History: Native American Studies One Semester (Offered First Semester) Prerequisites: None
Environmental History One Semester (Offered First and Second Semesters) Prerequisites: None So much effort in studying history is spent on human to human interaction. Human interaction with the environment is often contextualized in terms of technological progress and overcoming physical challenges, but our historical actions have had, and will have, long lasting effects on our living space. The purpose of the course is to have students understand that our quality of life and existence are predicated upon the state of the environment. The course will emphasize place as students will look at least one example from Michigan and the Great Lakes in depth. Students will also have the opportunity for multi- discipline study based on the need for more specific understanding in the biological or chemical fields Texts: Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed: Revised Edition (New York: Penguin, 2011); Egan, Dan. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes (New York: WW Norton & Co., 2017)
Native Americans were not uncivilized savages, nor were they mere victims of white oppression. The truth is far more complicated than those oversimplified, yet common, misconceptions. In this survey course of Native American Studies, we will take a “big picture” look at the history of American Indians from pre- contact through present day. By looking at different themes, such as culture, trade, the relationship with the government, and present-day issues, we will discover how Native Americans were—and continue to be—active agents in their own history. Throughout the course, students will work with the Wyandot of Anderdon nation in an effort to understand the issues that still impact Native Americans today. Text: Treuer, Anton. Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition). New York, NY: Levine Querido, 2021
History: Origins of Civilization One Semester (Offered Second Semester) Prerequisites: None
History: Latin America One Semester (Offered First Semester) Prerequisites: None
Civilization has been our way of life for thousands of years now, and as a result we do not think much about how or why we transitioned to it from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The eighteenth century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau noted that, “man was born free and everywhere he is in chains,” arguing that our agreement to live in civilization sacrifices at least a portion of that natural-born freedom. Other philosophers, like Thomas Hobbes, disagreed, choosing to believe that our species is better off in civilization than before when life was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Transitioning from hunting and gathering to agriculture was no simple change; it revolutionized our way of life. What is the nature of humankind? Are humans inherently good or bad? Why did humans give up the hunting and gathering lifestyle? Why were rules and laws created? Why did our species enter into a social contract in which we give up certain rights and freedoms? This course will seek to infer answers to these questions and more. Texts: Golding, William. The Inheritors. London, UK: Faber & Faber, 2015. ISBN 978-0571329090; Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. London, UK: Penguin Books, 2003. ISBN 978-0399501487
Latin America is unlike any other region in our planet’s history: separated for centuries from Afro-Eurasia, when the two hemispheres finally reunited the people of the Americas experienced apocalyptic catastrophe. But out of the ashes arose a plethora of entirely new cultures composed of Old and New World characteristics. The road to today has not always been smooth for the people living here. After conquest by the Spanish and Portuguese was completed, colonies soon began to dream of independence, which they eventually gained. However, self-autonomy proved just as rocky of a road as conquest, and as the twentieth century progressed, many nations suffered economic, social, and political woes. This class will examine Latin American history after 1492 CE, but will focus on three particular eras: conquest and colonization, the struggle for independence, and modern authoritarianism. The class will also take a different approach to texts: students will read a historical fiction novel, written by a contemporary author, and synthesize the themes and messages they convey. Text: Esquivel, Laura. Malinche. New York: Washington Square Press, 2006. ISBN: 0743290356
73 Upper School
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