History and Political Science Core Curriculum

In World History, students begin their investigations with pre-history. Long before the development of any lasting written record, humans were creating artifacts—works of art—which have endured to this day. Throughout the course, students examine this theme of creation. What is it that drives our need as humans to create? Students look closely at art, culture, and religion while covering many periods of history. This is a survey course, but students have opportunities to explore in greater depth areas of study that excite them.

Humanities, Social Justice, and the Arts is an interdisciplinary, humanities-style course built with the following goal at its heart: to allow students to explore issues related to social justice while honing their skills as thinkers, researchers, writers, and presenters. The course opens with an introductory unit aimed at investigating a complex and charged subject from a variety of perspectives within a range of different media. During this unit, students read a selection of print pieces (newspaper articles, poems, and academic essays), view works of visual art, listen to a selection of songs and podcasts, and watch a film. At the conclusion of this unit, students propose a research project they pursue for the duration of the course.

To complete the research project, students identify an issue tied to social justice, evaluate sources addressing the issue, synthesize the information they collect, and present an evidence-based argument on the issue. The culminating project for the course asks students to craft a persuasive creation (a video, a piece of music, a work of visual art, etc) intended to persuade an audience to accept the position the student presented in their argument paper. The goal of this project is to allow students the chance to engage in the process of social justice awareness or activism. This course is intended to let students dive deeply into important social issues while exploring the arts and practicing key skills of critical thinking and expression.

From 1945 to the present, American society evolved from one in which newspapers were the most common form of learning information to one in which you can communicate with a friend in Tokyo faster than you can walk from your dorm to the dining hall. How this transition took place and how its developments – social, technological, political & philosophical – impact your life today will be the focus of this course. The world we live in today is the result of generations of recorded events – inventions, wars, exploration, greed, good, evil and curiosity, to name a few – and how this nation went from AM radio to receiving messages from a rover on Mars is what we will endeavor to understand. What happened to get us to this point explains why our culture is the way it is now. Ideally, this course serves to help students understand why certain Americans think, do and say what they think, do and say, and why we form opinions based on our learning.

The study of the American political process involves knowledge of the foundations of American government.  Included within this is an examination of what is public policy and who participates in the making of policy. It therefore involves a study of the Constitution, including grants of power and limitations on those powers within a federal system of government. Students will also examine the meaning of civil rights and civil liberties in relation to the policy-making process. To understand the American political process, students are involved in an examination and analysis of the roles of the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court within the constitutional framework of a federal system of government and the concept of separation of powers and checks and balances.  It also involves an examination and analysis of the electoral process of the President and Vice-President of the United States, members of Congress and the process of appointment and the tenure of justices of the Supreme Court. Students will be required to seek out the constitutional principles involved in the political process.

This course involves an examination of the following concepts: psychological and sociological studies related to an individual's party identification and participation in the electoral process; the history of suffrage requirements in the U.S.; the positions of the Democrat and Republican parties; and the various forms of nominating and electoral procedures involving local to national candidates. In this course, students analyze recent presidential campaigns on the basis of the following questions:

• Are presidential primaries the most appropriate way to nominate candidates?
• How significant are the national conventions?
• What directions are the political forces headed in our times?
• How should campaigns be financed?
• This course is offered during current election seasons either for presidential or midterm cycles, including primary seasons for both national and state wide offices.

In this course, students examine several films that depict historical events from around the world. These films are analyzed for their historical accuracy. In other words, students need to answer the question, did the filmmakers “get it right?” In addition, where the filmmakers strayed from the “true” historical path, students will analyze why they chose to do so and if it seems like an appropriate decision. Finally, students will have substantial input as to which films we study. The only caveat to this is that the pieces must be about non-American historical events.

In this course, students explore the social and cultural impact of the First World War, the rise of the fascist and communist dictatorships, the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Holocaust and the Cold War. The primary focus of the course is on social history, such as the experience of soldiers, the home fronts, the role of women and people of color, and the development of the visual arts, dance, music, literature and cinema in response to the violence that swept the world between 1914 and 1992. Local veterans and others will be interviewed as part of the oral history focus of the course. Military history will be a component of the course as the frame for the cultural and social movements caused by conflict. The course also has a global reach, with attention given to the experience of the peoples of Asia, Africa and South America as well as Europe and North America.

