Education and Early Childhood Learning

Topic 1: Writing History

1. Define history.
2. Describe how history is recorded.
3. Identify and describe the sources of history.
4. Explain why we study Western civilization.

Topic 2: Characteristics and Influences of Western Civilization

1. Describe the characteristics of Western civilization.
2. Identify the characteristics of Western societies that are not common to other societies.
3. Explain how Canada has been influenced by developments within Western civilization.

Topic 3: Major Concepts Influencing the Development of Western Societies

1. Explain the significance of the following six major concepts: religion, ideology, humanism, individualism, secularism, and scepticism.

Topic 1: The Legacy of Greece and Rome

1. Explain how life in ancient Greece and Rome reflected the six major concepts, and why these concepts arose in Greece and in Rome.
2. Contrast the ideals and practices of Roman society with those in Greece.
3. Describe the legacy of Greece and of Rome to Western civilization.

Topic 2: The Judeo-Christian and Islamic Influences

1. Describe the similarities and differences among Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and explain why some religious groups were persecuted.
2. Describe the contributions of the Judeo-Christian and Islamic belief systems to Western civilization.

Topic 3: Medieval Religious and Social Institutions

1. Describe the role of the church and its relationship to the state in medieval society.
2. Explain how and where the two branches of Christianity developed.
3. Explain what caused the conflict between the Christian Church and Islam.
4. Explain how feudalism worked and the effect it had on society. (Consider the role of the monarchy and the origin of Divine Right.)

Topic 1: The Renaissance

1. Define the term renaissance.
2. Explain where and why the Renaissance arose.
3. What changes occurred during the Renaissance?
4. What was its effect on Western civilization?
5. Who were some important people during the Renaissance?
6. What were their contributions?
7. How are the six major cultural phenomena displayed in the Renaissance?

Topic 2: The Reformation

1. Define the term reformation.
2. Describe where the Reformation arose.
3. Explain why the Reformation occurred.
4. Explain which individuals and movements were significant during the Reformation, and why.
5. Describe the effects of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation.

Topic 3: Absolutism versus Representative Government

1. Explain why the rulers became so powerful in societies where absolutism prevailed and how the rulers justified this power.
2. Describe the role of the common people and of the middle class in societies where absolutism prevailed.
3. Describe the changes in decision-making that developed in Britain by the late 1700s, and explain the role of the common people in that development.

Topic 1: The Age of Reason

1. Describe what a revolution is, and explain how and why they occur.
2. Research and explain how revolutions create problems as well as solve them.
3. Describe the Scientific Revolution, including what it meant, what it involved, and its effects.
4. Describe the Enlightenment, and explain its significance. (Consider the new movements, new philosophies, and new institutions.)
5. Identify some of the prominent individuals in the Age of Reason, and describe the effect they had.
6. Explain which of the six major concepts were prominent during the Age of Reason.

Topic 2: The Political, Agricultural, and Industrial Revolutions

1. Research to discover what the American Revolution and the French Revolution accomplished, and compare and contrast the two revolutions, explaining the effects of each.
2. Explain how the Agricultural Revolution contributed to the Industrial Revolution, and describe the effects of these revolutions.
3. Explain how the six major concepts were reflected during the Political, Agricultural, and Industrial Revolutions.

Topic 1: Reaction (Conservatism) versus Reform (Liberalism)

1. Define the terms reaction and reform, and explain how reactionaries differ from reformers in their view of revolution.
2. Describe the aims of the Congress of Vienna of 1815, and explain to what extent these aims were achieved.
3. Describe the aims of the 1848 revolutions, and explain to what extent these aims were achieved.

Topic 2: Nationalism and Imperialism

1. Define the terms nationalism and imperialism.
2. Describe the economic and political motives of imperialism.
3. Explain how nationalist and imperialist ambitions affected international relations up to 1914.

Topic 3: Changing Perspectives (Optional)

1. Research and describe some of the main currents of thought during the latter part of the nineteenth century, and explain how they influenced society.

Topic 1: The First World War and Major Developments to 1939

1. Explain how the First World War changed the balance of power in the world.
2. Describe the aims of the League of Nations, and explain to what extent the League was successful or not successful and why.
3. Research and describe the ideological responses to conditions prior to, during, and after the First World War.

Topic 2: The Second World War and Major Developments to the end of the Twentieth Century

1. Explain how the Second World War changed the balance of power in the world.
2. Describe the aims of the United Nations, and explain to what extent the UN has been successful or not successful and why.
3. Research and describe the ideological responses to conditions prior to, during, and after the Second World War.

Topic 3: Toward the Twenty-First Century

1. Research and describe the changes in realignment of powers that took place in the 1990s.
2. Explain how the acceleration of technology is influencing society.
3. Explain why the implementation of the concept, principles, and guidelines of sustainable development is an appropriate direction for Western civilization to take as it moves into the twenty-first century.