An introduction to the academic study of history, this course addresses selected topics and themes in the history of Western Civilization and is required of all third formers. Each of the units in the course begins with a story: the Iliad and the Trojan War, Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment and subsequent election as President of South Africa, Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic, and other iconic moments from the past that highlight the dramatic dimension of the human experience. Students then use these episodes to learn the craft of the historian: asking “why” and “how” questions that reach beyond narrative towards analysis — from story to history. Grounded in topics that bridge geographical and chronological boundaries, each of the three terms in the course addresses a single theme: war, culture, and society (fall term); the individual conscience and the state (winter term); and science and technology (spring term).

Europe and the World (Honors)

This course centers on six episodes in European history: 16th century Antwerp; the reign of Peter the Great; the career of Napoleon Bonaparte; mid-Victorian England; the Holocaust; and East Germany during the Cold War.  Students will read six books (one for each unit) and will write two research papers (during the fourth and fifth marking periods).  There will be an emphasis on the global connections between events in Europe and those in the wider world, as well as an emphasis on interpreting primary and secondary historical sources.

Required of all fourth formers, United States History reviews the important aspects of the history of the United States through primary and secondary sources from colonial times to the late twentieth century. It is arranged topically within a chronological framework and stresses the development of America’s political institutions and political theory. Pertinent social, constitutional, economic, and diplomatic themes are studied in order to understand the complexity and relationship of such forces in our political system. Students write several major papers throughout the course: synthetic papers which require them to draw from a wide range of course material; a research paper based solely on primary sources; and a research paper involving both primary and secondary sources drawn from an array of subscription databases and the extensive collections of the Woodberry library. Honors United States History covers much of the same material as the United States History course, but in greater breadth, depth, and detail. Several college-level monographs are used to complement a standard college survey textbook. Placement in an honors section is determined by grades and teacher recommendation for returning fourth formers and by admissions information for new fourth formers. In all cases, honors placement is at the discretion of the department.

The Great Pyramids of Egypt, the meteoric rise and sudden death of Alexander the Great, and the thrills of the Roman Colosseum: some of the most fascinating individuals, buildings, and rituals of the ancient world were closely tied to the emergence, growth, and flowering of the first extensive empires in world history. This course will investigate the origins, characteristics, and significance of the Egyptian, Macedonian, Roman, and Byzantine empires, the four greatest empires of the Ancient world. This course will focus heavily on analysis of traditional primary and secondary texts but will also engage other historical sources such as archaeology and the question of how scholars use material evidence to reconstruct and analyze the past.

This course centers on six episodes in European history: 16th century Antwerp; the reign of Peter the Great; the career of Napoleon Bonaparte; mid-Victorian England; the Holocaust; and East Germany during the Cold War.  Students will read six books (one for each unit) and will write two research papers (during the fourth and fifth marking periods).  The assessment at the end of each trimester will consist of an exam.  There will be an emphasis on the global connections between events in Europe and those in the wider world, as well as an emphasis on interpreting primary and secondary historical sources. 

This course is designed to establish a fundamental understanding of the social, cultural, political, and economic forces that have shaped the Atlantic World since the fifteenth century. Over the course of four hundred years a growing web of interdependence emerged between Europe, Africa, and the Americans. We will study the convergence of those continents and the ensuing interactions and patterns that have wrought an entirely new framework for historical analysis. This course also explores the connections between African, European, and Indigenous populations, as well as the exchanges, migrations, and conflicts that resulted. 

Stories and Histories: An Introduction to Historical Analysis

The Atlantic World (Honors and Regular)

This course is designed to establish a fundamental understanding of the social, cultural, political, and economic forces that have shaped the Atlantic World since the fifteenth century. Over the course of four hundred years a growing web of interdependence emerged between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. We will study the convergence of those continents and the ensuing interactions and patterns that have wrought an entirely new framework for historical analysis. This course also explores the connections between African, European, and Indigenous populations, as well as the exchanges, migrations, and conflicts that resulted.

