Social Studies Elective Courses

African American Studies is an elective that will challenge students to explore primary and secondary sources documenting the African American experience by surveying African American history from precolonial Africa through today. It introduces students to key concepts in African American history, from early beginnings in Africa through the transatlantic slave trade, the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights era and to the present. Students will learn about African American voices, including many not traditionally highlighted, and their contributions to the story of Virginia and America.

The course is an elective and does not fulfill a World History or VA/US History graduation requirement.
 

AP African American Studies in an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with authentic and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment. This course foregrounds a study of the diversity of Black communities in the United States within the broader context of Africa and the African diaspora. Throughout the course, students will develop and apply academic skills including primary source analysis, data analysis, visual source analysis, and developing an argument using a line of reasoning to connect claims and evidence. The major units of study include: Origins of the African Diaspora, Freedom, Enslavement, and Resistance, The Practice of Freedom, Movements and Debates.

This course is part of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Board which makes demands on students equivalent to those of an introductory college course. Students who complete this course will take the associated Advanced Placement examination and may earn college credit if a qualifying score is achieved.

The course is an elective and does not fulfill a World History or VA/US History graduation requirement.

Have you ever wondered how events during the Renaissance impact your life today? Or how Napoleon changed politics forever? In AP European History, you’ll study the rich history of countries such as France, England, Spain, and many others from c. 1450 to the present. You’ll cover key events and uncover the political, social, economic, cultural, and intellectual developments that shaped Europe and subsequently the world.

This course is part of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Board which makes demands on students equivalent to those of an introductory college course. Students who complete this course will take the associated Advanced Placement examination and may earn college credit if a qualifying score is achieved.

The course is an elective and does not fulfill a World History graduation requirement.

AP Human Geography introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of the Earth’s surface. Students learn to employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine human socioeconomic organization and its environmental consequences. On successful completion of the course, students should have developed skills that enable them to interpret maps and analyze geospatial data, understand, and explain the implications of associations and networks among phenomena in places, recognize and interpret the relationships among patterns and processes at different scales of analysis, define regions and evaluate regionalization process, and characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places. Geographic concepts emphasized through the course are location, space, place, scale, pattern, regionalization, and globalization. Topics covered will include nature and perspectives of geography; population and migration; cultural patterns and processes; political organization of space, agriculture, food production and land use; industrialization and economic development; cities and urban land use.

Students enrolled in this Advanced Placement (AP) course will earn an additional quality point upon successful completion. Taking the AP exam is no longer required but is strongly encouraged, as participating demonstrates mastery of college-level content and earning a qualifying score may lead to college credit.

Completion of this course fulfills the graduation requirement for one credit in Geography.

This elective course introduces students to the function of law in our society. It will include an overview of the American legal process, sources of laws, and the organization of both federal and state courts. Students will examine the litigation process, with comparisons between civil and criminal litigation. This course will include looking at and discussing constitutional protections, judicial policymaking, tort, contractual and constitutional law and criminal justice. Students will examine trial procedures and participate in class mock trials, simulations, and legal case studies.

Latin American Studies is an elective that provides students the opportunity to learn the various origins, histories, and current social issues of the Latin American people. Students will learn about Latin American cultures, their political and economic structures, and their impact on the globalized world through a variety of lenses. Though analysis of historical and current issues, students will gain a deeper understanding of Latin America and explore the ways in which the region’s history influences interactions and patterns across the globe.

The course is an elective and does not fulfill a World History or VA/US History graduation requirement.

This course is designed to train students to facilitate workshops for their peers that address diversity issues and promote tolerance and mutual respect. Students will develop awareness and understanding of (1) prejudice, discrimination, stereotyping, and (2) the means by which they can become more directly involved in the school and community.

This elective course introduces the student to the general field of psychology. Study includes the physiological basis of behavior, child growth and development, learning, personality, social psychology, abnormal psychology, and the adolescence and general psychological development of the human organism.

The science of behavior is psychology. The purpose of the Advanced Placement Psychology course is to introduce students to the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of human beings and other animals. Major topics in the AP course include the following: I. methods, approaches, and history. II. biological bases of behavior. III. sensation and perception. IV. states of consciousness. V. learning. VI. cognition. VII. motivation and emotion. VIII. developmental psychology. IX. personality. X. testing and individual differences. XI. psychological disorders. XII. treatment of psychological disorders. XIII. social psychology.

Sociology is an elective that examines the scientific study of groups of people and their impact on our individual lives. Emphasis is placed on an understanding of the "social facts” in each person's life. From parents to school teachers to our peers, groups of people impact who we are, what we value and who we will become. In-depth attention is also given to societal problems such as racism, and poverty and crime. The essential goal of sociology is to help the student better understand society's impact on the individual and one's role within that society.

This elective course starts by reviewing the role of the United States in world affairs through the history of American foreign policy. We will examine the role of the United States and the United Nations in various conflicts and discuss how foreign policy decisions and resolutions are made. Other topics covered include diplomacy, international relations, institutions and organizations, human rights, terrorism, genocide, global and regional conflicts and issues, and recent and current events. The course is an elective and does not fulfill a World History or VA/US History graduation requirement.