Upper School History

Histories of Modern Asia and Africa: Confronting Imperialism (Year Long)

Open to: Grade 9

This course introduces students to the modern political and cultural history of countries grappling with the legacy of imperialism in Asia and Africa. Using primary and secondary sources, students examine topics such as Belgian imperialism in the Congo and its aftermath, the rise and fall of the Japanese Empire, South Africa’s struggle against apartheid and the colonial experience on the Indian subcontinent. The core purpose of the course is to examine how specific states grappled with decolonization and sought to build new political and economic systems amid competing ideological viewpoints. Day to day, the class consists of Socratic discussions revolving around artwork, music, and films to provide insight into the experiences of individuals, ordinary and extraordinary. This course provides a strong foundation for thesis-driven writing, and active reading methodology to build critical thinking skills. Students will have a chance to practice and refine persuasive communication methods like analytical writing and presentations using a variety of platforms. The year will finish with an extensive project to begin developing introductory research skills.

Histories of Modern Asia and Africa: Confronting Imperialism Honors (Year Long)

Open to: Grade 9

Like Histories of Modern Asia and Africa: Confronting Imperialism, this course introduces students to the modern political and cultural history of countries grappling with the legacy of imperialism in Asia and Africa. Using primary and secondary sources, students examine topics such as Belgian imperialism in the Congo and its aftermath, the rise and fall of the Japanese Empire, South Africa’s struggle against apartheid and the colonial experience on the Indian subcontinent. The core purpose of the course is to examine how specific states grappled with decolonization and sought to build new political and economic systems amid competing ideological viewpoints. Day to day, the class consists of Socratic discussions revolving around artwork, music, and films to provide insight into the experiences of individuals, ordinary and extraordinary. Students selecting this course should have  a strong foundation in thesis-driven writing, and active reading methodology, allowing for the introduction of more scholarly sources and more nuanced writing.  This course will hone already strong persuasive communication skills in modes like analytical writing and presentations using a variety of platforms. The year will culminate with a research paper that draws on not only student research skills, but also their critical thinking and communication skills.

Civics (F)

Open to: Grade 10

Civics is designed to provide Derryfield students with a foundational understanding of the US Constitution and American Government and Institutions. The course will not only provide students with critical base knowledge about how the government works, but will also allow them to build on this knowledge in future courses within the department. Students will be exposed to primary and secondary sources, engage in discussions and projects, and further sharpen the skills in the Portrait of a Derryfield graduate. Topics will include the philosophical and historical foundations of the American Political System, the separation of powers and checks and balances in the The Constitution, the evolution of American democracy and the American political system, and the challenges the American political system has faced in the past and potentially in the future. This course is graded pass/fail and is included in LEAD programming. It is not open for separate course requests.

World History: Riots, Revolutions, and Reforms (Year Long)

Open to: Grade 10

Modern world history is a story of riots, revolutions and reforms. This course explores this history by examining revolutionary events in Europe and Latin America from the 17th through the 20th centuries. Beginning with the Enlightenment, it charts how evolving transnational ideas about the meaning of progress dramatically shaped world history. First charting those ideas with the overthrow of Louis XVI in the French Revolution and the rise of Toussaint Louverture in Haiti, the course asks students to grapple with the power of ideology as an agent of historical change. The course pays particular attention to the history of political philosophies and social forces in its discussion of events including the Industrial Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution, the rise of Nazi Germany, the Cuban Revolution and the Cold War. This exploration engages students in close reading of primary sources such as Primo Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz, encouraging reflection on the meaning of historical change for individuals, ordinary and extraordinary, who lived through these events. The structure of the course also grants students the space to continue to polish foundational skills such as effective reading, writing, researching and communicating in various modes. These skills culminate in a Capstone Project which provides the students the opportunity to explore a world revolution of their own choosing and demonstrate the mastery of their skills one final time. Students emerge with a heightened understanding of the ways in which profound revolutionary events have shaped the contemporary world, and with the skills they need to find success as budding historians.

World History: Riots, Revolutions, and Reforms Honors (Year Long)

Open to: Grade 10

World History: Riots, Revolutions, and Reforms Honors invites students to explore the profound global impact of riots, revolutions, and reforms from the 17th through the 20th centuries. This advanced course for the 10th grade emphasizes critical analysis and independent thinking skills as students investigate revolutionary movements, primarily in Europe and Latin America. Special attention is paid to the Enlightenment philosophies as students trace the evolution of transformative ideas about freedom and liberty and its dramatic influence on world history. Key focus points throughout the year will include the French Revolution and the overthrow of Louis XVI, the Haitian Revolution led by Toussaint Louverture, the impacts of modernization as it pertains to the Industrial Revolution and WWI, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the rise of Nazi Germany and the corrupt politics of Fascism, and Castro and Che Guevara in the Communist Revolution in Cuba.

