Students are required to complete a total of three credits in the social sciences. The department requires World Geography for freshmen, Western Civilization for sophomores, and United States History for juniors. Available to seniors are elective courses such as AP Economics, Psychology, and American Government.

210 Honors World Geography/211/212/213 World Geography - Credit 1

Required for freshmen

World Geography explores the relationship between the physical environment and human activitiy. The content includes cultural, economic, and political geography as well as the physical geography. Each unit of study focuses on a particular region of the world, so history and current events are examined. As a process/skills based course, World Geography also includes specific instruction in content reading, expository writing, note taking, critical thinking, analysis of statistics, along with the interpretation and construction of maps, charts, and graphs.

219 Pre-AP Human Geography - Credit 1

Prerequisite: freshman with instructor permission

The purpose of Pre-AP Human Geography is to introduce students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and the alteration of the Earth's surface. The course introduces students to the importance of spatial organization - the location of places, people, and events, and the connections between them. Main topics include the dynamics of human population and human settlement patterns, particularly urbanization and processes invloved in the development of regions. Students also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their science and practice. As freshman in a Pre-AP course, students will have the option of taking the Advanced Placement Exam. Students will NOT receive college credit from colleges and universities for successful completeion of this course and the AP Exam.

220 Honors Western Civilization/221/222/223 Western Civilization - Credit 1

Required for sophomores - Prerequisite: World Geography

This course reviews the history of Western civilization from ancient times to the modern era. It is designed to acquaint the student with his/her cultural heritage. While the course will attempt to cover the rise of Western civilization chronologically, emphasis will be placed on periods considered to be high points in the development of world culture and periods to which the American experience owes a great debt.

228 Advanced Placement European History - Credit 1

Prerequisite: Sophmores with permission of instructor

AP European History gives students an overview of the intellectual, cultural, political, diplomatic, social, and economic history of western civilization with a primary emphasis on modern Europe. The course is designed to prepare students for the AP European Exam offered in May. Through primary and secondary source readings, presentation, lectures, discussions, and class activities, students will explore major historical eras in European history such as: the ancient world, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Wars of Religion, the Bourbon and Baroque Eras, the Enlightenment, Revolution and the New European Order, Realism and Materialism, World War I and Europe in Crisis, World War II, and the Demise of Communism. Course requirements include purchasing the textbook, primary and secondary source readers, and the study guids. Students will also be required to take the AP Exam and pay for the fee associated with its administration, grading, and reporting to colleges. Students receive college credit from most colleges and universities for successful completion of this course and the AP Exam.

229 Advanced Placement United States History - Credit 1

Prerequisite: Juniors with permission of instructor

This course gives students an overview of the political, diplomatic, economic, social, and cultural history of America from ancient America through the present while preparing students for successful performance on the Advanced Placement United States History Exam offered in May. Students will read a major textbook, selected primary documents, and various secondary historiographic articles. Through readings, presentations, lectures, discussions, and class activities, students will explore major themes in American history such as colonization, the founding of a new nation, the forging of an American culture, the entrenchment of slavery, the coming of the Civil War, the meaning of Reconstruction, the development of the American West, the maturing of industrial society, the expansion of the nation-state, the rise of the United States as a global power, the limitations of American power, the growth of the liberal concensus, the resurgence of conservatism and the development of the new domestic and world order. Students will also examine the ways in which the marginalized and disaffected have struggled to ensure that America fulfills its promise. Course requirements include purchasing the textbook, the primary and secondary source readers, and the study guides. Students are also required to take the Advanced Placement Exam and pay the fee associated with its administration, grading, and reporting to colleges. Students receive college credit from most colleges and universities for successful completion of this course and the Advanced Placement Examination.

230 Honors U.S. History/231/232/233 U.S. History - Credit 1

Required for juniors

Prerequisite: Western Civilization

Students are required to take United States History so they will acquire an awareness of how and why this nation has attained its present position in the world. They will also develop an appreciation for what it means to be an American. The class will begin with the Constitution and continue through the twentieth century. Special emphasis will be placed on why the world is as it is today.

240 Psychology – Credit 1

Seniors only

Prerequisite: Algebra I and Biology

This course is a survey course, which introduces students to the scientific study of the human experience. During the first semester, students focus on sensation and perception; consciousness; learning and memory; thinking, language, and intelligence; and motivation and emotion. Emphasis shifts in the second semester to lifespan development; gender and sexuality; personality; social psychology; stress, health, and coping; psychological disorders and therapies; and industrial/organizational psychology. Students perform interactive computer lab simulations and review related topics using links to the Internet.

242 American Government – Credit 1

Seniors only

This course will provide an understanding of the political process of the United States. Emphasis is placed on political involvement and discussion. Major projects will be required.

247 Advanced Placement Economics - Credit 1

Prerequisites: Above satisfactory performance in either U.S. History 230 or Advanced Placement U.S. History 229, and Algebra II, Pre-Calculus 365, and permission of instructor.

This course is a full-year course that introduces students to fundamental economic concepts and simultaneously prepares students for successful performance on the AP Economics Exam offered in May. During the first semester, students focus on microeconomic issues including supply and demand; markets and prices; types of firms and their costs and profits; market power; and the role of government in the economy. Course content shifts to macroeconomics in the second semester. Here, students examine Gross Domestic Product accounting; inflation; unemployment; government spending; money and banking; monetary policy and fiscal policy; supply-side policy; international trade; and international currency and exchange markets. Course requirements include purchasing both the textbook and the study guides and taking the Advanced Placement Exam.