Philosophy
The history department at VES seeks to help students find patterns among the seeming chaos of civilization, but we don’t look merely for repetition. We have an ear for the rhymes of history. For rhyme is necessary not only for music, but memory. Take the elephant. It was the elephant, after all, who halted Alexander’s campaign to rule the world, his soldiers refusing to cross a river and fight a mounted force of six thousand of them. And Hannibal, who taught Romans the meaning of fear, might have conquered them had he been more successful in bringing the elephants across the Alps. During the Siege of Paris, French citizens, forced to eat elephants from the zoo, suffered considerable indigestion. Somewhere in the Vatican, not too far from the bones of Peter, an elephant, the beloved pet of Leo X, is buried. A collection of such singular things forms the whole, the scope of history. We’ll teach you how to look for them.
The History Department at VES is dedicated to developing critical, independent thought and expression among its students through a progressive and developmental sequence of courses. The school requires three years of history for graduation, including United States History in the junior year, and European History in the senior year. Most students take Ancient Medieval History in Grade 9 (the “Ninth Grade Initiative”), followed by Government, United States History, and European History in subsequent years. The department focuses on preparing students for the challenges of a university education: reading a college level text, note taking, writing essays and research papers, and using technology. The faculty is talented, knowledgeable, experienced, and accessible: all faculty hold advanced degrees, and they average nearly twenty years at the school. The average class is ten to twelve students, and students have ample opportunity to interact with faculty both in and out of class. All faculty have office and meeting space in the Hopkins Writing Center, and the consistent emphasis on the VES Honor Code facilitates interaction among faculty and students. The department also offers electives, such as Economics, and Advanced Placement sections in Government, United States History, and European History.
Course Descriptions
Ancient Medieval History
Ancient and Medieval History is designed to be an introduction to the sequence of history courses at Virginia Episcopal School and to the rigors of college preparatory work. The content of the course examines the rise and development of cultures around the world. Topics such as political forms, social patterns and artistic expression constitute the subjects for standard reading assignments and class activity. Beyond those standard assignments and using projects, class presentations and papers, students are regularly encouraged to look beyond the normal into what distinguishes one culture from another. The course also emphasizes study skills, research method and writing as critical components of a college preparatory experience. Working with the English Department in the Ninth Grade Initiative, students are offered an opportunity to view broader intellectual themes such as leadership and religion as they appear in history. Certain projects and papers are supervised by both English and history departments to reinforce the students’ sense of connection between the academic disciplines.
Government
The Government course focuses on the theories of government with particular attention to the history, principles, and practices of the United States government. Spanning the colonial period through the modern era, course content includes early theories and forms of government, as well as the Constitution, separation of powers, and the system of checks and balances. Civil rights and liberties are covered as part of an in depth study of the Bill of Rights. Students will explore the relationship between American political and economic systems.
AP Government
AP Government is open to students in grades 10 through 12. AP Government parallels the Government course, but it includes more material, moves at a faster pace, and examines topics in a more critical manner. Students in AP Government are required to take the national Advanced Placement exam.
United States History
United States History is a thorough course, ranging from the late pre-historic period through the beginning of the 21st century. The course covers traditional political and diplomatic, but also social, economic, and cultural, history. Major themes covered include, but are not limited to, Exploration and Colonialism, the early Republic, the causes and history of the Civil War, Reconstruction, Industrialization and Immigration, Populism and Progressivism, Imperialism, World War I, the Great Depression and the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, Civil Rights and Vietnam, Liberalism and the “New Conservatism,” and the Clinton-Bush period. United States History is required for graduation.
AP United States History
Advanced Placement United States History allows stronger or more motivated students to study United States History in greater depth, and with a deeper level of analysis. The course covers more material and moves at a faster pace; it requires more independence and individual initiative of the student, while maintaining a collegial class environment. Students are required to take the national Advanced Placement examination.
European History
European History in the senior year completes the developmental sequence of history courses at VES. Senior history, a required course, covers Modern Europe from the Italian Renaissance through the collapse of the Soviet Union and the establishment of modern democratic states in central and eastern Europe. Major themes covered include the Renaissance and Reformation, Imperialism, the rise of the Modern Nation State, the development of Absolutism and Constitutionalism, the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, the Atlantic System, the French Revolution and Napoleon, the establishment of Romanticism, liberalism, and socialism, New Imperialism, World War I and the Versailles Treaty, The Russian Revolution and the establishment of Totalitarian states, World War II and the Cold War, the economic recovery of Europe, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The course emphasizes traditional political, diplomatic, social, economic, and cultural themes, as well as such newer topics as “globalization” (“Europe and the World.”)
AP European History
Advanced Placement European History allows stronger or more motivated students to study European History in greater depth, and with a deeper level of analysis. The course covers more material and moves at a faster pace; it requires more independence and individual initiative of the student, while maintaining a collegial class environment. Students are required to take the national Advanced Placement examination.
Economics
Economics is a broad and varied year long course which covers the basic principles and themes of the discipline: theory, organization, markets, strategies, investing, advertising, production, and consumerism. It very much approximates a freshman course in college, with an emphasis on the application of theory and principle to contemporary business and consumer practices.