History & Social Science Courses

This one-semester course involves the study of American politics, government operations, civil rights, and responsibilities. Students explore the democratic values that form the foundation of the American political system, investigate ideas that underlie its legal system, and study key documents which have shaped the government of this nation. Students analyze issues that confront the United States and the global community.

This one-semester, California standards-based course, gives students an understanding of how the American economic system operates. Students are encouraged to examine their own role in that system. The course content provides opportunities for students to study the concepts of scarcity, supply and demand; to compare our economic system to those of other countries; and to learn to make reasoned judgments about economic issues.

This is a two-year course that aims to promote an understanding of history as a discipline, including the nature and diversity of sources, methods and interpretations. Students are encouraged to comprehend the present by reflecting critically on the past. The first year of the course will focus on the causes, course, and effects of six distinct periods and events prior to the 20th century in the Americas. This means that in addition to US history, the events and periods studied will also include the experiences and histories of Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America.

The second year of the course will focus on three 20th century topics—Causes, practices, and effects of War, The Great Depression, The Cold War, and Civil Rights Movements—Post 1945. These topics will be explored from a variety of perspectives from the Western Hemisphere, as well as from two additional regions of the world (Africa, Asia, Europe, or the Middle East).

+ UC/CSU Honors (Weighted) - Year 1 and Year 2

In this course, students examine major turning points in twentieth century American history. The following themes are emphasized: the continuing tension between the individual and the state, and between minority rights and majority power; the emergence of a modern corporate economy; the impact of technology on American society and culture; the change in the ethnic composition of American society; the movements toward equal rights for racial minorities and women; and the role of the United States as a major world power. In each unit, students examine American culture, including literature, art, drama, education, and the mass media. Students also examine American character and social/political institutions.

The primary goals of this course are to foster a global view of the modern world, to examine the relationship between current issues and crises and their historical, geographic, political, economic, and cultural context and to provide extensive practice in the development of participation skills, critical thinking skills, and basic study skills.