2024-2025 Course Catalog – Humanities: Social Studies
Humanities: Social Studies
CL College Level
DC Dual Credit
Required Courses
For an Academic Honors Diploma students need to have successfully completed: 2 semesters of World History, 2 semesters of United States History, 1 semester of Government and 1 semester of Economics. For more information, see the Academy Diploma Requirements on page vi.
SOC203
American History, 1492-1876 (DC)
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Fall
This course surveys the American historical experience through 1876. Students will examine key events, ideas, personalities and movements from before European exploration to the end of Reconstruction.
* Ball State University offers 3 college credit hours in HIST 201 to students who complete this course. Refer to the Dual Credit section for details on enrollment and fees.
SOC204
American History, 1877-Present (DC)
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Spring
This course surveys the American historical experience since 1877. Students will examine key events, ideas, personalities and movements since the end of Reconstruction.
* Ball State University offers 3 college credit hours in HIST 202 to students who complete this course. Refer to the Dual Credit section for details on enrollment and fees.
SOC302
Exploring United States Government: Search for Democracy (CL)
Prerequisite: Two credits of American History or senior status
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Fall
An exploration of United States government, with particular reference to the history and experience of creating and sustaining a democratic system and way of life for all. What is a democracy, and what does it mean to live in a democratic country? Topics may include diversity, equality, equity, political power, and similar pressing questions of past and present. Critical thinking and productive civil discourse will be consistently emphasized. (Only one credit can be earned from the Exploring United States Government course series.)
SOC301
Exploring United States Government: Political Theory and Practice (CL)
Prerequisite: Two credits of American History or Senior status
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Fall or Spring
An exploration of United States government, with particular reference to past and present political theory. Students will be exposed to a wide variety of thinkers and ideas, as both the sources of American law and government and as comparative examples. Connections will be made between theory and practice, and students will be encouraged to think creatively about the nature, history, and present course of American government and politics. Critical thinking and productive civil discourse will be consistently emphasized. (Only one credit can be earned from the Exploring United States Government course series.)
Economics
ECON116/116S2
Survey of Economics (CL)
Prerequisite: Two credits of American History or Senior status
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Fall (ECON116) or Spring (ECON116S2)
An introduction to important and influential economic theories and circumstances, with specific examples chosen by the instructor. Course topics will include the study of scarcity and economic reasoning, supply and demand, market structures, the role of government, national economic performance, the role of financial institutions, economic stabilization, and trade.
ECON201
Elementary Microeconomics (CL)
Prerequisite: Two credits of American History or Senior status
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Spring
A study of why people specialize as producers and exchange what they produce with others. Includes analysis of how market structure affects prices. Discusses the issue of whether self-interested economic behavior promotes or hinders society. Recommended for students interested in pursuing economics, business or related studies in college.
Electives
SOC05109
A Social History of Architecture and Urban Design (CL)
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Fall
An introduction to the history of architecture and urban design, stressing the relationship between built forms and social functions. The course will provide a historical survey of significant cities and buildings. Urban examples may include Cusco and Cahokia in pre-Columbian America, ancient Babylon, Athens, and Rome, Cistercian medieval communities, and modern Venice, London, Manchester, New York, and Los Angeles. Example buildings may include the walls and ziggurat of Babylon, the Parthenon and Pantheon, Hagia Sophia and the the Great Mosque of Aleppo, the monastery of St. Gall and Basilica of St. Denis, the fortress designs of Vauban and panopticon prisons, and modern architectural monuments including the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and the Bilbao Guggenheim museum. This will be a hands-on class that will include drawing and model-making as techniques for understanding design.
SOC05130
The West in the World (DC)
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Fall
The West in the World is a survey of the development of Western Civilization since its origins emphasizing key problems, turning points, and recurring themes, especially in the past two centuries. The course emphasizes the civilization that emerged and developed in Europe and spread to the Americas during the past two millennia. The West in the World also focuses on the way peoples around the globe helped to shape Western Civilization and how they felt its influence. Non-Western civilizations have exercised a powerful influence on Western Civilization, and the West has interacted with the rest of the world throughout its history.
* Ball State University offers 3 college credit hours to students in HIST 150 upon completion of this course. Refer to the Dual Credit section for details on enrollment and fees.
SOC05138
Workers in America (CL)
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Spring
This course will explore the major issues and historical transformations of the American working class. Particular focus will fall on the institution of slavery as a labor system, the early attempts at solidarity, the rise of corporate capitalism, the emergence of labor organizations during the industrial period, the ideologies of the working class, and the impact of downsizing on workers. Specific attention will be given to the roles of gender, race, ethnicity, and technological changes in defining the experiences of the working class.
SOC05140
History of World Religions (CL)
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Spring
Explore the development of religions around the globe that have greatly affected large numbers of people and had significant impact on the development of world civilizations. We will examine key events related to people and places, as well as transcultural interaction and exchanges. Special emphasis will be placed on exploring the interaction between different religions. We will focus on primary sources in order to discover, from the words of their own sacred texts, the beliefs that have motivated millions of diverse peoples and civilizations throughout world history.
SOC05150
Themes in Ethnic Studies (CL)
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1 credit
Offered: Fall
This course will explore the historical development, lifestyles, and cultural patterns of ethnic groups in the United States and the world. Course themes may include a focus on a particular ethnic group or groups, or may use a comparative approach to study the cultural development, political trends, and economic impact of various ethnic or cultural groups, as well as issues of immigration and assimilation. Literary works emanating from the various ethnic groups may also be subject to scrutiny and discussion.
The State of Indiana requires all schools that offer a United States Government class give their students the naturalization examination provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. For 2022-2023, 82 Academy students took the test and 79 passed (scoring 60% or higher), for a passing rate of 96%.