Upper School History

This Third Form course is, at its core, an introduction to topics in ancient and classical civilizations. With a strong focus on historical analysis and foundational skills in the freshman year, the course will systematically address: effective reading of texts; note-taking, from both reading and class; writing the analytical essay; research techniques using library tools and methods; interpreting maps and other visual presentations; and making oral presentations, both formal and informal. The format of the course will include seminars, lectures, films/video, project-based learning, and other presentations.

In a survey of world history from the 13th century to the present, this yearlong Forth Form course will ask two intersecting and complementary questions: what is “modern,” and what processes made/are making the world modern? The course centers on the development and interaction of western and non-western civilizations over this period, examining significant ideas, events, and persons from the multiple perspectives of political, economic, and social history. The students will approach modern world history both chronologically and thematically, using the six themes of (1) interaction between societies, (2) change and continuity over time, (3) technology and demography, (4) social structure, (5) cultural and intellectual developments, and (6) states and political identities. The course uses and refines the academic skills taught in Third Form Ancient History. Debates, historical trials (World War I), research papers, analytical essays, reflections, and oral presentations are among the methodologies used in this course.

This yearlong Fifth Form course covers the breath of American history from colonization to the present. Political, economic, and diplomatic developments are at the heart of the course, but social and intellectual history is covered as well. The course combines a traditional chronological approach with an emphasis on selected themes and topics including: the development of the United States as a world power; the socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic diversity of American society; the development of the American political tradition (sectionalism, citizenship); and the role of government in the regulation of the economy. Readings include narrative history, news articles, primary sources, and other supplementary materials.

This course is offered in both standard and advanced format.

The 21st century has been characterized by rapid change and increasing globalization, impacting individuals in societies in unprecedented ways and creating complex global political challenges. This one semester survey course explores the intricacies of how global leaders in the international community must balance past interactions and future projections while making present choices. Using specific case studies and current events, as well as participating in a semester-long online simulation while competing for class credit, students will confront IR concepts in real time. Topics will include different political theories, decision making, the role of international organizations, and major geopolitical moments that have shaped the current world order.

This is a one-semester advanced course for Sixth Form students. It will focus on 20th century Europe between the world wars with special attention to the rise of totalitarianism and the conditions and events that paved the way to power for Benito Mussolini in Italy, Joseph Stalin in the USSR, Adolph Hitler in Germany, and Francisco Franco in Spain. In addition to traditional history books such as European Dictatorships: 1918-1945, we will make use of memoirs such as Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia and Levi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli, Picasso’s Guernica and Kampf’s Venus & Adonis, and films like the Christopher Isherwood-inspired Cabaret and Leni Riefenstahl’s classic and chilling documentary Triumph of the Will.

This course will present an introduction to the study of government and politics. Our inquiries will begin with the intellectual and historical foundations of the western style of government. From there, we will learn about the organization of our own federal government, including the political forces that dictate its behavior, before discussing various Constitutional issues arising from current demographic, economic, and political trends. Finally, we will analyze the 2020 general elections in depth. This course will make use of various outside experts and speakers and will culminate in a final research project.

In this course, we will trace the emergence of public health practices, systems, and ideas from the 19th to the 21st centuries as a critical part of a broader history of epidemics, empire, and global mobility. We will explore these developments as they emerge at the intersection of Western and non-Western understandings of health, medicine, and the body; imperial health goals; decolonization and development initiatives after World War II; the rise of modern biomedicine and pharmaceutical industries; and the shift from “international health” to “global health.” Over the semester, we will examine themes of commodification, expertise, autonomy, agency, and disability as they emerge in such topics as tropical hygiene, eugenics, biosecurity, sexual and reproductive health, and in the management of diseases ranging from malaria, smallpox, and polio to HIV and Ebola. Students will be required to write short response papers to readings, co-lead a class discussion, and write an op-ed that uses a historical case to help illuminate a pressing issue of global health in the present.

This course will focus on issues of gender and sexuality from the late nineteenth century to the present. With particular attention to how science has transformed understandings of human sexuality, reproduction, and sexual difference, we will consider such questions as: How have biological understandings of male and female bodies changed? How did wars and epidemics change the stakes of sex for families, nations, and medicine? How did race, class, religion, and age inflect discussions about masculinity, femininity, and sex? Topics will include the history of eugenics, public health programs, social movements (i.e. Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Disability Rights, LGBTQ), “the pill”, prostitution, Men’s health, regulation of pornography, and assisted reproduction. The course will be based on a broad range of interdisciplinary readings, documentary films, and primary sources. This is a project-based class and will culminate in an original final project (paper, exhibit, or documentary film) on a topic chosen by the student.

This course will explore the historical development of sport from ancient times to the present. We will investigate sport as a site in which issues of nationalism, race, class, gender and sexuality were reinforced and also challenged. While the scope of the course is broad, it will primarily focus on key debates and turning points of Western sport the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Topics will include: violence and sport, sports activism, amateurism vs. professionalism, youth sports pipelines, commercialization of sport, Title IX, performance enhancement and its regulation, and evolving athletic technologies (from the artificial limb to Nike Vaporfly shoes). Beyond reading secondary literature, analyzing primary documents, watching documentary films, and participating in discussions and small projects, each student will also lead a class discussion and perform original research and writing (or create a final multimedia project) on a topic of their choice.

This course will explore questions related to the social and historical evolution of the history of Black America following the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. So often, African American Studies courses focus on the long period of Enslavement culminating with the legal codes that emanate from the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This course will use poetry, music, art and traditional historical primary sources to build the collective narrative of Modern Black Lives from 1964 to the present day. Anticipated units include: Political Messaging in the Civil Rights Era, Post Civil-Rights Urban Realities, Black Arts Movement (1970s); The Crack Epidemic and The War on Drugs (1980s); Hip Hop Politics (1990s); Black Music in the New Millennium; Black Lives Matter Movement (2010s).

This one-semester elective provides an overview of the modern Middle East. This examination includes state and regime formations, international relations, and contrasting domestic politics. Additionally, the course will examine the theoretical roots of Islamic fundamentalism and its effect on the formulation, growth, and actions of radical Islamic terrorist organizations. We also will evaluate contemporary issues surrounding U.S. foreign policy as it pertains to the politics, economics, and conflicts of the Middle East.

This course for Sixth Form students examines the principles of social psychology: that is, how individuals think, feel, and behave in regard to other people and how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are affected by others. The course will concentrate on the process of social thinking, such as motivation, leadership, conformity, obedience and persuasion, and social relations, including aggression, altruism, prejudice and attraction. General principles of coping, grouping identities, and social stress will be discussed. In addition to readings from the text, the course will include discussions of “case studies,” film presentations and journal writing.