How We Got Here. (Term or Year)

No prerequisite. Open to juniors, seniors, and post-graduates.

This class will focus on how the United States of America emerged as a global

superpower during the 20th century while also navigating profound social upheaval and

change. Topics will include U.S. foreign policy challenges and opportunities, including

the World Wars, the Cold War, and the rise of global terrorism. We will also look at the

major social movements of the 20th century—Civil Rights and the Environmental

Movement. An emphasis will be placed on understanding how the 20th century shaped

the world we live in today.

Grades 10 and 11. Prerequisites: Teacher Recommendation and Department Chair approval as well as writing sample; All students in the course are required to take the AP exam at the end of the year and pay the corresponding test fee. 

This course prepares students for the AP exam through the study of the history of the United States from its infancy as a nation to the present. Throughout the year, we will study the major social, cultural, political, and economic transformations that have characterized American history. In addition, students will hone their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, culminating in the AP exam in May.

Grade 11/12 Elective No prerequisites
Availability to enroll at the beginning of each trimester or can take it yearlong. 

This year-long elective is focused on addressing the challenges and changes present as we enter the 3rd decade of the 21st century. During the fall trimester, students will work on identifying, researching, and writing about issues facing the United States ranging from economics to racism, energy, the environment, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and the role of the U.S. in global affairs, with particular attention paid to the 2022 midterm election. The winter trimester will see students carrying out case studies on both OECD and non-OECD nations to better learn what challenges other nations are facing and how they are addressing these challenges. The spring trimester will focus on a large-scale independent study with students choosing a particular global issue and how nations are approaching the challenge. This can be in the form of a single case study or via a comparative approach. Research design will be taught over the course of the year. In the first two trimesters, students will write weekly discussion posts, write three short  papers in the fall and winter terms, participate in daily class discussions, and present to their classmates every week.

 

Grades 11, 12, and PG who have already taken United States History 

Economics explores tenets of macroeconomics and its role in shaping the modern world.  Alongside a traditional look at macroeconomics in the United States (supply/demand, prices, regulation, tax structures, fiscal and monetary policy, tariffs, and international trade), this course will also lay a philosophical foundation for the relationship between wealth and power in Modern History through the works of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes.  The course will examine case studies in the Scramble for Africa, Communist China, and American Imperialism.

No prerequisites open to juniors, seniors and post-graduates

This is a year-long hands-on, course in business and entrepreneurship. In this course students will ideate, develop and iterate a product or service start-up. VA alumni entrepreneurs and business experts will serve as volunteer coaches and mentors guiding students through the processes of developing a business concept, testing the concept, adapting, and leaning and improving. This cycle of development is combined with foundational business content such as marketing and finance. The ideas that students build are real which means students experience mistakes, take risks and learn to pivot based on the end user's needs. Students leave the course with a completed business model, as well as future communications and funding plans. 

Grades 9 and 10 No prerequisites. This course does not fulfill the American History requirement; students enrolled in this course will be expected to take United States history in their junior year.

This course is designed for students who are new to Vermont Academy and whose first language is not English. The goal of the course is for students to develop their English communication and historical thinking skills through papers, projects, and presentations. This course will provide students with a history foundation, in terms of both skills and familiarity with American culture. As they develop these skills, students will learn about the development of early civilizations and their connections to the modern world. Topics will be organized thematically, with an emphasis on understanding the roles that geography, economics, power, and belief systems played in shaping the course of human history in ancient times and in the modern United States. Class participation will also be a major part of the course and each student’s evaluation.

Grade 9 No prerequisites

In this course, students learn not only basic study skills like note-taking, time management, and organization, but also the essential skills of history, which are reading, writing, speaking, and thinking critically about the world. Focusing on themes such as culture, religion, political systems, and historical archetypes, students will follow a case study approach to history. Connections will be made between past and current events and reading in English 9 will be included to better connect students’ understanding of literature as a historical tool. Case studies and topics will include government, societies, religion, culture, technology, and peoples.

 (Term or Year)

No prerequisite. Open to juniors, seniors, and post-graduates.

The first trimester of this class will read seminal works of Greek Literature including significant parts of Homer’s The Iliad and Sophocles’ The Odyssey, Oedipus Rex. In the second trimester, we will study the origins of Greek philosophy by taking a look at the Cosmologists and then reading a selection of Plato’s dialogues including  The Meno, The Apology, and portions of The Republic. We will then take a look at Aristotle’s  Nicomachean Ethics. Finally, in the last trimester, we will study Greek history. First, we will look at the evolution of the Athenian government from monarchy to democracy. We will then study how that democracy became stronger during the Persian Wars but ultimately crumbled as a result of the Peloponnesian Wars. 

No prerequisite. Open to juniors, seniors, and post-graduates.

This course will provide a broad introduction to the field of psychology. Among the topics we will cover are how the brain works, how we learn, why we think and behave the way we do, and how to use this knowledge to improve the quality of our lives. This survey of psychology will acquaint students with the major concepts and terminology of the discipline and give them a better understanding of themself and others. The course will be a combination of lectures, demonstrations, projects, and presentations. Regular homework assignments, quizzes, class participation, and tests will help to evaluate each student’s comprehension of the material. The course will culminate with students retelling a classic fairy tale, but with a divergent twist.

PG Seminar is a hands-on course that focuses on the Design Thinking process in which students will empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test in order to accomplish a goal that they are passionate about. Through practice and guidance, students will master essential strategies and techniques that will aid them in problem-solving for the rest of their lives. The goals that the students will attempt to accomplish are real, which means students experience mistakes, take risks and learn to pivot based on the parameters of their goal. Students will pursue this goal over two trimesters with a final assignment that will include a report of at least five pages and a ten-minute presentation. 

No prerequisite. Open to juniors, seniors, and post-graduates.

Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behavior. Sociology stresses the external factors on an individual to determine what influences people. In this course, we will be examining what goes on behind the scenes of our society. This term will focus on the notion of “class” and what defines it in various cultures. From status to property, to appearance, class is both a perception and reality that orders society for better or for worse. Essays will be written based on class discussions and selected readings.

No prerequisite. Open to juniors, seniors, and post-graduates.

Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behavior. Sociology stresses the external factors on an individual to determine what influences people. In this course, we will be examining what goes on behind the scenes of our society. The spring term will focus on the concept of gender, how it has ordered societies since early man, and how gender stereotypes and norms have shifted over the course of the last hundred years. Essays will be written based on class discussions and selected readings.

Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behavior. Sociology stresses the external factors on an individual to determine what influences people. In this course, we will be examining what goes on behind the scenes of our society. During the winter term, this class will focus on the notion of race, how we define it, how it impacts society, and how it separates and brings people together. Essays will be written on topics based on class discussions and selected readings.

Required for 10th and 11th grade 2023/2024 Graduation requirement 

No prerequisites

This course surveys American history from the mid-15th century to the present. We will study the major social, political, and economic transformations that have characterized the past five centuries in what is now the United States. Emphasis will be placed not only on learning about the important people and places of the past but also on developing critical reading and writing skills to better prepare the students for study in college. Assignments include response papers, projects, presentations, and several research assignments.