History IB I Junior Year Mr. David Nelson/ Email: nelsond@acs.gr Class Website: www.classcoffee.com / Class Information also available on Blackboard Block 6 Brief Description of Course This is the first year of a two-year program preparing 11 th graders to take the International Baccalaureate examination at either the Standard or the Higher Level at the end of 12th grade. During the first year, candidates for either examination will follow the same curriculum. The course will focus on 20 th century history of the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Through the use of primary historical sources and through the work of historians, students will learn how the discipline of history works. Historical study will include the selection and interpretation of data and its critical evaluation. Students at both levels will also be required to undertake a historical investigation, a problem-solving activity that need not be related to the syllabus. Learning Outcomes/ Standards Having followed the history course at the higher or standard level, students will be expected to: 1. Comprehend, analyze, evaluate and integrate source material critically as historical evidence. 2. Demonstrate historical understanding of 20 th century world history through the acquisition, selection, effective use and synthesis of knowledge. 3. Explain different approaches to and interpretation of, historical events and topics. 4. Place events in their historical context. 5. Explain the causes and effects of historical continuity and change. 6. Present arguments that are clear, coherent, relevant and well sustained. 7. Present historical explanations from an international perspective. 8. Compare and contrast developments and events. 9. Construct written arguments within time constraints, as preparation for the examination. 10. Demonstrate evidence of research skills, organization and referencing. Outline of Course The two-year IB history syllabus consists of three prescribed subjects, five 20 th century world history topics, one regional option and a historical investigation. Prescribed Subject 3 (as per IB syllabus) will address communism in crisis from 1976-1989. Students will study the struggle for power following the death of Mao Zedong in China, investigate China under the rule of Deng Xiaoping, analyze the impact of policies implemented by Gorbachev in the USSR, and examine the consequence of Gorbachev s policies in Eastern Europe. Two topics from the following 20 th century topics will also be studied: Causes, practices and effects of war, democratic states-challenges and responses, origin and development of authoritarian and single-party states, and the Cold War. Students will examine Option 3 from the IB History Syllabus with special emphasis on the following sections: The Great Depression and the Americas 1929-1939, The Second World War and the Americas 1933-45, and The Cold War and the Americas 1945-1981. Higher Level Students will also select one additional section from the syllabus for independent in-depth study. ACS Course Outline (Year I): Unit I- Introduction to Historical Methods and Research Structures Dissecting Questions Formulating Historical Imagination Glossary of IB Command Terms for history
Unit II- The Great Depression and the Americas 1929-39 (From Option 3: Aspects of the history of the Americas in the IB Syllabus) This section focuses on the nature of the Depression as well as the different solutions adopted by governments in the region and the impact on these societies. The Great Depression: political and economic causes in the Americas Nature and efficacy of solutions in the United States: Hoover; Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal; critics of the New Deal Canada & Latin America s responses to the Depression: Mackenzie King and RB Bennett; Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) Students will complete a case study on one of the following areas: o Impact of the Great Depression on society: African Americans, women, minorities o The Great Depression and the arts: photography, the movie industry, the radio, literary currents, African Americans, women, minorities, photography, the movie industry, the radio, literary currents. Unit III- Adolph Hitler- Origins and development of authoritarian and single-party states (From Route 2/ Topic 3 from the IB Syllabus) Origins and nature of authoritarian and single-party states Establishment of authoritarian and single party states Domestic policies and impact Unit IV- World War II- The Second World War and the Americas 1933 45 (From Option 3 from the IB Syllabus) This section focuses on the changing policies of the countries in the region as a result of growing political and diplomatic tensions preceding and during the Second World War. It also examines the impact of the war upon the Americas. Hemispheric reactions to the events in Europe: inter-american diplomacy; cooperation and neutrality; Franklin D Roosevelt s Good Neighbour policy, its application and effects The diplomatic and/or military role of the United States and other Latin American countries in the Second World War Social impact of the Second World War on: African Americans, Native Americans, women and minorities; conscription Treatment of Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians Reaction to the Holocaust in the Americas Impact of technological developments and the beginning of the atomic age Economic and diplomatic effects of the Second World War in one country of the Americas Unit V- Joseph Stalin- Origins and development of authoritarian and single-party states (From Route 2/ Topic 3 from the IB Syllabus) Origins and nature of authoritarian and single-party states Establishment of authoritarian and single party states Domestic policies and impact (Introduction to the IB History Internal Research project)