Through close analysis of primary sources such as Primo Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz, personal letters from Stalin, and more, students engage with the real and collective impact of revolutionary change. The course encourages students to investigate the power of ideology and political philosophy as agents of historical change. In addition, students will develop a nuanced understanding of historical events as students refine advanced skills in critical reading, analytical writing, research, and communication.

The course culminates in a Capstone Project, where students research and analyze a world revolution of their choice, demonstrating mastery of historical inquiry and academic rigor. This incorporates both a written analytical and oral presentation component as students seek to model authentic historical storytelling. This honors-level curriculum equips students with a sophisticated understanding of revolutionary movements while pursuing a more rigorous history curriculum pathway.  Students should leave this course with the ability to reflect on the lasting effects of revolutions on the modern world while developing the intellectual tools essential for success in higher-level historical studies and beyond.

United States History (Year Long)

Open to: Grades 11 & 12

This study of United States history asks students to consider the ways that Americans are shaped by their past and the ways that we shape our understanding of it. Students use books, letters, photographs, songs, film, television and everything in between to study contrasting views from historians and historical participants and draw their own conclusions. The class is designed to encourage student interaction, and students are asked to take sides and defend their opinions on significant historical questions as they make connections across the long term of American history. The course introduces students to the varieties of historical argument as well as the different kinds of evidence that can underpin them. Students will consider important debates on issues ranging from the radicalism of the American Revolution to the effectiveness and origins of the New Deal. In the process, students develop key skills in effective reading, analytical writing and substantive discussion.

Advanced Topics History: American Public History (Year Long)

Open to: Grades 11 & 12

This course is designed around the notion that history matters to Americans today. Students will explore the ways that Americans make their memories of American history and how those memories shape views of contemporary issues in American life. In this course, students will come to understand the story of American history, but will also become historians as they dive into seven particular debates that have puzzled the best historical minds. Students will interrogate the complex arguments made by professional historians before evaluating the merits of those arguments by investigating the sources and evidence used by those historians. As students develop conclusions about these contentious issues in the American past, they will consider how the public remembers these issues and how they should be remembered. Students will shape historical memory as they develop public interventions related to these topics in modes ranging from museum exhibit designs to web pages. This course will culminate in an individual research project as students choose one major issue discussed throughout the year and conduct their own historical research in physical and digital archives across the country.

Humanities Seminar: Finding Truth (Honors Option) (F)

Open to: Grades 11 & 12

What is real? How do we know what’s true—and what happens when our beliefs turn out to be wrong? This Humanities Seminar takes on these timeless questions by connecting ancient ideas to the world we’re living in right now. We begin by exploring how early civilizations tried to explain a mysterious and unpredictable universe, then jump forward to thinkers like Descartes, Hegel, and Nietzsche—figures who challenged certainty, questioned authority, and reshaped how we understand truth, freedom, and meaning. Rather than treating these ideas as abstract and distant, this interdisciplinary course blends literature, philosophy, and history to make big ideas meaningful for our lives in the here and now. Alongside philosophical readings, we analyze episodes of Netflix’s “Black Mirror” to examine how technology, power, and perception can distort reality—and what’s at stake when individuals or societies mistake illusion for truth. We also read the science-fiction novel The Joymakers, using it to explore artificial happiness, control, and what it really means to live an authentic life in a manufactured world. This is a discussion-driven, creative course. Students debate ideas, work collaboratively, analyze films and stories, and apply big concepts to fictional characters as well as to their own lives. No philosophy background required—just curiosity and an openness to questioning how you see the world. Generally, this course is offered as a second History or English course to juniors.

Humanities Seminar: Ethics of Power (Honors Option) (S)

Open to: Grades 11 & 12

Who should have power—and what does power do to people once they have it? What does it mean to live a good life when moral choices are complicated and the stakes are real? The second semester of this Humanities Seminar explores morality, power, and ethical leadership across cultures and historical moments. We begin by looking at how different cultures have tried to define right and wrong, starting with Confucian traditions in East Asia and the caste system in India. Students learn how ideas about duty, hierarchy, and social order make sense within specific cultural worlds—while also asking hard questions about where respect for tradition ends and the responsibility to challenge injustice begins. The course then turns to thinkers like Plato and Machiavelli, examining how the pursuit of power can come into conflict with morality—and how justice requires ideal principles as well as compels difficult choices. After reading excerpts from Plato’s The Republic and Machiavelli’s The Prince, we connect their ideas to Sashenka by Simon Montefiore, a historical novel that traces how authoritarian systems turn abstract ideas into lived suffering, betrayal, and loss. This is a discussion-driven course where students debate ideas, work collaboratively, and connect ethical questions to real human experiences. Generally, this course is offered as a second History or English course to juniors.

