How do we know what we know about the past? This course examines the power and the limits of the historical method through an exploration of the emergence of the modern world. Students will learn to analyze change and continuity within and between historical periods and evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time, place, and context. Topics include the “Atlantic World,” global slave systems, the Enlightenment, the French and Haitian Revolutions, Latin American independence movements, the Industrial Revolution, and Imperialism and Colonialism.

How does our interpretation of sources shape our understanding of history? This course is a continuation of Global 1. Students will learn to analyze sources using historical thinking strategies in order to explain what happened in the past and its significance for the present. A key feature of this course is a research project that invites students to develop a well-supported response to a question that considers multiple perspectives, draws defensible conclusions, and addresses counter-claims. Topics include the origins of World War I, the global Great Depression, and World War II.

Global History 3 begins with the challenges of establishing peace and global recovery in the wake of World War II. We examine the aspirations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, approved in 1948 by the General Assembly of the newly created United Nations. The principles outlined in this document guide our analysis of post- WWII anti-colonial movements as well as the impact of late - 20th and early 21st century globalization on human experiences. A major part of this semester- long course will consider the demands for independence and for human rights by historically oppressed voices. We will explore the challenges underlying the establishment of new nation-states across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa during the Cold War era. Students will also investigate how voices for democracy in China and Eastern Europe contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the demise of the Soviet Union. The multiple dimensions of identity, economics, environment, human migration, and public health will inform our culminating study of topics related to 21st century globalization. Throughout the semester, students will continue to develop their critical thinking, research, and writing skills by evaluating diverse sources of evidence, identifying missing voices commonly omitted from the historical narrative, posing critical thinking questions, and considering the role of civic engagement in providing solutions to human rights issues. 

We begin the course by exploring the “First Encounters” of indigenous peoples in North America with Europeans in the late 16th and 17th centuries and the experiences of people from Africa following their initial forced arrival in Virginia in 1619. Lessons will stress the primary theme of democracy, calling attention to the roles of land, slavery, and freedom in British colonial societies, the expansion of revolutionary thought leading to the founding of the republic, the ratification of the United States Constitution in the late 18th century, and the construction of race as slave societies tightened their legal and social restrictions on enslaved people. As we explore the evolution of political, economic, and social freedoms and their limitations, we will understand better the contributions of enslaved peoples and free Black Americans to the Market Revolution and how a racialized democracy shaped cultural and social relations. We will then focus on the ensuing developments of democratic institutions and practices, as well as reform movements by the mid-nineteenth century, including abolitionism, women’s rights, and the religious revivals of the Great Awakening. Along with an emphasis on geography, we then examine the many voices that shaped the national debate over the Mexican-American War; the sectional crisis over the expansion of slavery by 1861; and the transformative role played by Black soldiers in the Civil War.

A major theme of this course is exploring multiple perspectives from the past regarding “Who is an American?,” including the experiences, laws, and policies shaping immigration and migration. Readings and materials will highlight the amendments to the U.S. Constitution and the formation of the free Black political communities during Reconstruction following the Civil War, and the subsequent rise of systemic racial institutions and laws through violence and segregation. Next we examine the process of urbanization and the transformation of the West--a diverse region that included embattled cultures of indigenous peoples and new Chinese American communities. We will study the emergence of the U.S. as an imperial power at the turn of the century, the changing role of the government during the American involvement in the two World Wars, and the transformation of economic, social and cultural institutions during the interwar years of the 1920’s and the Great Depression—including the music, art, and literature of the Harlem Renaissance. Students' skills in research and analysis of primary and secondary sources will be sharpened during short projects including: the women’s suffrage movement; Chinese American experiences; and independent reading of historical scholarship on a topic of one’s choosing. Throughout the course students will hone historical thinking skills and present them through oral presentation and writing.

