The course of study in Upper School History starts off with two years of modern world history, followed by a year of American history, and culminates in senior electives on such focused and varied topics as military history, area studies (e.g., China and the Middle East), and women’s history.  Advanced Placement courses are offered in World, U.S., European, and Art History. Three years of history are required, but most students opt to take history in all four years.

The History Department seeks to have students use the intellectual exercise of studying history to develop their academic skills and to engage the world outside of the classroom.  In our classes, we develop the skills necessary for advanced intellectual inquiry.  Students read and examine closely a wide variety of textual, audiovisual, primary, and secondary sources; they uncover information in those sources and take organized notes; they conduct research on their own; they construct focused arguments and write analytical essays; they develop critical and independent thought and the confidence to express themselves; and they discuss history articulately with their peers around Harkness tables.  We believe that studying the past can help students better understand the present, and studying cultures from other times and places can help students better understand themselves.  To make the study of history meaningful and as real as possible, American history students visit local historical sites like the Mercer Museum in Doylestown for research projects on material culture.  Occasionally, seniors pursue projects at global historical sites like the city of Krakow for a research project on Polish churches or the city of Shanghai to see firsthand Chinese economic development.  Finally, the History Department encourages our students to apply their learning in their decisions and interactions with others so they recognize that individuals can and indeed do effect historical change.