International Relations: Bargaining and War in the World System (Honors Option) (F)

Open to: Grades 11 & 12

In the fall term, students explore theoretical foundations in the discipline of Security Studies, and will test that theory to explore contemporary issues from the conflict over Kashmir to the Russo-Ukrainian War. This course will consider war in human history as the result of failure in bargaining between states over issues ranging from territory to political ideology. By investigating how and why the breakdown of bargaining between states leads to war, students will acquire the tools of international relations analysis and the opportunity to use them in historical and contemporary inquiry. In the last portion of the course students will complicate their understanding of military security by examining the proliferation of nuclear weapons since 1945 and the concept of the so-called “Nuclear Peace.” Students will be interested in discovering whether nuclear weapons are indeed a tool that promotes relative peace because of their deterrent nature or if nuclear weapons present a threat to world peace. This course is offered during alternating academic years with the next offering in 2026-2027. Generally, this course is offered as a second History course to juniors.

International Relations: Human Rights and International Law (Honors Option) (S)

Open to: Grades 11 & 12

In the spring term, students will consider the pressing human rights concerns facing the world today. Students will begin the term by exploring the history of Human Rights as a concept from the French Revolution to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Students will then move to consider a series of case studies of the development of international law related to issues ranging from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide to the 2015 European Migrant Crisis. Over the course of the term, students will explore the application of institutions ranging from the Genocide Convention to the Convention on Eliminating all forms of Discrimination Against Women. This course is intended both to help students wrestle with the difficult questions posed by the idea of universal human rights and to develop an understanding of the use of both customary and treaty law in the international system. This course is offered during alternating academic years with the next offering in 2026-2027. Generally, this course is offered as a second History course to juniors.

International Relations: Nonstate Violence, Terrorism, and Civil War (Honors Option) (F)

Open to: Grades 11 & 12

Students will spend the fall term considering the role of nonstate violence in the world today from civil war to terrorism. Students will consider when and why nonstate movements at the state level rebel against their governments or turn to terrorism. They will then explore the social, ethical and practical questions raised by the different approaches states take to combat nonstate violence. This course will begin with a focus on the theoretical models of Security Studies before applying those models to a series of case studies ranging from the Irish Republican Army to the Syrian Civil War. The goal of the course is to allow students to understand the when and why of nonstate violence and to evaluate how a state can or should prioritize various responses to the problem of nonstate violence. This course is offered during alternating academic years with the next offering in 2027-2028. Generally, this course is offered as a second History course to juniors.

International Relations: Development, Sustainability, and Inequality (Honors Option) (S)

Open to: Grades 11 & 12

During the spring term, students will tackle the question: how can a billion people move out of poverty without irreversibly harming the natural world upon which human life depends? Focusing on the threat of climate change in the Global South, students will encounter key ideas and debates surrounding the topics of foreign aid, social entrepreneurship, and the role of government in addressing global poverty while keeping average warming below 2℃. Each student will follow a particular country in the Global South throughout the term as they learn about the economic, security, environmental and human rights issues that this country faces in the context of global institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. Students will consider the legacies of colonialism and the future of the developing world as they explore the best ways to lift the world further out of poverty while combating climate change. This course is offered during alternating academic years with the next offering in 2027-2028. Generally, this course is offered as a second History course to juniors.

Advanced Topics History: United States History Since 1960 (Year Long)

Open to: Grades 12

Prerequisite: Completion of US History or AT American Public History 

Open only to seniors, US History Since 1960 offers the academic rigor of a college course. It enables students to recognize that recent American history—like historical scholarship at large—doesn’t offer a neat list of “historical lessons” so much as it imparts greater caution about the country’s challenges in the present. The complexity of recent American life, students learn, defies partisan summation even as the political climate has grown vastly more dogmatic. As a result, students come to appreciate that the ultimate fate of the American Republic remains undecided—there is no certain Hegelian curve towards progress; the world’s greatest modern experiment in democratic governance can still fail. Topics include U.S. foreign policy from the Cold War through the War on Terror; the American presidency since John F. Kennedy; and social movements such as the African American battle for civil rights and second wave feminism. The course is reading and writing intensive and culminates in a larger class project designed to “make historical nuance go viral” in the contemporary media.