History

The History Department’s mission is twofold: to develop students' academic skills and to develop social-emotional and metacognitive skills. 

Through the study of the social sciences and world literature, students become familiar with both historical facts and concepts and with the more general social scientific skills that are especially useful in examining current events. Students gain a deep (albeit developing) understanding of themselves and their humanity, the cross-cultural humanity of others, and the connections between life and literature. 

Through close analysis of texts and the meaning of both spoken and written language, they develop empathy and compassion for the human experience in all of its diverse forms as they also develop their own authentic voices. 

Communication skills are developed through thoughtful and active listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students write concise, effective and clear prose that communicates ideas and supports them with evidence from texts. They actively participate in classroom activities, listening carefully to their peers and articulating ideas that build on and extend others’ points.

In addition to daily participation in classroom discussion, students at all grade levels present oral reports, craft analytical and research-based essays, and complete both individual and group projects. 

  • American Studies: U.S. History/English II

    2 semesters, 1 credit
    Prerequisite: English I and Global History 

    American Studies is an interdisciplinary investigation of the nation’s culture, from the earliest people on the land to contemporary society. Students read literature, historical documents, scholarly articles, and more while also viewing art, photographs, and early versions of newspapers, posters, and other forms of public communication. Students write traditional academic essays but also complete inquiry-based projects aimed at independent research. They share their results via discussions, debates, role-playing, and the creation of historical documents. The goal of this reading, writing, and viewing is to find connections and patterns that help define American culture.

    This is a dual-block class: it meets for two blocks and counts for both the English II and the sophomore American history requirements.

  • AP African American Studies

    2 semesters, 1 credit 
    Prerequisite: Global History, U.S. History, AP U.S. History, or American Studies, and permission of the department. Grades 11 and 12. 
    This college-level course employs a multi-disciplinary approach that emphasizes primary documents and focuses on the rich history and culture of the African-American experience. The class focuses on four points: the origins of the African Diaspora from the 10th century to the Renaissance, the story of enslavement and freedom, the post-enslavement period of expanding and contested liberty, and the social movements of the post-World War nation.

  • AP European History

    2 semesters, 1 credit
    Prerequisite: Global History, U.S. History, AP U.S. History, or American Studies, and permission of the department. Grades 11 and 12.

    This course introduces students to the broad scope of the European past and prepares them for the collegiate study and AP exam in European history. It has a special emphasis on document interpretation, analytical writing, and thematic thinking. Topics include Europe in a global context, social, economic, and political change, the rise of nationalism and the state, identity, and changes wrought by new ideas.

  • AP United States History

    2 semesters, 1 credit
    Prerequisite: Global History and recommendation. Students must inform their Global History teacher of their interest in APUSH. 

    While covering the U.S. history curriculum, this course emphasizes reading primary sources and writing. To prepare for the Advanced Placement exam, students are asked to answer a number of essays and data-based questions. An interest in the analytical approach to history and an ability to work independently are key to the successful completion of this course.

  • AP World History

    2 semesters, 1 credit
    Prerequisite: Global History, U.S. History, AP U.S. History, or American Studies, and permission of the department. Grades 11 and 12.

    This course builds on what students learned in their freshman year Global History class to expand their understanding of world history across time and space. It focuses on the period from 1200 CE to the present, offering students an intensive experience of historical interpretation including document analysis, persuasive writing, argument construction, and claims evaluation. A wide range of readings support examinations of change over time in the social, political, economic, and cultural world across the centuries.

  • Global History

    2 semesters, 1 credit
    Prerequisite: None

    Global History is a required Grade 9 course that examines early human history and civilizations from roughly 20,000 years ago until 500 years ago. While investigating the physical and cultural geography of many regions of the earth, the course also applies that information to current global developments. Through daily coursework, a first-semester research paper, and the Oral History Project, students learn to “do” history. They practice historical skills such as primary source analysis, effective note-taking, organizing data, and clear communication of their results. This course prepares students to engage in United States history rooted in a global perspective.

  • Junior and Senior Seminars

    2 semesters, 1 credit
    Prerequisite: AP U.S. History, U.S. History, or American Studies

    -Civil Rights & Popular Culture 
    In this course, students examine the power of popular culture in shaping a number of social movements in the United States and abroad. They study the history of the development of various forms of popular culture as well as the sociological concepts related to popular culture’s ability to shape attitudes and behaviors. Particular attention is paid to the myriad ways in which popular culture has influenced social attitudes related to race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, and religion. The class explores the ways in which social justice movements have harnessed the power of popular culture and the ways in which popular culture has also been used to divide communities and deepen stereotypes. 

    From Woody Guthrie to Kendrick Lamar and from the Harlem Renaissance to Black Lives Matter, this class draws connections between past and present in an environment that encourages open-minded discussion and reflection. Readings run the gamut from personal essays by acclaimed cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib to college-level sociology texts like John Fiske’s Understanding Popular Culture and T.V. Reed’s The Art of Protest. Students will also frequently apply new sociological concepts to the media they consume on their own time in a number of written analyses. Learn to see the popular culture that surrounds us in an entirely new light. 

