World History

World History is the fascinating story of people and their problems, solutions, failures, and successes. Students will progress through an exploration of global history from the emergence of the human species to the 20th century with a particular emphasis on turning points. Students will hear diverse stories from around the world while gaining a deeper understanding of and appreciation for how the past led to the present. The World History course uses content as a framework for teaching skills; students will creatively reintegrate their knowledge through research, persuasive writing, and spoken dialogue. The course’s flipped classroom methodology ensures students receive content input at their own individual pace and allows class time to be reserved for individual conferencing, skill building activities, and application of knowledge.

Honors World History

This course’s curriculum is designed to inspire a fundamental appreciation for the people, events, and forces that have shaped the modern world. In the opening semester, students will explore the foundations of Eastern and Western Civilizations, namely Greece, Rome, China, and Mesopotamia before focusing on events such as the Crusades, Renaissance, Reformation, Ottoman Rule, and Tokogawa Shogunate. For the spring semester, students will explore the Imperial growth of Eastern and Western Empires that led to Global Warfare. Close attention will be paid to the development of each student’s skills as a writer, researcher, critical thinker and discussion participant through multi-modal and multi-media projects.

Islands have served as crucial spaces of human development since the earliest documented times. In this course, students will explore the social, political, cultural, environmental, and economic development of island societies and examine relationships between islands and continental events. From the most distant and isolated places on the globe to some of the most interconnected locations on the planet, the unique geography of islands provide opportunities to examine culture, technology, archeology, sociology, and exploration. After gaining a foundational understanding of island geography and relevant terminology, students will explore case studies from around the globe ranging from the Caribbean, Easter Island, the Hawaiian Islands, Polynesia, New Zealand, and Mauritius.

This course is a survey of the geography of religion. Building directly on skills and information learned in World History, this course provides a disciplinary framework for understanding how religion relates to culture, urban planning, and the environment around us. This course will focus on religious culture rather than theology; students are encouraged to enroll regardless of religious background. In addition, students will learn about such important geographic concepts as a feeling of place, sacred spaces, the concept of pilgrimage, the relationship between religion and environment, and cultural assimilation and differentiation over space.

United States History

The United States history course is designed to promote knowledge and appreciation of our country’s past, present, and future. Students will understand that it is vital to comprehend our past in order to make informed decisions in the present and to positively impact the future. This course promotes a general understanding of the dominant patterns of American thought from colonial days through the Cold War. This course will help students develop an understanding of the social, political, economic, cultural, and military experiences that have played a crucial role in shaping the history of our country. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be better prepared to understand the significance of our country’s history and our place in the world. The course emphasizes comprehension of higher-level text and analysis of primary and secondary texts together with associated maps, graphs, and pictoral materials.

Honors United States History

This offering is for students who are ready to meet the demands of college-level work. This course emphasizes post-1750 history, The U.S. Constitution, and the American political system. Considerable emphasis is placed on analytical writing skills and the factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the challenges that faced the country in the past. Students are expected to read the class text, as well as primary sources, then be able to apply that knowledge to answering analytical and document-based essays.

Honors Seminar United States History

This course explores fundamental questions about the history of the United States at the very highest academic level. How is American identity defined, maintained, and redefined? How do patterns of individualism and community diverge and converge? How have political systems, social structures, culture, and the economy in the United States evolved? To answer these and other questions, we will study primary sources and develop ideas both through discussion and formal and informal written responses. This is a university-level course, and as such, the readings, conversations, and essays will be rigorous and briskly paced. By the end of the year, students will be able to articulate sophisticated, nuanced positions on American history from the Colonial Era to the Cold War.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement swept through the South and dominated news coverage across the United States. This fight for freedom won many legal and political victories in the effort to end discrimination in the United States, and inspired others to mount their own equality campaigns. This course will examine the events, people, and themes involved in African Americans’ struggle for freedom during the middle decades of the 20th century. Students will explore the broad historical context within which the movement
arose; the various philosophies, strategies, expectations, and tactics of the activists and their opponents; and the legacies of the movement. We will explore these issues through primary and secondary source readings, documentaries and films, and through interactive lectures and class discussions.

