The History and Social Sciences Department seeks to engender a love of learning and an understanding of the richness of cultural, religious, ethnic and racial diversity. The Middle School curriculum is intentionally developed to help our girls make connections between names, places and events, and to help them recognize themselves in the history of others.
A curricular highlight for our students is a current events class taken each year, which provides students the opportunity to apply and make relevant their growing understanding of the world and its people. Primary to the content is the sequence of skills that builds progressively from Group V through Group VIII. Teachers guide students on the journey to acquire and develop basic study/note-taking skills, close reading of secondary and primary documents, as well as structured and analytical writing. Independent learning and computer and library literacy also augment the traditional skill development.
- Group V history explores the basic concepts of geography and the development of civilization in the ancient world, particularly the cultures of Egypt, China, and Greece. The girls learn how to define civilization and examine the role geography plays in the evolution and flourishing of culture.
- Group VI history explores the universality of human culture through the examination of the five major world religions via a comparative lens of geography, belief, culture, history, and current events.
- Group VII history explores the ‘Atlantic World’ with a particular emphasis on indigenous populations pre-contact as well as the beginnings of the African diaspora and American slavery. The course finishes with North American colonial settlement, independence, and the formation of a national government.
- Group VIII American History focuses on the 20th century with an emphasis on the political, economic, and social events that have shaped modern American life. Class trips to Harlem and Washington D.C provide students with an experiential component to their learning.