This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
Modern sources of news and entertainment are cleverly designed to compel, persuade, sensationalize, and attract attention. The purpose of this class is twofold: to both teach students how to think critically about the information they encounter, as well as how to construct well-written arguments with appropriate, supporting source material. Few people in our society realize that the true benefit of studying history goes beyond the simple lessons of the past. Rather, by giving critical analysis to the interpretations of the past, students can themselves learn to identify and scrutinize sources of information and form their own opinions with greater wisdom.
Total classes: 8
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th grade. Middle school students are welcome with adjustments to the assignments.
Suggested credit: 1/3 semester History, Philosophy, or Critical Thinking
Description
Modern sources of news and entertainment are cleverly designed to compel, persuade, sensationalize, and attract attention. The purpose of this class is twofold: to both teach students how to think critically about the information they encounter, as well as how to construct well-written arguments with appropriate, supporting source material. Few people in our society realize that the true benefit of studying history goes beyond the simple lessons of the past. Rather, by giving critical analysis to the interpretations of the past, students can themselves learn to identify and scrutinize sources of information and form their own opinions with greater wisdom.
Outline
Day 1: Introduction and overview of syllabus and assignments; Introductory probe into the scope and utility of History.
Days 2-5: Thinking Critically
Day 2: Historical and Ideological
Day 3: Primary and Secondary Sources
Day 4: Causation, Contingency, and Complexity
Day 5: Active, Critical Reading
Days 6-8: Arguing Persuasively
Day 6: Historiography and Historians’ Fallacies
Day 7: Thesis Statements, and Supporting an Argument
Day 8: The Catholic Theology of History
Materials and Homework
Course materials: Historiographical Reviews, by Christopher Martin (eBook)
Can be purchased here for $16.50: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YAVUPX2WPB9YY (No PayPal account needed. Click on “Pay with Debit or Credit Card”.)
Homework:
-Less than 10 pages, per day, of optional reading from the textbook
-NOTE: Middle school students are exempt from the readings
-Students will compose a 2-3 page exercise in historical-critical analysis and review
-NOTE: Middle school students will instead take a multiple choice quiz version of the critical analysis of the select reading
-Daily, optional review quizzes based on classroom lectures and discussions. Worth bonus points.
