
Social Studies
Social Studies
United States History I-II
- This year-long course begins by exploring the earliest immigrants to America's societies and examining the impact of events in Asia, Europe, and Africa and the origins of imperialism and colonialism
- It goes on to examine the effects of the Renaissance, Enlightenment,and Reformation, along with the philosophies and documents advocating legal rights which became foundations of the American experiment
- Students analyze the role that the vision of personal opportunity and freedom played as colonies were founded, grew, threw off European control, and transformed themselves into an independent republic founded on federalism and democratic ideals
- They study the relation between industrialization, capitalism, expansionism, and sectionalism and the Civil War and Reconstruction and explore the changes the nation underwent as it took its place on the world stage of World War I, enjoyed a period of unprecedented prosperity, only to endure an abyss of economic and social despair, a whirlwind of social and economic reform, and face the dark storms of totalitarianism blowing in from Western Europe
United States History III
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Continues examining the 300-year-old American experiment and the United States' challenges from the mid-20th Century, beginning with World War II, through the early 21st
- Explores the challenge of the “isms” – Fascism, Communism, modern imperialism, and expansionism – as the country moves from hot war to Cold War
- Covers issues of immigration, assimilation, anti-Semitism, the United States' relationship with Israel, and the emergence of a post-9/11 United States and its War in Terrorism
World History I-II
- Traces humanity's progressive struggle to overcome its innate oppression and injustice with its potential for greatness and tolerance through the end of the 19th Century
- Introduces early Asian, African, and Middle Eastern cultures
- Focuses on Greco-Roman civilizations' contributions to modernity
- Explores the movements and historical periods which bridged the ancient and modern worlds – the spread of monotheism, the Dark Ages, the Later Middle Ages, the formation of Europe, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of Exploration, and the Enlightenment
- Throughout the course, students examine the patterns of interaction between geographically, culturally, religiously, and politically diverse peoples
- As they study the modern era of humanity, students will examine imperialism, nationalism, militarism, and the struggle of the world's peoples against oppression and toward independent nationhood
- Throughout the year, students will always consider the Jewish experience against the backdrop of the historical world at large
World History III
- One-semester course exploring the emergence of the world into the 20th Century and beyond
- Highlights the War to End All Wars, the even greater war that followed, and the continuation of world conflict
- Examines terrorism, global interdependence, and the zeitgeist of world democracy
- The question of Israel's security and well-being will be an underlying theme
HISTORY OF ISRAEL
- This one-semester course explores how the idealistic notions of a safe, secure Jewish homeland became concrete reality with the founding of the modern State of Israel
- Examines the exciting and explosive events that played out as the Zionist dream came true
- Analyzes political and geographic tensions, the sequence of military campaigns, conflicts, wars, treaties, negotiations, and dilemmas that Israel has faced and continues to face
Landmark Cases of the Supreme Court
- Surveys the most significant and dispositive legal matters adjudicated by the nation's most prominent jurists since the Supreme Court's establishment in 1789
- Introduces students to the judicial system's vocabulary and organization
- Highlights the United States Supreme Court's responsibilities, as defined in Article III of the Constitution and as subsequently redefined by the precedent of case law
- After the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison introduces students to the concept of judicial review, they read and analyze many other important cases whose decisions have shaped and informed American governmental, economic, and social policy, exploring cases which address freedom of religion, separation of religion and government, free speech, racial equality, medical ethics, and many more topical issues