Global Studies Curriculum

In 1985, I was assigned to teach my first senior level, International Relations course. I was informed that no high school level text existed but was free to shape the curriculum as I felt best. I welcomed the opportunity and armed with generous Xerox machine privileges, wrote my own text book.

I have updated the curriculum which was annually refreshed from 1986 through 2004 and again this year. Text book companies, since the late 1990’s, have produced Global Studies texts, some with convenient, corresponding, workbook applications.

International Relations has traditionally been the social science discipline for teaching about the economic, political, military, and social interaction between nations. In the 1970’s, Global Education, a similar competency, was supposedly better equipped to prepare individuals for more effective participation in an emerging world system.

UNIT 5: Collective Security

  Have Collective Security agreements and arrangements effectively ended the practice of nations attempting large scale military aggression against other countries? Is the long history of larger, more powerful countries invading smaller, weaker, neighboring lands...

UNIT 2: Historical Trends and Cycles

  History and Geography are two of the most important social science disciplines for understanding the workings of our world. When we want to know something about an event or location, we usually ask; “What happened? Where is it?” Our answers are generally applied to...

UNIT 1: Geographical Literacy

AIM: Establish a basic standard of geographical literacy for secondary students. Please note: the maps displayed on this page are courtesy of: Daniel Feher www.freeworldmaps.net Japanese and Korean eighth graders meet this challenge of geographical literacy – American...