World’s Fairs made the world modern, and they quickly became sites for countries to showcase their achievements, values, and plans for the future. No country embodied this twin spirit of celebration and ambition during the era of expositions more than the United States. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, the fairs became a central showcase for the cultural, political, and economic changes occurring throughout the country. This course takes students on a journey of the World’s Fairs in the United States from the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia to the opening of a “permanent world’s fair” at an Orlando theme park in 1982, allowing a deep examination of the political, technological, and cultural transformations occurring in the United States.

British History is a preparatory course designed exclusively for juniors attending the Cambridge Scholars Program. The course provides students with an overview of key events in British history and an in-depth examination of the program topic which varies annually. In addition to providing students with a content background that will allow deeper engagement with the Cambridge experience, this course provides advanced instruction in research skills necessary for work at the undergraduate level while at Cambridge and beyond Oxbridge. Following completion of the Cambridge Scholars Program, students will explore the History of Great Britain from 1066 through the 20th century.

U.S. Government
This one-semester course is an introduction to the philosophical underpinnings, institutional structures and processes that comprise the United States government. The course revolves around two fundamental questions; What does it mean to live under a democratic system of government? What obligations and opportunities do citizens have for civic engagement? Skills include analytical writing, research, debate, dialogue and group work. This course seeks to create socially and politically informed students who possess the ability to make future decisions that will ensure their role as active, informed citizens.

Honors U.S. Government

US Government is the study of the formal and informal structures of government and the processes of the American political system. This course introduces students to key political ideas, institutions, policies, roles, and behaviors that characterize the political structure of the United States. This course includes both the study of general concepts used to interpret US government and politics and the analysis of specific examples of historical and contemporary policy decisions. Students will creatively reintegrate their knowledge through hands-on experiences driven by research, collaboration, and technology. A variety of assessments will test knowledge of content.

Honors Seminar U.S. Government

This course provides a college-level, nonpartisan introduction to key political concepts, ideas, institutions, policies, interactions, roles, and behaviors that characterize the constitutional system and political culture of the United States. Students will study U.S. foundational documents, Supreme Court decisions, and other texts and visuals to gain an understanding of the relationships and interactions among political institutions, processes, and behaviors. They will also engage in disciplinary practices that require them to read and interpret data, make comparisons and applications, and develop evidence-based arguments.

This course offers an in-depth consideration of the emergence, transformation, and decline of both tyranny and democratic elementsof government from prehistory through the 20th century. Particular attention is paid to Ancient Greece and Rome, the Enlightenment,and the Haitian Revolution. Students also read Robert Penn Warren’s classic American political novel All the King’s Men. Topics covered include state formation and geography; institutional theory; political philosophy; democracy and knowledge; and theories of leadership.We will read selections from ancient Greek and Roman history, philosophy, drama, and oratory, as well as correspondence, philosophical treatises, and political documents from the Enlightenment and the Atlantic Revolutions. The course includes a historical simulation and an opportunity to develop academic research and critical writing competency through the completion of an extended research project.

Economics

Economics students will learn how scarcity impacts choice and resource allocation. These themes are considered from a range of viewpoints including the individual consumer, small businesses, national governments, and the global economy. Key topics include the laws of supply and demand, forms of business, government finances and influence, market types, economic systems, price, inflation, and unemployment. The course also makes connections to students’ prior knowledge of history and politics.

Honors Economics

Honors Economics explores the principles of economic theories and relates them to “the ordinary business of life” (Alfred Marshall). Students will learn about scarcity and how the study of scarce resources led to the disciplines of microeconomics and macroeconomics. An emphasis will also be placed on the individual’s role in the global economy with a concentration on contemporary economic and financial issues. Students in the honors course will also engage with pertinent economic models and higher-level graphing skills pertinent to the field. Finally, the class will participate in the Florida Stock Market Challenge and learn the basics of investing.