With “rights” being the primary theme of the course, we will examine how Americans have sought to uphold the rule of law established by the U.S. Constitution, which begins with the phrase “We the people” in its preamble. We explore how the checks and balances principle (amongst the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of federal government), and the separation of powers principle (between national and state governments), influenced power relationships in the U.S. We will inquire how individuals and groups have sought to end inequalities and we will examine a diversity of experiences that shaped the history of the U.S. since WWII. The course begins with an introduction to the long civil rights movement (LCRM) through the lens of the Japanese American experiences during and following their WWII incarceration, including their demands for redress of their loss of civil liberties and economic power. We then learn about the origins of The Cold War, the rise of consumer culture during the post-war economic boom, and the anti-communism that defined the 1945-1959 period. We explore the many voices within The Black Freedom Struggle, 1950s-1970s, honoring in particular the roles of Black women in the movement. The course follows with the Social Movements of the 1960s-1970s that contested established power while seeking to extend freedoms to all. In the following units, Turning Right: Political and Economic Fault Lines of the 1970s, The New Divisions of the 1980s, and The Roaring Nineties, students will investigate how new media and technology created opportunities with modern globalization, but also how political polarization and culture wars defined the late-twentieth century. We also examine the differing economic experiences of Americans, controversies related to presidential powers, and the ongoing tensions between government policy and individual freedoms. Finally, the course ends with a look at early-twenty-first century challenges--such as sustaining democracy and climate change--calling attention to the roots of the state of political discourse today. Throughout the semester, students will continue to develop their critical thinking, research, and writing skills by evaluating diverse sources of evidence, identifying missing voices commonly omitted from the historical narrative, posing critical thinking questions, and considering the role of civic engagement in providing solutions to “rights” issues.

Through an exploration of United States history since the mid-1960s, this course seeks to understand the fault lines of class, race, politics, gender and sexual identity that unite and divide Americans today. We begin our work with an inquiry into the 1960s debates over social welfare programs, the causes and consequences of Vietnam War and the emergence of the Black Power movement. As the semester progresses, we delve into such topics as the emergence of the New Right and the continuing problem of racism in the United States. Students examine the 1980s and 1990s debates over women's and gay rights, welfare reform and mass incarceration. Final topics include War on Terror, the Obama Presidency and the election of Donald Trump. Students deepen their appreciation of the role of media and technology in political discourse, as well as the importance of considering multiple perspectives.

This course will explore the economic, political, and cultural processes of globalization through a few focal points--migration, gender, and the environment--from roughly the 1970s to the early twenty-first century We will seek to examine the broad social consequences of these transformations (such as climate change) particularly for marginalized groups, and the various ways that they have addressed and challenged the implications of globalization. Further, our assigned readings, group projects, and independent research will explore how responses to the consequences of globalization have intersected--for example: international climate treaties; maternal health research; building sustainable cities; and social impact investing. As writers in history, we will put traditional pencil to paper to document our own journeys, while we also learn how new digital technologies for data analysis can allow historians to grapple with the evidence. We will invite guest speakers as well as utilize resources throughout NYC.

International Relations is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry pulling from academic frameworks in political science but also history, economics, and sociology. In this course students study interactions among the various actors on different levels (the individual, the state, and international institutions) that participate in international politics. We will learn and apply major theoretical perspectives as well as the tools and approaches to foreign policy. Students explore war and security, international cooperation, and international law through case studies and simulations. Students will apply new knowledge of foreign policy approaches and tools by participating in short (“Pop Up”) and as well as extended case studies of both real and hypothetical international situations and conflicts. Case studies offer students an opportunity to sharpen their collaboration skills through negotiation, conflict resolution, and consensus building activities, and to build analytical, leadership, and decision-making skills. We will research and deliberate policy options during National Security Council meetings on various topics including deterrence and nuclear weapons; cyberspace; the role of NATO and other international alliances; and the space race.

