Courses
HP, ACP, CP1, CP2, CP3 American Studies I (Year-long course)*
American Studies I is taught in the freshmen year and begins with
a semester long review of the earliest influences on American
democracy, economics and culture with emphasis on basic social studies
skills. The second semester will emphasize the development of the
American Dream throughout the history of America. One Credit
HP, ACP, CP1, CP2, CP3 American Studies II (Year-long course)*
American Studies II is a cross-curricular course taught in
collaboration by the English and Social Studies Departments. Students
will be given the opportunity to study American literature and history
thematically to develop an understanding of the cultural mosaic that
is America.
American Studies I is taught in the sophomore year as a
continuation of the American Studies course taught in the freshman
year. This course will emphasis development of the United States in
the mid-nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and will focus
on major themes such as Industrialization, Minorities, Expansionism,
Foreign Policy, and Human Rights in conjunction with the literature
from the student’s English class. One Credit
CP1, CP3 Western Civilization/World Cultures (Year-long course; not offered 2012-13)
This course is required of all Advanced College Prep, College Prep,
and Individualized Instruction sophomores. It will provide a survey of
the development of Western man and try to show the artistic, political,
economic, and philosophical temper of various historical periods; as
well as the history, geography, culture, language, and religious
practices of most of the countries of Africa and Asia. The economic,
political, and social institutions of these countries, in which more
than one half of the earth's population lives, will also be examined.
Students will work on interpreting graphs, charts, and maps as well as
reading materials. One Credit
ACP, CP1, CP3 Government and Modern World History (Year-long course; not offered 2012-13)
This course is required of all Advanced College Prep, College Prep
and Individualized Instruction sophomores. It will provide a survey of
the cultural, political, economic, and social developments that have
shaped our increasingly interconnected world, from 1750 to the present.
Students will continue to develop their skills in interpreting graphs,
charts, maps, and other visual materials as well as text. One Credit
AP United States History (Year-long course; not offered 2012-13)
The Advanced Placement Program in United States History is designed
to provide students with the analytic skills and factual knowledge
necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in United
States history. The program prepares students for intermediate and
advanced college courses by making demands on them equivalent to those
made by full-year introductory college courses. Students should learn
to assess historical materials - their relevance to a given interpretive
problem, their reliability, and their importance - and to weigh the
evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. This
course is designed to help students develop the skills necessary to
arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to
present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format.
Students in the HP level may take this course. Students in the ACP
level may take this course only with recommendation of their sophomore
social studies or English teacher and a minimum average of 90% in those
classes. Students enrolled in the course may seek college credit by
taking the College Board's Advanced Placement U.S. exam and/or
participating in and fulfilling the requirements of Xavier University's
Collegium Program. (Course available to students in both the HP and ACP
levels) One Credit
ACP, CP1, CP3 American Government & Economics (Year-long course)
The course will analyze the theory and practice of the American
political and governmental systems, concentrating on the tensions and
pressures which are shaping the future course of these systems. Also
included is a broad history of American foreign policy and a study of
the three major economic systems of this century. One Credit
AP Government and Politics: U.S. (Year-long course)
The course will analyze the theory and practice of the American
political and governmental systems, concentrating on the tensions and
pressures which are shaping the future course of these systems. Also
included is a broad history of American foreign policy and a study of
the three major economic systems of this century. One Credit
ACP Psychology (Semester course)
Introduction to Psychology is an introduction to the science of
behavior and mental life. We will discuss the biological, social, and
cultural influences on behavior. Psychology seeks to answer all kinds
of questions. We will explore what questions have been asked, how
questions should be formulated, how psychologists have attempted to find
answers, and what different responses have been proposed. We will take
a topical approach, exploring different theories and evidence regarding
human behavior, but throughout the course we will emphasize common
themes that tie the field of psychology together and make it an academic
discipline. One-half Credit
ACP Sociology (Semester course)
Sociology is the systematic study of human behavior, social
relationships, and societies. This course will introduce the
"sociological perspective" as a tool for understanding the connections
between the individual's everyday life and larger-scale processes and
structures within society. We will focus particularly on various
explanations for social inequality in the U.S. and empirical research
about such inequality. Specifically, we will examine how social class,
race-ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc., shape our lives
and our social institutions.
What you should expect to get out of this course is a critical
perspective on social life. You should be prepared to grapple with some
issues you've never thought about before (or at least have never
thought about sociologically before); be prepared to deal with value
judgments, slippery concepts, and some ambiguity. One-half Credit
ACP History of Cincinnati (Semester course)
The history of the city of Cincinnati mirrors that of the entire nation. In the course of the semester we will follow the fascinating development of our city from its pre-Columbian days to the mid-1900's and reflect on how this development serves as a microcosm for the events, issues, and movements which shaped our nation's history. One-half Credit
ACP History of Civil War(Semester course)
The Civil War was a defining moment in the American story - we will study the roots of this conflict in the establishment of institutional slavery, the events leading up to the war, the events and great personalities of the war itself, the experiences of the common soldiers on both sides, and the legacy of the war in American society. One-half Credit
*Note: American Studies I and II
are cross-curricular courses taught in collaboration by the English
and Social Studies Departments. Students will be given the
opportunity to study American literature and history thematically to
develop an understanding of the cultural mosaic that is America.