Sixth Form Handbook 2022-24

HISTORY

Course content and structure The study of History involves exploring the significance of events, individuals, issues and contrasting social structures, the theories and language of historical scholarship and the use - and abuse - of historical evidence. It is important for pupils to realise that historical debate is never settled, and that critical and logical skills play a key role in this discipline. • The quest for political stability, 1625-88 • Religion: conflict and dissent, 1625-88 • Social and intellectual challenge, 1625-88 • Economy, trade and empire, 1625-88 • How revolutionary, in the years to 1701, was the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89? Unit 2: France in revolution, 1774-99 • The origins and onset of revolution, 1774-89 • Revolution and the failure of constitutional monarchy resulting in the execution of Louis XVI, 1789-93 • The National Convention, the Jacobins and the Terror, 1793-94 • From the Directory to Brumaire, 1795-99 (the rise of Napoleon) Unit 1: Britain 1625-1701: Conflict, revolution and settlement

Unit 3: Civil rights and race relations in the USA, 1850-2009 • ‘Free at last’, 1865-77 - the end of legal slavery in the US • The triumph of ‘Jim Crow’, 1883-c1900 - re-introducing slavery in all but name • The New Deal and race relations, 1933-41 • ‘I have a dream’, 1954-68 - key advances in civil rights • Obama’s campaign for the presidency, 2004-09 • The changing geography of civil rights issues • Changing portrayal of civil rights issues in fiction and film Unit 4: Vietnam War Coursework The Vietnam Coursework unit looks at the background to the conflict from the end of WW2. The unit covers increasing and changing American military involvement under successive US presidents from Truman to Nixon. The principal focus of the coursework is to understand why the Americans failed in their attempt to contain communism in Vietnam.

Assessment overview Unit 1: Three questions (30%): 2¼ hours

Unit 2: Two questions (20%): 1½ hours

Unit 3: Three questions (30%): 2¼ hours

Unit 4: Coursework assignment (20%)

University and careers links Historians use their particular skills and knowledge in a wide range of careers, including: law, education, museums, banking and finance, journalism and publishing, politics, leisure and tourism, research and the civil service.

History can be taken as a single subject at university, but can be combined with many other subjects, so pupils can pursue their interest with a range of higher degrees.

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