Diploma Programme Course Outlines

The following points should be addressed when preparing course outlines for each IB Diploma Programme subject to be taught. Please be sure to use IBO nomenclature throughout.

Name of the course:

Honours 20^th Century Topics

Course description:

In two to three paragraphs, describe the course in terms of focus, purpose, aims and objectives, the inclusion of internationalism, the proposed process, and expected assessment. This should be a summary.

The focus of this class will be to familiarize students with issues of great importance in the modern era. The focus will intentionally be outside the Western Hemisphere. It is the goal of the class for students to understand the major issues of our day (conflicts in the Middle East, the post Cold War environment, and the role war has played in the modern world) from their historical perspective. A high value of the content to be covered in this class will be relevance to the world in which we live The course will place a high value on students taking ownership of their own educational experience. Students will asked to review various forms of materials, then discuss the impact of this material on their world. Additionally, it is my goal that students see that the events to be covered in this class are all interrelated. For instance that the modern middle East was created by the First World War; that the Second World war created two of the ongoing problems of the region: Arab relations with Israel and Arab nationalism; that examples of single party dictatorships can be examined in this region (the Bathist party in Iraq); and that the Cold War polarized the region much as it did the rest of the world.

Topics:

In narrative or outline form, list what you will cover in your course to meet the IB syllabus requirements. In addition, if IB courses are going to be combined with AP or other curriculum, outlines should address additional non-IB topics to be covered.

Twentieth Century Topics is intended to be a survey course focusing on important issues of the Eastern Hemisphere. These topics will include conflict in the modern Middle East; a history of the Cold War; totalitarianism using the examples of Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, Stalinist Russia and Maoist China; and the global conflict of the First and Second World Wars.

I have decided that this class will not be an A.P. class and will instead focus on the actual I.B. topical curriculum.

The following is a brief description of the topics that will be covered in each unit.

The Modern Middle East

· Review of the Middle East prior to World War I

· Creation after World War One

· The creation of Israel

· The Arab-Israeli Wars

· Pan Arabism

· The Iran-Iraq War

· The Palestinian issue

· The rise of Muslim fundamentalism through the Second Iraq War

War and Conflict

· A review of development of modern war prior to the 20^th century

· The First World War background conflict and consequences

· The Russian Revolution

· The Second World War and the new world order

The Cold War

· A review of the development of the communist and capitalist systems

· Initial causes

· Cold War hot points: Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan

· Détente

· The collapse of communism in Europe

Single Party Dictatorships

· A review of the evolution of absolute monarchies and dictatorships

· The Communist states of the Soviet Union and China

· The Fascist States of Nazi Germany and Italy

· Dictatorships today (ex. North Korea; Iraq)

Assessment:

Knowledge of IBO-required assessments and descriptors should be evident. All parts of IB assessment should be addressed, both internal and external. In addition, examples of non-IB monitoring should be given, if they are part of the course.

Assessments will consist of the following:

q periodic quizzes and open response questions

q initial experience with document based essays.

q During both semesters students will be required to complete a 1,000 word historical investigation of their choice focusing on a topic in the first semester dealing with a subject in the Middle East and the second to a current dictator.

Resources:

List the books and other resource materials and software that will be used in the course. Information should include what is currently available as well as what is being ordered.

· Basic textbook will be McKay’s A History of World Societies

· Other resources will be obtained using the Questia online library.

· Various parts of the BBC documentary The Peoples’ Century.

· Various parts of TLC’s War and Civilization

· PBS The Great War

Teaching time:

HL/SL course	Teaching hours
Honours 20^th Century Topics	During the Sophomore year the class will meet on alternation A/B block rotation for 90 minutes every other day. This will amount to 180 days, or 135 instructional hours.

For group 3 subjects:

• Where history will be offered at higher level, please indicate the regional option selected.

• Have the teachers organized appropriate optional topics for study where applicable? Does the course provide adequate preparation in oral and written expression and in analytical and critical thought?

• Explain how the topics chosen will be used to reinforce internationalism.

• Does the school subscribe to newspapers, periodicals, and current reference materials providing up-to-date information, for both staff and student needs, relevant to the group 3 courses offered at the school?

• Where history will be offered at higher level, are there adequate reference materials in the library to support the study of the regional option, as well as to provide sources for in-depth study?

The region to be concentrated on will be the Eastern Hemisphere. The Americas will be left for the HL History of the Americas.