STANDARD COMPETENCIES:

 

 I. Specific to US history since 1945, students should be able to:

       A.      Comprehend the patterns, themes, and causal relationships of political, social, military, economic, and cultural events in the same period.

       B.      Apply the observed patterns and causal relationships to understanding current related trends and anticipating future outcomes and alternatives.

       C.      Analyzing the major turning points and movements of the period to understand how and why these developments occurred and succeeded or failed.

       D.      From this information, synthesize an overview of recent American history’s “big picture” and how that might inform policymaking or behavior.

       E.      Outline recent American history, with clear major themes, that includes ethnic, gender, class, religious, and age diversity.

       F.      Evaluate the special role that mass media and popular culture have played in recent American history, and evaluate history through those lenses

 II. Four general goals integrate history with workplace skills:

       A.      Acquire information from many sources

       B.      Break complex and multiple sources of information down into parts to create clearer understanding

       C.      Understand the impact of time and space on perspective

       D.      Develop narrative structures and arguments based on evidence

 III.     Throughout the course, students should be introduced to course content, practice using course content, and demonstrate they can:

       A.        Describe how peoples, groups, cultures, and institutions covered in this course change over time

       B.        Understand the events covered in the course in historical context and recognize how social, cultural, gender, race, religion, nationality and other identities affect historical perspective

       C.        Communicate orally and in writing about the subject of the course and select and apply contemporary forms of technology to solve problems and compile information

       D.        Use different resources for historical research, including libraries, databases, bibliographies and archives

       E.         Analyze secondary sources and recognize differences in historical interpretation

       F.         Identify types of primary sources, the point of view and purpose of their author or creator

       G.        Create substantive writing samples which employ critical analysis of primary and secondary sources, and document those sources correctly

       H.        Construct knowledge in the discipline and synthesize historical narratives and timelines from primary and secondary sources, maps, and/or artifacts and critically analyze, interpret and evaluate many different points of view to construct historical arguments.

 TOPICAL OUTLINE:

 

 I.      Effects of World War II

 II.     Cold War America

 III.    The Fifties: Culture of Abundance

 IV.     The Civil Rights Movements

 V.      Camelot and the New Frontier

 VI.     From Vietnam to Watergate

 VII.    Social and Sexual Revolutions

 VIII.   The Reagan Era and the New Right

 IX.     The “Me” Generation

 X       End of the Cold War and a New World Order

 XI.     Globalization and its Discontents

 XII.    America at 2000

 XIII.   9/11 and the New Wars for Empire

 XIV.    Historical Expectations for the 21st Century