History

This semester-long class looks at consumption in history: how we buy and sell, what is made for buying and selling, and what goods mean to a society. The focus is on the period since industrialization, with some emphasis on the contemporary United States. Readings, discussions, and written assignments will cover topics like advertising, manufacturing, and the depictions of goods in literature and film. In addition, students engage in more focused individual study and research on a topic of their choice and examine their roles as shoppers and consumers. 

This semester-long course covers the 230+ year history of the Supreme Court of the United States and its role in shaping and, ultimately, providing protections for identities in the U.S. Source material will predominantly be federal caselaw, and students will be asked to write analytical research papers regarding the Court’s jurisprudence. By studying the precedent and highlighting the good and the bad of the Court’s history, we aim to answer the questions: Has the Supreme Court served the U.S. citizens regarding racial, gender, and socioeconomic inequity? A foundational knowledge of the Court allows for a deeper exploration of identity politics in the United States, providing a greater perspective of the competing aims of the Court and the structures that hold up institutional bigotry. 

In this course, students will move beyond the binary of “victim” and “oppressor” in historical movements and events by centering stories of resistance. Through case studies based on oral histories and primary sources, students will learn about those who have historically been taught as one dimensional victims of oppression in a way that emphasizes their multidimensional power and agency. The goal is not to determine what instances of resistance were “successful” or not, but rather the hopes, dreams, strategies, and goals of those who resisted (and continue to resist) oppression. This course will culminate in an independent research project on a specific instance of oppression and resistance that will act as a proposal to be included as the next case study in the course.

The goal of this class is to recenter our discussion of history on Africa and Africans instead of Europe and Europeans over a long span of time. How does it change the way we see the world when we focus on the place of Africa and Africans as creators of civilization and agents of economic, social, and political change? The course will also explore the creation and development of European notions of race and racism.  The class covers a very large span of time, from Classical civilizations to the emergence of the Pan African movement that linked Africa and Africans and the African diaspora community in the struggle for justice and racial equity in the 19th and 20th centuries. 

This semester-long course is a theme-based introduction to philosophy. The study of philosophy allows students to explore their own views as they encounter many of the ideas from the traditional western canon. We tackle classic questions, such as how we explain existence (ontology) and how we know anything in the first place (epistemology). We also address proof of the existence of God and of the immortality of the soul. We examine selfishness as we do a broad theoretical and practical examination of ethics. Political philosophy is examined, as well as the philosophy of art. Themes are examined historically to see how philosophers have built on each other’s ideas throughout the ages. Our main text, Donald Palmer’s Does the Center Hold? is supplemented by various writings by philosophers from ancient to modern times. 

It is critical to understand how the world works. This international relations course introduces the core theories of the discipline. To make these theories less abstract and divorced from the way the world actually operates, students spend 8-10 weeks playing an in-depth online roleplay called Statecraft. The whole class is transported to an online world where students are grouped into countries and take on the roles of world leaders. Statecraft creates situations which allow students to understand course concepts on a personal level; they must apply the lessons they’ve learned in class to succeed. Parallel to the simulation, we look at big patterns of globalization and global challenges, and international systems to give students a framework to make sense of this complicated and interconnected world. We also look at “hot-spot” issues on an ad-hoc basis. If an international crisis arises, we stop everything and dive deep into understanding the crisis. 

The basics of Model United Nations are also taught in this course so students can play the role of expert and learn more about the essential institution that is the United Nations. Finally, students are given 20% of the semester to work on a passion project. Students need to make a product. They also need to interview an expert in the field and in lieu of a final test, we host a Ted-talk style evening in which students share their findings with parents/caregivers and others in the community.

International Relations places itself at the intersection of a number of related fields: history, economics, and political science. In the initial days of the course, students will explore key concepts including the structure of the international system and the main actors on the world stage such as states, international organizations, and transnational actors. The course will broadly follow the structure and content of its cousin, International Relations (see course description above). However, IR advanced will require more reading, more writing and go deeper in its study. The course will examine some mathematical modeling central to current IR theory such as game theory and Fearon’s rational choice theory as well as global economic systems. To make these theories less abstract and divorced from the way the world actually operates, students spend 3-5 weeks playing an in-depth online roleplay called Statecraft. 

Finally, students are given 20% of the semester to work on a passion project. Students need to make a product. They also need to interview an expert in the field, and in lieu of a final test, we host a Ted-talk style evening in which students share their findings with caregivers and others in the community.

This course focuses on the agency of the Philadelphia Black community to define and redefine itself as it addressed political, social, economic, and racial concerns in key moments from the period following the passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the present day. Building on knowledge they have attained in prior courses, students will develop their skills analyzing secondary sources, like historiographic journal articles, and exploring primary sources, such as oral histories from both prominent and ordinary Philadelphians. Topics addressed include the well-documented development of the community in the 7th ward, the Great Migration, and the growing power of community activism in the 20th century with attention to specific actions like the 15-year effort that brought an end to segregation at Girard College in 1968. There will be opportunities to explore different kinds of social science methodologies and opportunities for independent research.

This course offers students the opportunity to develop their sociological imagination to understand social stratification and inequality. The sociological imagination highlights the intersection between our individual experiences and the larger movements of history. Through this lens, students study social stratification, a social process whereby people are sorted into categories such as class, race, and gender. Students begin with a core understanding of the history and theory of sociology. They develop their sociological imaginations applying these concepts to issues of stratification and inequality in their lives and in society. Students have opportunities to examine their own experiences and those of others in the classroom, in the community, and in the larger world. Each unit advances student knowledge through classroom experiences and independent application of social scientific research skills and methods. This is a semester-long course. 

This semester-long course covers modern Chinese history, starting with the rise of the Qing Dynasty in the mid-17th century to the end of the 20th/beginning of the 21st century as the Chinese Communist Party shapes and reshapes itself, opening doors to international trade and interaction. It will be a survey course of important internal events in China, as well as foreign interactions, both of which shape Chi na as an independent country and as a player on the world stage. After building the scaffolding of knowledge about events in China, students will use the skills they have already acquired to interpret various primary sources. We will find ways to utilize art, performance, and religion to enhance our understanding. David Kenley’s Modern Chinese History, as well as other secondary sources, will be used. We will also read primary sources, many coming from David G. and Yurong Y. Atwill’s book Sources in Chinese History: Diverse Perspectives from 1644 to the Present. 

This semester-long course will explore the development of independent African states in the aftermath of WWII and some aspects of the complex colonial legacy. This course will address issues of national identity, as well as cultural, social, economic, and political themes. We will also look at Africa’s changing role in the world through the Cold War and its growing significance in the 21st century world. Semester one, Creating Africa, is not a prerequisite for this course. 

This yearlong course examines selected topics in European history from the end of the 18th century through the early 21st century. Traditional landmarks of the period include the French and Industrial Revolutions, Imperialism and the New Imperialism, the World Wars, and the Cold War. We also examine themes such as communism, dictatorship, and liberal democracy, the relationship of Europe with the wider world, and the art and architecture of the era. Readings and images are drawn from primary and secondary sources. Active participation in daily presentations and discussions is expected. Assessments will include occasional quizzes, two tests in the fall semester and one in the spring, and analytical essays, some of which will be written in class. Open only to grade 12 students.