This college-level course for advanced students covers American history from colonial times to the present. We will focus primarily on our country’s political, economic, and diplomatic history, but we will also study social and racial issues, cultural and religious trends, and geography.

Modern World History, the required 10th grade history course, is designed to provide students with the analytical skills and historical information necessary to begin answering the fundamental questions: “Why is the world the way it is today, and how might things change?” Because the world today is linked in an intensely interactive system, an understanding of our present requires learning the recent history (about 1600 - the present) of the many regions and societies of the world and the history of their exchanges. This course seeks to inspire curiosity about how the stuff of history (political, economic, social, environmental and cultural forces) can shape the experience of individuals in the past, present and future. In addition to making you curious, the course will empower you to talk, write and conduct research about historical issues such as these.

Contemporary American Issues offers you the opportunity to study in-depth contemporary issues that are facing our country. You will examine topics such as: What does it mean to be “American?” Does race matter? What is affirmative action? Does the media really affect us? You will learn that there are no easy answers when studying different conflicts within the United States, but in examining these issues you are participating in a critical study of contemporary American society.

Students will study the history of ancient Rome beginning with the Etruscans, through the formation of the Republic and the conquest of Italy and the Mediterranean, to the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.

Who am I? What is my life’s purpose? What is my religion? This course focuses, firstly, on our own personal responses to these and other religious questions. We will learn how our answers compare with others, including adherents of the world’s diverse and enduring faiths. Secondly, we will study and compare the major faiths themselves, their institutions, divergent branches, distinctive rituals, and belief systems. This second purpose, the major content area of the course, will provide a window into world cultures, geography and history more generally. Thirdly, we will investigate specific issues involving religion in the modern world and research issues of particular interest to us. In pursuing these three purposes the course hopes to expose students to some of the world’s “distilled wisdom” and to encourage students to apply this wisdom in their own lives.