Modern History
1. The Plantation System in the Seventeenth Century
and Tropical Commodities Today.
We begin the year with an in-depth study of the Atlanticization
of the sugar industry from the Near East, as on example of the
development of western economic forms.
In the spring term we return to these issues by having each student
research one tropical commodity world -wide.
Since plantation systems have been adopted globally, and since
many of the early structures are still in place, students have
a chance to think about land, people, and economic systems.
2. Nasty, Brutish, and What?
During the spring term we do in-depth studies of the Holocaust
in Germany and the Gandhi's reforms in India, which took place
at the same time. These subjects raise many questions about human
nature and the relationship of individuals to governments.
Last year we supplemented these weighty issues with a research
project in which each student chose one modern practise in which
people brutalized each other, with the sanction of their governments.
Students could describe either the practise or the work of people
who were working to it.
For an introduction to possible ideas I listed links on the internet
which connected with a variety of topics. You can find them on
the Lakeside Home Page for History under "Nasty."
U.S. History
In this course we combine an early unit on migrations with a final
one on the nature of wealth. The first unit implies a consideration
of the way people live in reference to the land, and we emphasize
that by including some readings on the migration of flora, fauna,
and diseases.
The unit on wealth returns to the same issues, by emphasizing
the conflict between our present economic system, which measures
wealth in terms of production, and the realities of natural resource
distribution world-wide.
Results and problems
Each of these units is built into the fabric of the course.
Students do succeed in making productive connections between humans and nature.
A limitation is that the models require going into depth on discrete
subjects, which means that we follow a "less is more"
plan.