BVR academics: History students talk with PEM’s Associate Curator for Exhibitions and Research about Jacob Lawrence exhibit

Can democracies handle pandemics better than dictatorships? Who wins the race to Mars? This course will explore democracies and dictatorships both in concept and practice. Throughout the term, students will analyze different systems of government and forms of civil society. Students will critically engage with questions of governance in relation to global challenges. The course culminates with the students debating who controls the final frontier: democracies, autocracies, or corporations?

*Note – this is an updated Governments of the World course

What rights do you actually have? And how do you preserve and demand justice for those rights? Students in this class will look closely at the United States Constitution, landmark Supreme Court Cases, and pivotal protest movements to become informed citizens on civic strategies to preserve and demand our rights. Students will investigate how individuals and groups have demanded justice within – and against – existing systems, as well as analyzing the success and shortcomings of justice movements. Students will also become versed in media literacy and work to analyze how stories are reported and by whom. By the end of this course, students will be empowered with legal knowledge of their constitutional rights and how to demand change on important issues from state and federal governments.

A Student-Directed Project empowers students to do an in-depth exploration of a topic of interest throughout the term.

The student designs, plans, and leads their research project in collaboration and with the guidance and support of a coach (faculty advisor). It allows students to delve deeper into their passion and to be the designer of their own learning. There is a wide range of Student-Directed Projects; they are multi-disciplinary, non-linear, and most importantly, student-created and led.

That’s what makes them so interesting.

Here are some examples of past projects:

• Creating an architectural model using 3D architectural software
• Through their eyes: Photo and interview series of veterans
• Robosub electromagnetic linear accelerator
• Acoustic pinger for Robosub
• Virtual Reality game for visually-impaired persons
• Creating a concept album
• Dispute: Landlord-tenant board game
• Multimedia journalism: Producing a podcast series
• Perplex: English and Theater Study
• Sensors and fiber optics: Building a fiber optic dress
• Haptic technologies: Force-Feedback Virtual Reality
• Applications of integrals to analytical continuation of functions

Do you ever wonder why people from very different religious backgrounds might peacefully coexist, while others from mostly similar backgrounds find themselves in conflict? In this course, students will explore a wide range of belief systems, religious and spiritual ideologies, learning about the origins, practices, and adaptations over time. Investigations into how belief systems shape contemporary politics, government, and society will also be explored.

What aspects of culture and politics promote criminal justice reform? How can the United States achieve an effective justice system that protects public safety while also confronting issues related to restoration for those impacted by crime, both the victim and the accused? Is the prison industrial complex used by the government and industry to address social, political and economic challenges? In this course, students are introduced to criminology and penology. Students will examine historical trends, current programs related to reform, and examine the psychological impact and role that poverty, lack of mental health services, addiction, trauma, and education has had on the lives of incarcerated people. They will participate in forums led by people whose work or volunteerism is connected to addressing existing issues within the system and engage in field-based experiences. Students will explore topics of choice and design viable solutions.

An intensive, inquiry-based course that will require students to pursue an advanced independent course of research on topics of their choice. Students in this class will be expected to work through several multi-step research assignments, including producing research-based papers and presentations and participating in research projects. This course is designed to hone the research skills of critical thinking, problem-solving, analysis, and dissemination. It is designed for the student who is interested in possibly pursuing advanced humanities research in college.

From the printing press to widespread use of social media, the creation of news content has been defined and redefined by the technology of its historical time. Using today’s media landscape, students will examine what qualifies as news, what ethical questions are presented in journalism, and how we are impacted today by those that craft, manipulate, and distribute the message. Students will use different media tools and platforms to question, challenge, and deconstruct media messages and their biases. Students will become better equipped to read the world and understand the news.

Empires, Colonization, Resistance and Independence (Required)
Empires have shaped the political and cultural landscape of the world. They are the embodiment of power in policy and practice. How did they first form, and how have they evolved? Who are the people across history who have stood up to these colonizing giants? How did these leaders create movements that reimagined their world in the shadow of empires? And what are the legacies of colonization and imperialism that continue to manifest in our everyday lives?

Juniors are encouraged to take a second term of history and can choose from any of the available History electives.

From Power to Superpower (Required)
From the Spanish-American War to the end of World War II, this course will explore the evolution of the U.S. as a global superpower, its territorial expansion, its foreign policy, and its involvement in different wars and conflicts. We will examine how governments garner popular support for military and humanitarian interventions abroad and how the outcomes of these actions have affected and been affected by political decision-making and geopolitical interests.

A Time for Change
This course provides students with a bird’s eye view of American society through the lens of significant events in the 20th and 21st centuries that have affected and continue to challenge the nation and the world. Students will explore multiple narratives and experiences of different groups in America throughout the past century, considering why some stories are told instead of others. Students will explore themes of change and evolution in politics (role of government, gender, race), culture (music and art), economics, and technology and examine how the U.S. developed as the nation it is today.

Nation and Nationalism
From the beginning, the identity and values of the U.S. nation were complex. This course looks closely at the distance between the ideals embedded in our founding documents and the lived realities of people’s lives, past and present. Students will explore how these living documents – the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence – shape our modern political and social landscape today by understanding their historical context. How has the US Constitution been interpreted and by whom? Who were the voices for progress, and how did they define that progress?

The Age of Reforms
With a focus on Reconstruction and the Suffragists movement and the pivotal amendments that arose from that time, this course examines the root causes of the political, social, economic, and cultural reform movements to expand the right to vote in the United States. Using multiple perspectives and sources, students will investigate the people who and movements that expanded – and at times limited – definitions of US citizenship and access to the voting ballot.

Through a global lens, we will explore some of the major ideologies that have shaped the world, including  global citizenship & cooperation, religion, colonialism, racism, and ways of governing. We will consider how we experience the world, locally and globally. We will investigate how ideologies have influenced nations, ideas, conflict, peace, & change. We will reflect on our relationship to these ideologies and refine our ideas & opinions as engaged citizens.

In this course, students will examine essential questions that explore the themes of power, colonization, racism, revolution, resistance, and social change throughout the early history of the United States. The perspectives and experiences of oppressed groups including enslaved people, women, the poor, and Indigenous peoples will be brought to the forefront in our studies. Students will practice critical thinking skills and consider past and present day events through a social justice lens. Students will engage with inquiry-based projects and project based learning opportunities throughout the year.