Honors Seminar Economics

This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of microeconomics and macroeconomics at an advanced level. Students will learn how to graph and analyze supply and demand models, market structures, and externalities. Students will also analyze economic data and explore macroeconomic models. An emphasis will be placed on the impact of monetary and fiscal policy on the economy. Through economic case studies, students will debate current economic issues and be challenged to think critically about how economics impacts their daily lives.

Microeconomics is the study of individuals and firms. Typically, microeconomics attempts to explain the relationships between scarcity and choice, individual actions, business decision making, and the production process and marginal analysis. Students will study optimality, irrationality, externalities, markets, and utility theory of choice.

Macroeconomics is the study of the whole economy and attempts to explain the relationships between economic growth, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, trade, and other economic factors. Students will study the business cycle, aggregate demand and supply, fiscal policy, monetary policy, and several macroeconomic theories. The course will conclude with a capstone project where students simulate a meeting of the Federal Reserve.

Entrepreneurship 1

This class concentrates on the philosophy of entrepreneurship. We will ask questions such as: What is entrepreneurship, and can it be taught? We will then go through the process of creating a business and consider ways to grow a successful business. The goal of the class is not to turn every student into a small business owner but instead to encourage entrepreneurial thinking as they make everyday decisions.

Entrepreneurship 2: Entrepreneurial Finance

This course expands on concepts from Entrepreneurship 1 by exploring the formal tools of venture development. We will cover the time value of money, the process of making a business plan, and how to read and understand financial statements, among other topics.

Financial Markets 1

This course provides a foundation for learning about financial markets. Students will explore the fundamentals of bonds, stocks, forex, options, and futures. A particular emphasis will be placed on how financial markets work and their impact on the economy. Students will also learn how to use fundamental and technical analysis to evaluate financial instruments. Current financial topics will also be covered such as cryptocurrency, meme stocks, and the increased role of technology in trading. In this interactive course, students will manage a mock portfolio to gain experience with investing.

Financial Markets 2

In this semester course, students will build upon the knowledge learned in Financial Markets and apply those skills to the study of portfolio theory and application. Students will learn the basics of portfolio theory and management, taking a holistic view of financial markets. Topics such as risk management, diversification, and efficient markets will be discussed. Students will apply what they learn using a realistic investment simulator trading stocks, bonds, options, and futures in a mock portfolio with a concentration on portfolio management. Students will present their portfolios at the end of the semester, analyzing their performance. In addition, the class will be given the opportunity to manage a real portfolio of around $5,000 from the class of 2008. This course aims to be interactive and practical, leading to a lifetime of investing.

Psychology

This course is a study of human behavior and mental processes from diverse perspectives. Topics include psychology as a science, social psychology, biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, and states of consciousness. Students will participate in and analyze research studies illustrating core content and processes in various fields of psychology and engage in individual research of psychological topics.

Social Psychology

Social psychology focuses on the perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals and groups within a social context. Students will study the perspectives, research methods, and empirical findings of social psychology. Topics to be covered include impression formation, conformity, prosocial behavior, interpersonal attraction, persuasion, stereotyping, and prejudice.

This course introduces students to fundamental concepts, scientific principles, and history underlying abnormal human behavior. The course will be structured to facilitate learning about psycho-pathological behavior, which will be explored from various theoretical frameworks, including psychological, biological, and sociocultural perspectives. Psychiatric disorders will be discussed according to DSM-V diagnostic criteria, with special
attention paid to etiological considerations and disorder-specific descriptions. Specific disorders to be reviewed include mood, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide. Current empirically based treatments for mental disorders will also be reviewed.

The American Psychological Association (APA) has favored the narrow definition of forensic psychology as “the application and practice of psychology in the legal system, particularly in courts.” The main areas in the legal system where a person can find a forensic psychologist, according to authors of the course text include: Police/Law enforcement, criminal and delinquent behavior/psychology, victimology and victim services, courtrooms, and in correctional facilities and/or prisons. This course will cover a broad spectrum of the various areas that involve law and psychology. This course will focus on some interrogation techniques and also briefly discuss behavior. The course uses visual aids that may be graphic (gore, gruesome) in nature to demonstrate various crimes that a forensic psychologist/psychiatrist would encounter with their job function.