have shaped the modern world. The course will trace significant developments in Western Civilization, the Islamic World, as well as in African and Asian civilizations. The course is designed to provide students with appropriate tools for historical study, including advanced understanding of the role of geography in shaping history, use of Internet sources, research skills for historical study, and analysis of primary sources. Beginning with the analysis of the fragmentation of Christendom during the Reformation, students will follow political, social, religious, economic, and cultural themes as they progress toward the modern world. Essential to this understanding will be the grasp of linkages between past and present, which are conducive to the realization of how the modern world is the product of history, and that history continues to be interpreted as it unfolds.
World History to 1500
As a required freshman course, World History to 1500 has two specific goals: the first goal is to establish the study skills necessary to a serious study of history (and other academic disciplines, as well). These skills include: reading carefully in context, outlining, taking notes from the assigned readings (both text and primary sources), taking notes from lectures, assimilating reference materials from traditional sources and the Internet (with special emphasis on proper use of Internet materials), organizing time and materials to meet deadlines, writing essays and creative papers, and understanding and using proper historical documentation. The second goal is to provide the student with an orderly, chronological framework for studying and comprehending the civilizations that have influenced our world. World History to 1500 begins with a study of the Neolithic Revolution and how archaeology fills in the blanks of a time without written records. The earliest great river civilizations of Mesopotamia, India, China, and Egypt show early man's reliance on water for the building of cultures and empires. Following a study of the Classical periods of Greece and Rome, students seek to understand the foundations of world history from 500 to 1400 C.E. which will give them the basis for a deeper study of modern history, beginning with the humanism of the Renaissance and the conflicting forces of the Reformation. In the pursuit of this study equal emphasis is placed upon political, economic, social, religious, and cultural development.