What do Edith Wharton, Emma Goldman, James Baldwin, Tito Puente, Grace Meng, and Alicia Keys--and you--have in common? You are all New Yorkers who have experienced and represented the city in many political, economic, social, and cultural ways. From subways, bridges, parks, skyscrapers, to bike lanes, life in the five boroughs has shaped NYC. Local urban geographies have been constructed by both ordinary and extraordinary people including: immigrants, social activists, construction workers, graffiti artists, pop stars, journalists, writers, photographers, marketing agents, fashion designers, media and real estate moguls, deli owners, educators, and students. What does it mean to be a New Yorker? Why is the city one of the most diverse and dynamic in the world? What particular challenges has the city faced? This course explores the remarkable evolution of the Big Apple as the global capital of capital and culture from the Grid of 1811 and Central Park through consolidation in 1898 through the present. With The Museum of the City of New York’s NY at its Core: 400 Years of New York City History exhibition, we will investigate four characteristics of the metropolis: money, diversity, density, and creativity. Further, in our city government unit, we will learn about key challenges that Gotham faces today, examine the historical roots of those problems, and imagine how the City Council may build a more sustainable city.

What do Edith Wharton, Emma Goldman, James Baldwin, Tito Puente, Grace Meng, and Alicia Keys--and you--have in common? You are all New Yorkers who have experienced and represented the city in many political, economic, social, and cultural ways. From subways, bridges, parks, skyscrapers, to bike lanes, life in the five boroughs has shaped NYC. Local urban geographies have been constructed by both ordinary and extraordinary people including: immigrants, social activists, construction workers, graffiti artists, pop stars, journalists, writers, photographers, marketing agents, fashion designers, media and real estate moguls, deli owners, educators, and students. What does it mean to be a New Yorker? Why is the city one of the most diverse and dynamic in the world? What particular challenges has the city faced? This course explores the remarkable evolution of the Big Apple as the global capital of capital and culture from the Grid of 1811 and Central Park through consolidation in 1898 through the present. With The Museum of the City of New York’s NY at its Core: 400 Years of New York City History exhibition, we will investigate four characteristics of the metropolis: money, diversity, density, and creativity. Further, in our city government unit, we will learn about key challenges that Gotham faces today, examine the historical roots of those problems, and imagine how the City Council may build a more sustainable city.

Representation has been central to America’s multicultural history. Whether in political campaigns, street parades, theater performances, music, or rituals, culture (that is, the ways that we make meaning of our experiences) has shaped and has been shaped by identity and intersectionality. Gesture, masquerade and reproductions can be alternatively empowering and deceiving. How has representation reflected and manifested power and privilege as well as oppression and resistance? In this course we we will explore how racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, and national identity in the United States during the nineteenth through the early twenty-first centuries show up in and influence our political culture, consumer culture, and expressive cultures. We will seek to understand these developments within the context of an increasingly global economy.

This course is designed to develop a greater appreciation of the rights and liberties set forth under the United States Constitution, along with an understanding of the responsibilities that these rights and liberties engender. In order to achieve these objectives, we will focus on Supreme Court cases that interpret the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment, and we will consider these cases as part of the larger socio-political contexts in which they were decided. The class encourages students to connect Supreme Court decisions to the broader themes of individual empowerment, separation of powers and civic engagement. We will develop our critical and analytical thinking skills using case law and secondary sources (commentaries, current articles, and film) as well as class debates to sharpen our thinking. Topics include Freedom of Expression and the Press; Freedom from and of Religion; Right to Bear Arms; Search and Seizure; Right to Counsel; Due Process & the Right to Privacy; Equal Protection under the Law (including Affirmative Action); and Presidential Power.  

Can art history inform our understanding of contemporary issues around race, gender and identity? This elective explores the theme of identity in American art as a lens through which to deepen our understanding of U.S. History and the debates of the present. Starting with 18th century colonial portraiture, students delve into a variety of artistic movements along with the social, political and economic developments that defined the course of U.S. history. The class explores such movements as “the Hudson River School,” Abstract Expressionism and “Pop” art. We also delve deeply into the evolving portrayals of indigenous persons, African Americans, and women in the visual arts of the United States. Students consider the challenges faced by female, black and gay artists to achieve recognition for their work. As we examine both the artwork and art historical writings, we continually challenge ourselves to define "American art" and the role that the visual arts play in reflecting and advancing change.