The History and Social Science curriculum focuses on providing students with the necessary skills to understand our cultural and historical roots. Courses build student understanding and appreciation of the wide divergence of social, cultural, religious, and intellectual experiences that make up the global, interconnected world of the 21st century.

Required Course

U.S. History
In this course, we thematically explore our country's history. The selected themes have real relevance in today's world and will continue to be essential to comprehending our country in the coming decades. The course investigates three broad areas: immigration, identity and power, and foreign policy. Within immigration, students learn about historic and contemporary motives for migrating to the United States as well as immigrants' responses and residents' reactions to migratory waves. To understand how identity and power relate, students examine four case studies: the Constitutional Era, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Progressive Era, and the Civil Rights Movement. Finally, we explore the relationship between U.S. foreign policy and international perceptions of the United States. Frequently connections are made between the past and the present. Analysis of a wide variety of primary and secondary sources is central to our work. During the second trimester of the course, students have the opportunity to investigate, in depth, a topic of their choice. In this project, they put into practice many of the historians' skills they have learned such as the formation of a hypothesis, the process of gathering of information, evaluation of sources, and the construction of arguments and analysis supported by evidence.

Elective Courses

Comparative Genocide The phrase "never again" was born in response to the Holocaust of WWII. While world leaders have repeated the phrase time and again, genocide and mass violence have continued to be features of the 20th and 21st centuries. In this course, students examine the roots of genocide and mass violence during the last century through in-depth case studies of Weimar Germany, South Africa, Rwanda, and either Colombia or Guatemala. Ultimately, at the root of such tragedies is human behavior. In an effort to investigate this, the class examines questions such as: How do identity and membership influence behavior? What roles do conformity, obedience, resistance and propaganda play? What should happen to people who allow or commit these crimes? The course also examines the ways in which societies repair and rebuild themselves and grapple with the question, "What is justice?" While our Bay School classroom will be the venue for our studies, we will work to be part of a larger, community conversation on these issues, central to the survivall of so many communities, worldwide.

Comparative Government and Politics
The primary goals of this course are to familiarize students with various types of political systems and cultures; to help them think, read, and write critically; and to prepare them for successful university study and responsible citizenship. Students will explore five different political systems (the US, France, Mexico, China, and Iran) and will simultaneously conduct independent research projects (country-specific case studies). Unit 1: Introduction to Comparative Politics and Conceptual Framework. Unit 2: Comparative Democracies: the U.S., France & Mexico. Central Questions: What aspects do all democratic regimes and ideologies share in common? What are some variations in the institutional structures and practices of different democratic systems? In what ways do these systems (US, France and Mexico) fail to live up to democratic criteria? What can the US learn from other systems? Vice versa? Unit 3: Authoritarian Regimes. Central Questions: Are economic reform and political reform necessarily linked? Does economic growth promote democracy? Are theocracies inherently autocratic? Or, can theocracy and democracy co-exist? Unit 4: Student Case Studies. This course is designated as a UC Honors course. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

Political Economy
Economics and politics are inextricably linked. To fully understand our economy, we must understand the political decisions that influence it. We begin with an overview of the advantages political economy, as opposed to conventional economics, offers for grappling with contemporary issues. Next, we learn basic economic principles and the ways that political economists apply them. Finally, we turn to the ultimate aim of this course, which is to help you comprehend and confront some of the most complex problems facing your generation: a broken national economy, out-of-control climate change, and endemic global poverty. Be prepared for fun and engaging simulations of economic concepts, as well as serious discussion and debate as you are called on to propose potential solutions to these challenging problems.

Latin American Studies
T he region to the south impacts us in a multitude of ways. Understanding Latin Americans’ diverse experiences enables greater comprehension of our own nation’s present and future. In this course, we focus on Latin America in the 20th century, exploring the relationship between cultural expression and the politics, economy, and history of the region. The course begins with a virtual voyage through Latin America, focusing on three cities portrayed in contemporary films. After this initial exposure to prevalent aspects of the region such as racism, class tensions, gender roles, urbanization, violence, and United States influence, we turn backwards in time to explore the historical roots of these characteristics. We begin with a brief overview of major historical forces: conquest, colonization, and independence. Then, we explore four key themes of the twentieth century: neocolonialism, nationalism, revolution, and reaction. We investigate these in Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, and Argentina. A variety of sources – film, novels, poetry, short stories, songs, and historical documents – are examined.

U.S. Foreign Policy
This course is an introduction to the basic concepts, themes, and issues in U.S. foreign policy. The course familiarizes students with trends in U.S. foreign policy from the Cold War to the present and introduces them to the patterns of post-WWII international relations and U.S. overseas interventions. Employing a case study approach, students look at the short- and long-term effects of U.S. policy on different regions, debate America's role in world affairs, and assess the costs and consequences of this role at home and abroad. Specifically, this course examines several key aspects of United States foreign policy towards East Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

U.S. Government & Politics
The course will briefly review the origins and structure of the American political system and will examine the respective roles of the three branches of government, political parties, the media, and interest groups in the formation of public policy. This course encourages students to form their own critical perspectives on government and politics in the United States. Students will learn the concepts necessary for interpreting U.S. politics and gain the tools necessary to be engaged and informed citizens. Activities include the following: analysis of contemporary case studies; frequent debates and simulations (on current topics); weekly student-led discussion sections on current political challenges and controversies; student-generated solutions to pressing political problems such as health care, campaign finance, climate change.