    -U.S. Government and Politics
    Students study individual rights in the United States Constitution and other related laws. They deal with the direct and indirect effects the government has on their everyday lives, what rights they possess as an American citizen, and what responsibilities each citizen has to their government on the local, state, and national levels. Students examine the basic ideals of our global economy and what effects these ideals have not just on our government, but also on their everyday lives. Other relevant topics are elections/voter registration process, U.S. foreign policy and social issues that concern young adults, the principles and foundations of American government, the Constitution and its creation, the three branches of American government and their functions, the American political process and party politics, state and local politics, economic systems, and basic principles of government as a global system. A textbook and reading packets from monographs related to the U.S. government are used. 

    -History of the Middle East 
    Studying recent history gives us an incredible chance to learn about how recent events have shaped the world we inhabit. Through in-depth case studies of individual countries, geopolitical role-playing activities, and projects that focus on current events and culture, this class will turn students into regional experts ready to analyze political, social, and economic change from Istanbul to Tokyo. This year, the first semester examines the modern Middle East, covering topics on revolutions, conflicts, diplomacy, refugees, music, and movies. The second semester shifts to modern East Asia, studying the rise, characteristics, and seismic changes of major players including China, Japan, North Korea, and South Korea.

    -World Cultural History: Cuisine and Culture
    Prerequisite: Recommendation from current humanities teacher and approval 
    This course explores the relationships between food and culture across space and time. The class begins with theory, including Roland Barthes, Sidney Mintz, and Caroline Bynum. It then moves to examinations of the cultural meanings of food and ends with student analyses of food cultures with which they engage. Topics include the politics of food, the relationship of food to oppression, gender and wealth, fear of food and fears associated with food, the economics and characteristics of restaurants, and literature focused on food. Students read broadly in food literature, paying special attention to popular food writing, historical examinations of food, and the place of food in novels, poetry, and film. Assessments include quizzes, discussions, and project-based essays and presentations. 

    -World Cultural History: History of Sport
    This class examines the many ways sports and culture intersect, both in the present and the past. Students engage with a variety of topics such as the history of sports in the U.S. (including at the high school and collegiate levels), how different sports have shaped and been shaped by popular culture and reflect cultural values, the growth and role of international sporting events such as the Olympics and World Cup, sports as entertainment, and the economics of sports and the fitness industry. Students read widely in primary and secondary sources, write a research paper, and apply concepts from history, sociology, communication studies, and anthropology to athletic training, competition, celebrity, and economic systems. 

    -Modern World History: Latin America and the Caribbean 
    This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding patterns of cultural and economic development in the Spanish, French, and Portuguese-speaking countries that are loosely grouped together as modern-day Latin America. Beginning in 1888 with the abolishment of slavery in Brazil, students compare how newly independent countries across the region forged different visions of postcolonial identity and attempted to invent singular national narratives despite the geographic, economic, racial, and linguistic diversity within their individual borders. 
    The first semester focuses on foreign relations between Latin American countries and concludes with the civil armed conflicts and mass human rights abuses during the U.S. and Soviet proxy wars during the 1970s and 1980s. In the second semester, the focus is on culture and the arts in post-Cold War Latin America and the Latin American immigration experience through film, music, and television. What does it mean to be the first Indigenous president of Bolivia? How does a country as poor as Cuba manage a literacy rate higher than the United States? What constitutes responsible tourism in the Caribbean in the pandemic era? Students use a central textbook for the course as well as the opportunity for country-specific and theme-specific research projects and presentations. 

  • Psychology Honors

    2 semesters, 1 credit 
    Prerequisite: Department recommendation or instructor approval. This is a senior course, juniors may enroll, space permitting, with permission of the US Dean. Honors Psychology does not satisfy a history graduation requirement.

    This course explores topics in psychology, including research methods, neuropsychology, learning, memory, perception, cognition, states of consciousness, diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, developmental psychology, and social psychology. Students learn about careers in psychology and practice applying psychological concepts to everyday life.

  • U.S. Government and Politics Honors

    2 semesters, 1 credit 
    Prerequisite: Department recommendation
     
    In the United States, how is it that a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” marginalizes its own people in its quest to achieve “a more perfect union?” What factors in a liberal democracy allow or even incentivize one group to act to limit the political voice of another? If, as Lincoln said, the United States is the “last best hope of earth,” what role do we, as American citizens and residents, have in protecting the health of our republic? Through lectures, discussions, guest speakers, and document analyses, this course recognizes that faith in civic competence, the belief that an individual can influence government policies, lies at the core of the American experiment.
     
    Students will develop a comprehensive understanding of federalism, civil rights, and liberties, linking institutions (media/political parties/interest groups) and the structures of the U.S. government. In the process, they will examine democratic challenges such as the Native American geographic and cultural removal, the African-American civil rights movement, Japanese-American incarceration in the Second World War, LGBTQ pride, and Latinx immigration, as well as international case studies like the Nazi’s Wannsee Conference.

  • United States History

    2 semesters, 1 credit 
    Prerequisite: Global History 

    This survey course examines the history of the United States from the first inhabitants on the land to the modern era. It traces significant historical events and the development of ideas critical to understanding the country today. Students will examine the history of the U.S. both 
    chronologically and thematically in an environment that encourages independent thinking and participation. The themes of the course include geography, citizenship, diversity and unity, immigration and migration, science and technology, and the emergence of the United States as a world power. 

La Jolla Country Day School

9490 Genesee Avenue
La Jolla, CA 92037
858-453-3440

© 2024 La Jolla Country Day School 

Privacy Policy

COVID-19 Prevention Plan

Country Day Connection Newsletter

Accredited by: