Course Description

Welcome! This site is for students, parents, teachers and anyone else interested in the tenth-grade World History 2 Course at Santa Fe Prep.

The overall course covers the history of the world from roughly 1500 to the present. The first quarter opens with the time when Asia was the center of world affairs, then traces European encounters with Asia and the Americas, and the complex interactions and consequences of the so-called "Columbian Exchange" between Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa. The first quarter ends with a survey of the European Renaissance and Reformation, in both its local and global dimensions. The second quarter will focus on the rise of absolute monarchies and new ideas and practices, especially with the scientific revolution and Enlightenment. The second quarter ends with assessments of the legacies of the French Revolution, Napoleon and the emergence of the British Empire. The third quarter starts with the implications of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars in the wake of the Congress of Vienna, i.e., the discourse on rights, reaction, revolution and reform, the rise of new ideologies, in particular, Classical Liberalism, nationalism, and romanticism, and conservative reactions to the changes wrought by the American and French Revolutions. The course then examines the rise of industrialization and social change in 19th-century Europe, and the emergence of middle and working class cultures, followed by new iterations of liberalism and conservatism, the proliferation of more ideologies, e.g., socialism, communism, ultranationalism, social Darwinism, and antisemitism. Then the course examines the unification of the Italian and German nation states, and the creation of the modern welfare state. From there the course traces the rise of a new wave of Western imperialism, followed by the rest of the world's reactions to the rise of European empires and ideas, and in particular, the emergence of industrial Japan and their surprising victory over Russia. The third quarter ends with the outbreak of the First World War. The fourth and final quarter surveys the effects of the First World War, followed by the brief peak of classical liberal nation states and promises for peace, and the rapid rise of authoritarianism, in both communist and fascist variations, with a special focus on the rise of Nazism, the Nazi racial transformation of Germany and the Holocaust and Shoah of modern Europe. The fourth quarter concludes by looking at the causes and effects of the Second World War, the Cold War, the end of European empires in Asia and Africa, the emergence of the Modern Middle East and China, the end of the Cold War, history since 1989, all the way to the present, including current events.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Independent Research Presentation Guide



I. Calendar:

Week 10: Research presentations begin; MAKE SURE TO SCHEDULE with instructor.


Week 11: Independent Research Project Outline, Preliminary Thesis Statement & Annotated 

Bibliography (MLA format), 6-8 sentences that summarize the state of the scholarship on a 

specific topic from two secondary sources and assesses the value & limitations of at 

least two primary sources that support your thesis; due by Friday, 11/9, at 5PM (email instructor).


Week 13: First Draft, 3-5 pages w/ peer editing, due by Wed, 11/21.


Week 15: Final Draft, minimum of 5 pages, double-spaced minimum; must include 

MLA-style citations and bibliography; due at end of week, 12/7.


II. Assignment Descriptions:

1. Presentations: Prepare an 8-10 minute presentation on the independent research topic of your presentation.

What to present?
- Make sure to introduce your topic in a way that demonstrates what makes it interesting and important to the study of world history.
- Discuss why you chose this topic and the initial question(s) that guided your research.
- Provide an overview of the scholarship, i.e., secondary sources, research that has already been done on your topic and your own assessment of what remains to be done on this topic, i.e., any key debate(s) that you engage with your own research on the topic, e.g., the role of malaria or sugar in the origins of chattel slavery or the influence of Chinese science on European science, as well as any remaining questions about your topic, new interpretations you might offer through your own reading of known sources, or even new sources that you have encountered and how these new materials might revise or advance what we know about your topic.
- Introduce and explain your thesis, e.g., "Although the latest research on malaria shows that it played a key role in the rise of chattel slavery, I argue that... there was a simultaneous convergence of multiple factors that explain the rise of chattel slavery."
- Present and discuss at least one primary source to illustrate research and support your thesis.
- Consider use of handouts, materials objects, art, music, a brief PowerPoint presentation, etc. PLEASE let your instructor know of any audio/visual or other needs.
- Choose a week to present and discuss with the instructor.

2. Project Outline, Thesis Statement and Annotated Bibliography
Preliminary Thesis Statement: 6-8 sentences that summarize the state of the scholarship on a specific topic from two secondary sources, assesses the value & limitations of at least two primary sources that support your thesis, and makes an argument based on your use of primary sources and understanding of the scholarship on your topic. MAKE SURE to avoid the recapitulation of someone else's argument unless you are testing that argument through your own research, and engage the scholarship with your argument.  
THIS IS NOT A BOOK REPORT.

Outline your introduction/thesis paragraph, overview of the scholarship, body paragraphs with key points, even topic sentences, and primary sources you plan to use
Bibliography (MLA format).

Additional notes:
Be concise and to the point
SOMETIMES LESS CAN BE MORE
Make eye contact with your audience
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