History at Alsion is thematic rather than subdivided and confined into particular times and places. Each year’s study of human progress has a different focus: political, economic and technological progress. An enrichment class compliments the main area of study in history every year.
Year One: Political Progress
The study begins with the earliest civilizations and their need to organize and maintain order. Studies move to Greece and the birth of democracy then to Rome, Roman law and the first republic. Other topics of study: England Common Law and the Magna Carta; monarchy, absolute monarchs and constitutional monarchies; the Renaissance, Reformation and the Enlightenment; the French, American and Russian revolutions. The year ends with the study of the twentieth century and the forms of government: socialism, communism, oligarchy, theocracy and autocracy. Enrichment class: Civics.
Year Two: Economic Progress
Studies start with the first agricultural revolution, and the rise of the towns and artisans in the ancient world. The shift from barter to currency is covered. Other topics of study: land and sea trade routes; important trading nations; the first banks and insurance agents; the effect of the discovery of the Americas on the global economy; the highs and lows of the American economy from the time of the colonies to the civil war to the stock market collapse and the Great Depression; twentieth-century wars. Enrichment class: Economics.
Year Three: Technological Progress
The first topics of study are that of the early man, homo habilis, and move through the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. The Age of Exploration and the sharing of ideas are investigated. Other topics of study: growth of cities; how advances in agriculture allowed these cities to grow and prosper; the first and second industrial revolutions and their links to the agriculture revolutions; the growth of factories, the creation of steel, and the development of the production line; the great entrepreneurs of the twentieth century; the rise of trade unions and workers’ rights. The course ends with a look at the technology of today. Enrichment class: Geography.