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HISTORY

  
History comes alive with a theological lens. In the beginning, all was light and good. In the end, the world will be reconciled to God. Therefore, students leave Marin Catholic with the ability to see the world: as it was and as it is; as it could be and as it will be. They appreciate those they meet in a similar way: Humans are creatures of a glorious dignity, capable of incredible good even though they can and do choose evil. Our students are trained to see a world in connection, both as a world of cause and effect and as one knit together by Christian love. Marin Catholic graduates should joyfully behold the world, even as they know it is not yet their home.

OUR GRADUATES:
  • Apply critical thinking. They are neither credulous nor cynical. They apply to themselves the same standards they apply to others.
  • Read primary and secondary texts. They accept perspective as inevitable while still being seekers of truth. 
  • Can articulate original insights. In discussions, papers, and tests, our students can draw on a broad vocabulary of ideas to formulate coherent, cogent ideas accessible to others. 
  • Cultivate virtue. They recognize virtues of every kind in others, and see their vices for the barriers to flourishing that they are.
  • Act for the sake of justice. They draw on a sense of divine justice broader than any one ideology. They are capable of sensing what is due to each person and will work to serve the common good within their own spheres of influence.
  • Are diligently attracted to truth. They have developed a healthy curiosity, grounded in love of truth while avoiding idle speculation. 
FRESHMAN HISTORY COURSES
  • Foundations of History 1
  • Honors Foundations of History 1: Europe and the World to 1650
Foundations 1 and Foundations 1 Honors begins with the two questions: Who is the human person?  What is a civilization?  How can our study of history show us how to live more virtuously, with hope for building a more just society, to promote human flourishing in our world today?  It uses the basic categories of historical analysis--politics, economics, religion, society, technology, intellectual and artistic contributions--to deepen our understanding of human interaction with respect to human flourishing, from the first world civilizations through the 17th century.  Besides key aspects of world civilizations, Foundations 1 examines the building blocks of western civilization found in its Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman roots.  Throughout the course, students are asked to study and reflect on how, as an agent of history, one person acting alone or with like-minded people, with virtue or vice, has affected the flourishing of others in the past, and what that teaches us about living virtuously in the present.

The course content of Honors Foundations of History I is aligned with that of Foundations of History I.  Honors Foundations I is for the advanced student whose curiosity is piqued by the study of human interaction in history. Course content delves deeper into the material.  Class discussions and projects are rigorously geared for the student who is comfortable working independently as well as in groups. He or she is interested in deepening his or her knowledge and critical thinking about significant events in history that help explain human interaction and its effect on human flourishing in our world today. This course requires students to read regularly from a variety of sophisticated primary and secondary sources, and to convey and support their insights with historical evidence, both in speaking and in writing.

SOPHOMORE, JUNIOR, & SENIOR HISTORY COURSE OPTIONS
  • Sophomores: Foundations of History II or Honors Foundations of History II
  • Juniors: United States  History or AP US History
  • Seniors: Senior History Capstone or Honors Senior History Capstone