This course explores the history of humankind's relationship with the natural environment. From the earliest civilizations to the present day, people have sought to exploit nature for their benefit. In the first trimester, students will examine how people in the early and pre-modern periods adapted to and shaped nature for survival and prosperity. During the second trimester, we will explore the Industrial Revolution and empire-building's impact on the environment. This includes an examination of how nations exploited natural resources to gain power and dominance over others. Finally, students will study contemporary environmental issues and ideas of conservation and environmentalism, gaining a deeper understanding of how human behavior and attitudes have impacted the natural world. Throughout the course, students will read monographs and journal articles, participate in discussions, complete assessments, and research related topics.

United States History (Regular and Honors)

Required of all fourth formers, United States History reviews the important aspects of the history of the United States through primary and secondary sources from colonial times to the late twentieth century. It is arranged topically within a chronological framework and stresses the development of America’s political institutions and political theory. Pertinent social, constitutional, economic, religious, and diplomatic themes are studied in order to understand the complexity and relationship of such forces in our political system. Students write several major papers throughout the course: synthetic papers which require them to draw from a wide range of course material; a research paper based solely on primary sources; and a research paper involving both primary and secondary sources drawn from an array of subscription databases and the extensive collections of the Woodberry library. Honors United States History covers much of the same material as the United States History course, but in greater breadth, depth, and detail. Several college-level monographs are used to complement a standard college survey textbook. Placement in an honors section is determined by grades and teacher recommendation for returning fourth formers and by admissions information for new fourth formers. In all cases, honors placement is at the discretion of the department.

  

Dictatorship and Democracy: Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, and the United States, 1917-1941 (Honors). 

For approximately a quarter-century following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, dictatorship challenged democracy as an irrepressible wave of the future; politicians and intellectuals throughout the West questioned the very survival of representative self-government in the face of oppressive alternatives that seemed, to some, capable of delivering on their promise of a better life.  Working its way downwards from sophisticated ideas to complex events, this course examines the ideological foundations of the Bolshevik and Nazi regimes, the emergence of Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany in the wake of the First World War and the Great Depression, and the ambivalent response of Americans to fascism and communism until the United States entered the Second World War.  This course finally explores the relationships between the ideologies of fascism and communism and the unspeakable horrors of the mid-twentieth century: the brutal famines and bloody purges of the Soviet Union and the Holocaust. With these tragedies in mind, students will finish the course by considering the title of Sinclair Lewis’ novel about America in the 1930s: It Can’t Happen Here.  Dictatorship in the United States didn’t happen in between the world wars.  Why not?

Environmental History (Regular)

This course explores the history of humankind's relationship with the natural environment. From the earliest civilizations to the present day, people have sought to exploit nature for their benefit. In the first trimester, students will examine how people in the early and pre-modern periods adapted to and shaped nature for survival and prosperity. During the second trimester, we will explore the Industrial Revolution and empire-building's impact on the environment. This includes an examination of how nations exploited natural resources to gain power and dominance over others. Finally, students will study contemporary environmental issues and ideas of conservation and environmentalism, gaining a deeper understanding of how human behavior and attitudes have impacted the natural world. Throughout the course, students will read monographs and journal articles, participate in discussions, complete assessments, and research related topics.

Historical Research Seminar (Honors)

This course affords exceptionally able students the opportunity to work with historical sources, both primary and secondary, on a topic of their choosing. The end result in each trimester is a paper of some 30-40 pages. Archival work in primary sources is particularly encouraged. Permission of the history department chair is required.

The Constitution: History, Law, and Jurisprudence (Honors)

Prerequisite: “A-” or higher in fifth form honors history - or “A” in regular fifth form history.  Permission of the instructor required.

This course is an intensive introduction to the history of the American Constitution.  After a comprehensive examination of the British foundations of American constitutionalism and the American Founding (1763-1788) in the fall term, this course traces the history of constitutional interpretation through key opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court through the end of the winter term.  Students explore these opinions in order to read and think like a student of the law - while maintaining an eye on historical context. In the late fall and winter, students will investigate the history of constitutional jurisprudence on the Supreme Court: How do Supreme Court judges go about making their decisions?  What assumptions about the law and constitution have guided the Supreme Court in the past? How and why have those assumptions changed over time?  In particular, this course addresses the court’s evolving jurisprudence in two dynamic and consequential areas of the law: economic regulation and racial justice.  The spring term will explore related topics beyond those listed above. These spring topics will be chosen with input from the students enrolled in the course.