Unit VI- The Cold War- (Europe and The Americas) (From Topic 5 from the IB Syllabus) This topic addresses East West relations from 1945. It aims to promote an international perspective and understanding of the origins, course and effects of the Cold War a conflict that dominated global affairs from the end of the Second World War to the early 1990s. It includes superpower rivalry and events in all areas affected by Cold War politics such as spheres of interest, wars (proxy), alliances and interference in developing countries. The course will include a selection of objectives from each of the following Cold War themes: Origins of the Cold War: o Ideological differences o Mutual suspicion and fear o From wartime allies to post-war enemies Nature of the Cold War: o Ideological opposition o Superpowers and spheres of influence o Alliances and diplomacy in the Cold War Development and impact of the Cold War: o Global spread of the Cold War from its European origins o Cold War policies of containment, brinkmanship, peaceful coexistence, détente o Role of the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement o Role and significance of leaders o Arms race, proliferation and limitation o Social, cultural and economic impact The Cold War in the Americas o Truman: containment and its implications for the Americas; the rise of McCarthyism and its effects on Domestic and foreign policies of the United States; the Cold War and its impact on society and culture o Korean War and the United States and the Americas: reasons for participation; military developments; diplomatic and political outcomes o Eisenhower and Dulles: New Look and its application; characteristics and reasons for the policy; repercussions for the region o United States involvement in Vietnam: the reasons for, and nature of, the involvement at different stages; domestic effects and the end of the war o United States foreign policies from Kennedy to Carter: the characteristics of, and reasons for, policies; implications for the region: Kennedy s Alliance for Progress; Nixon s covert operations and Chile; Carter s quest for human rights and the Panama Canal Treaty o Cold War in either Canada or one Latin American country: reasons for foreign and domestic policies and their implementation End of the Cold War: o Break-up of Soviet Union: internal problems and external pressures o Breakdown of Soviet control over Central and Eastern Europe Material for detailed study o Wartime conferences: Yalta and Potsdam o US policies and developments in Europe: Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO o Soviet policies, Sovietization of Eastern and Central Europe, COMECON, Warsaw Pact o Sino Soviet relations o US Chinese relations o Germany (especially Berlin (1945 61)), Congo (1960 64), Afghanistan (1979 88), Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, o Middle East o Castro, Gorbachev, Kennedy, Mao, Reagan, Stalin, Truman
Unit VII- Communism in crisis 1976 89 (From Prescribed subject 3from the IB Syllabus) Gorbachev and his aims/policies (glasnost and perestroika) and consequences for the Soviet state ; Consequences of Gorbachev s policies for Eastern European reform movements: Poland the role of Solidarity; Czechoslovakia the Velvet Revolution; fall of the Berlin Wall. Preview to Year II of IB History: Unit VIII- Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) Origins & development of authoritarian and single-party states (Finalizing the IB History Internal Research project) Unit IX- Communism in crisis 1976-1989 Struggle for power after the death of Mao China under Deng Xiaoping Unit X- Paper 2 Review- Single Party States, The Cold War/ Exam Review Interdisciplinary Connections: Materials will be drawn from a range of disciplines-including economics, politics and sociology. Texts : Select chapters from the following sources will be utilized in the two year course: American Odyssey, By Gary B. Nash- Professor of History University of California **A People s History of the United States (1492-Present,) By Howard Zinn Boston University** International Relations 1914-1995, By Tony Rea and John Wright **A History of the Modern World Since 1815, Ninth Edition, By R, Palmer- University of Chicago** ISBN 0-07-112137-4 Challenging History: Europe 1890-1990, By John Traynor, A History of Asia, By Rhoads Murphey **History: 20 th Century World--The Cold War, By Keely Rogers and Jo Thomas** ISBN 978-0-435994-28-0 **20 th Century World History Course Companion, By Martin Cannon (Oxford, 2009)** ISBN 978-0-19-915261-2 **Although these sources are provided by the school, it is recommended that students purchase a copy of each starred source so that they can complete detailed annotations as they read. Supplies: Students must maintain a separate binder for each Unit. Students must have adequate lined paper, pens, and highlighters for use during class. Although students have open access to PCs and the network at school, access to a PC and internet at home is highly recommended. Purchase a USB memory stick of 2GB or more to use in the class Purchase blank DVDs (+) in order to make back-up copies of certain documentaries presented in class.
Assessment Criteria: Assessment rubrics and the descriptors for all the written work assignments are included in the IB History Handbook. All students have received a complete printed set of the IB History Handbook (First Exams 2010). The IB uses several methods to assess work produced by students. Each criterion compromises a set of hierarchically ordered level descriptors and markbands. For Paper 1 there is a detailed markscheme specific to each examination paper. For Paper 2 and Paper 3, there are markband descriptors and markschemes. The markband descriptors are related to the objectives established for the history course and the group 3 descriptors. The markschemes are specific to each paper. For internal assessment, a number of criteria have been identified. Each assessment criterion has markband descriptors describing specific levels of achievements. Grading Scheme for the ACS Grade: Quarter grade components 10% Class Participation 20 % Homework and Binder *The Binders will be assessed at the completion of each unit. 20% Class work and Quizzes 50% Tests Semester grade 80% of the two quarter grades + 20 % exam Final grade 50 % of Semester 1 + 50 % of Semester 2 grade Course-specific Information and Late Work Policy: All assignments will be posted on www.classcoffee.com and on the ACS Blackboard. Late work will receive a maximum grade of 60%. Late work is defined as an assignment that is not submitted by the pre-defined deadline. If there are extenuating circumstances, which may merit an extension, an extension must be arranged in the days prior to the deadline. If a student has an excused absence on a test day, he/she will be required to make arrangements to take a make-up test within the next two school days. All students are expected to be on class in time and be fully prepared. No cell phones, IPods, earphones, etc. are permitted.