2 semesters, 1 credit
Open to 9
Prerequisite: Placement by school personnel Honors
Given the enormous scope of world history, in Honors World History an emphasis is placed on two aspects of the history of the Western world. The first are those developments that have so much shaped the experience of the entire globe over the last 500 years. The second are the ideas of the institutions, and cultural
legacies that have directly influenced American thought, culture, and politics since colonial times. Each of the following meets these criteria:
• The political, philosophical, and cultural legacies of ancient Greece and Rome.
• The origins, ideas, moral codes, and institutions of Judaism and of Christianity.
• Medieval society and institutions; relations with Islam and the evolution of representative government.
• The culture and ideas of the Renaissance and Reformation, European exploration, the origins of capitalism and colonization.
• The English Revolution, its ideas, and the practices of parliamentary government, at home and in the colonies.
• The culture and ideas of the Enlightenment, comprising the scientific revolution of the 17th century.
• The American and French Revolutions, their sources, results, and world influence.
• The Industrial Revolution and its social consequences, its impact on politics and culture.
• The European ideologies of the 19th and 20th centuries and their global influence: liberalism, republicanism, social democracy, Marxism, nationalism, Communism, Fascism, Nazism.
• The new nineteenth century imperialism, ultimate decolonization, and the consequences of both for colonizers and colonized. The two world wars, their origins and effect, and their global aftermath and significance down to the present day.