The goal of this humanities-style course is to allow students to explore issues related to Latin America. Students work as thinkers, researchers, writers, and presenters. During this class, students read a selection of print pieces (newspaper articles, poems, and academic essays), view works of visual art, and listen to a selection of songs and podcasts. Students explore social, economic, and political topics such as the encomienda system, foreign interventions, and  the role of the Catholic church. Students are encouraged to bring questions and concerns to be incorporated into the curriculum.

This course is intended to let students dig deep into important issues in Latin America, past and present, while exploring the arts and practicing key skills of critical thinking and expression.

In this course, students explore the social and cultural impact of the First World War, the rise of the fascist and communist dictatorships, the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Holocaust and the Cold War. The primary focus of the course is on social history, such as the experience of soldiers, the home fronts, the role of women and people of color, and the development of the visual arts, dance, music, literature and cinema in response to the violence that swept the world between 1914 and 1992. Local veterans and others will be interviewed as part of the oral history focus of the course. Military history will be a component of the course as the frame for the cultural and social movements caused by conflict. The course also has a global reach, with attention given to the experience of the peoples of Asia, Africa and South America as well as Europe and North America.

In this course, students explore current events – local, national, and international – that impact their lives and examine the ways in which media cover those events. While studying current events and media, students also learn about foundational journalistic practices, and transform our classroom into a functioning newsroom tasked with producing Interlochen Arts Academy’s newspaper, The Interlochen Times. All students will assume roles as Times staffers, and some will take on leadership roles for the publication.

Since the United States of America has existed, people of Asian ancestry have played a part in shaping its government, economy, and society. This course will examine these often overlooked and marginalized stories through case studies from different periods of US history. In particular, students will investigate the contributions Asian-Americans have made in the growth and evolution of US society, as well as analyze representations from popular culture to understand how stereotypes of Asian Americans were created and often perpetuated. In the latter half of the course, students will develop and explore their own research interests. Utilizing analysis skills they developed in examining past periods of US history, students will highlight specific and contemporary examples of the Asian American experience. Students will be asked to summarize and share their learning with their classmates, in an attempt to more fully understand the infinite ways in which “American” and “Asian American” culture are linked and intertwined.
 

What it means to be an active participant in society, the idea of citizenship, has been debated since ancient Greece and Rome. This debate, and the idea that each person in society has certain rights and responsibilities, has been a part of American society since the Revolutionary War. In this tradition, this course will look at what it means to be a citizen of the United States of America. Students will learn more about the roles that individuals and groups have played in shaping US society, both through elections and activist campaigns. Examples from the US will be compared with, and linked to, those in other societies in order to learn more about the forces behind citizens’ actions in working toward “a more perfect union.” The relationship between the power that the government holds, and the role of citizens to maintain and follow this authority will also be looked at. Students should be prepared to research and explore citizen actions and movements over the course of US history, and to share their findings with their classmates. Particularly, the role of digital communication and social media will be analyzed to understand how these mediums influence the ways in which we perceive what it means to be a citizen, and how Americans act in regard to these conceptions

This course explores brain development and positive psychology in dialogue with philosophical schools of thought, world religions and teaching from great thinkers from the ancient and modern times. Mindfulness, Wellness, & Resilience, Creative Capacity, and Community & Citizen Artistry feature heavily in this class. Students are exposed to hands-on practices to apply to their daily lives and artistic development. Through the course, students participate in round table discussions, write essays, and share a final project or presentation.

In this course, students explore the evolution of American society: political, economic, social structure; racial and ethnic groups; sex roles; indigenous peoples, inter-American, and world diplomacy of the United States; evolution of ideology, war, territorial expansion, industrialization, urbanization, international events and their impact on American history. Students who complete this course may select to earn both high school and college credit, transcripted by Indiana University and transferrable to many colleges and universities. 

This course offers a broad and general introduction to psychology. Classic studies and emerging research are examined. This course includes discussions reflecting diversity within the discipline and of cultures and communities around the world. Topics may include, but are not limited to: psychological research, learning, thinking and intelligence, personality, social psychology, stress, lifestyle and health, psychological disorders, and therapy and treatment.

This course offers a broad and general introduction to sociology. Foundational sociological theories are examined. This course includes discussions of fundamental concepts and critical thinking about society and culture relevant to a diverse audience. Topics may include, but are not limited to: culture, the socialization process, social stratification, collective behavior, social institutions, and social change.