Subject: Social Studies
United States History: Conflict and Compromise
New January 2024! This full-year course on United States history begins with a brief introduction to the Americas before 1492 and looks closely at the colonial era, imperial conflicts, and the early republic. The first semester continues with westward migration, Indian dispossession, slavery, industrialization, and the Civil War. The second semester looks at the world
Continue readingEconomics
New January 2024! This single-semester course introduces students to the fundamentals of economics. Economics is important because everyone participates in it every day, and it affects our decisions, large and small. Because economics is a human science, its terms and ideas are tied up with the people who invented them, and so the study of
Continue readingRace and Ethnic Studies: Power and Perspective
Race and ethnic studies emphasize the intersections of forms of social differentiation, including race, ethnicity, class, gender, ability, and sexuality, and examine how these forms of differentiation provide advantages for some groups and disadvantages for others. This course looks beyond cultural identity to consider inequality, power, and social change while examining how race and racism
Continue readingUnited States Government: By the People, for the People
In this single-semester course, traditional topics related to U.S. government (the Constitution, three branches of government, federal and state governments, etc.) are covered, as well as lessons on media and bias, research methods, evaluating resources, philosophies of government, citizenship, landmark cases of the U.S. Supreme Court, infrastructure, and tribal government. Reflection and discussion prompts are
Continue readingPsychology: Journey Towards Self-Knowledge
This engaging and rigorous psychology course is designed to help students become more aware of themselves as unique individuals. Delving into their own experiences, students are encouraged to be scientists in the process of exploring themselves and their place in the universe. They will examine a variety of topics including memory, biology of behavior, stress,
Continue readingSustainable Food Systems
Note January 2024: The title of this course has been changed from Foodways: Sustainable Food Systems to Sustainable Food Systems. Food is fundamental to human existence. Historical events, cultural traditions, social structures, geographic features, and economic practices all factor into our food choices and options. Many people are fortunate enough to not have to think
Continue readingCritical Media Literacy
New for 2023! Critical media literacy is about learning how to critically engage with, and make sense of, the media. This course helps students develop the analytic tools needed to examine media content and make more informed choices as an active audience. Critical media literacy is grounded in social activism because it is inherently about
Continue readingA Sense of Place: The Geography of Global Change
In this full year project-based world geography course, for enrolled students only, students will learn and utilize geography skills and perspectives to explore vital real-world challenges related to our use and reliance upon natural, cultural, and economic resources. Students will gain a broad understanding of the world in which we live and the many forces
Continue readingWorld Geography
The study of world geography involves understanding the natural forces that shape our planet and the interactions between people and their environment. It’s about how human activity can modify the surface of the Earth itself and inform the region’s culture and inhabitants over time. This course is also about acquiring information from disparate sources, like
Continue readingWorld History: Communities and Connections
This course is anchored by questions about how and why human societies rise and fall and learning how diverse cultures and societies around the world developed and interacted. Students will practice the skills that historians use to reconstruct and analyze the past, undertake in-depth research, make complex arguments, defend logical positions with detailed evidence, and
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