History: Level 2

Course Outline

History graduates are highly valued in many areas of employment, such as law, politics, academia, publishing, consulting and journalism, as they develop strong skills in analytical and critical reasoning. It gives those studying medicine the ability to see a situation from multiple perspectives. History is also an excellent subject for learning research skills crucial to further tertiary learning and many types of employment.

History presents students with the dilemmas, choices and beliefs of people in the past. It connects students with the wider world as they develop their own identities, standpoints and sense of place. Students engage with History at many different levels by investigating the histories of New Zealand and the wider world. Constant connections are also made to the news and its ties to what we are studying.

The course is split into two different themes. The global aspect of the course is an in-depth look at the Cold War with the focus on the clash of political ideologies between East and West. This includes the Russian Revolution, the international scene in 1945, the construction of the Berlin Wall and life in Stasi Germany, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The research report will be on an independently selected topic from a wide range of options discussed in class. We do have fantastic historical resources available locally at Toitu and the Hocken Library, but if there is interest in wider world topics, that will be an option too as long as students are able to explain the significance to New Zealand in some way.

Prerequisites

An Achieved in an external essay in History Level 1 or external essay in English Level 1, or with approval from the HoD of History.

The Year 12 class may have the opportunity to travel to Waitangi at the beginning of Term 2 in a new trip that is being organised. Exploring New Zealand Aotearoa's bicultural history in some depth would be inspiring as well as helpful for individual research topics and the unseen sources paper at the end of the course.