Edmonds School District

Course Number

SOC 200

Length/Credit

Course Name

IB History of the Americas 1-2 Honors

Prerequisite

Location

EWHS

Course Description

Purpose: This course will provide students with a comparative study of U.S., Canadian, and Latin American History as preparation of U.S. History, thus promoting international understanding as well as the knowledge important to be a well-informed citizen. In order to receive IB credit on their transcript, the student is required to complete all IB course requirements including Part I of the Internal Assessment Historical Investigation (to be completed senior year) and teacher assessed IB Standard Level exam in May.

Content: The first semester begins with the study of political and economic relationships with colonial powers, proceeds to the Revolutionary Period in Canada, the US and Latin America with a comparison of leaders, covers the evolution of government, and ends with civil war in the US and Latin America. Second semester covers the political development of Latin America with a focus on Brazil, Argentina an Mexico. Industrialization in the Americas will be covered. Students will further study US-Mexico relations, including US expansion, the Spanish American War, and concluding with the Mexican Revolution. A continuing semester of this course will be offered in a student's senior year. Topics covered will be US foreign policy (1898-1990) in the Americas, cause and effects of WWI and WWII in the hemisphere, and Latin American politics in the 20 th century. The following essential skills for the social studies and IB Program will be emphasized: developing research and documentation skills, critical thinking skills, development of positions on historical topics using logic and information, analysis of primary sources and recognition of a variety of scholarly interpretations.