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    Our Units of Study Are:
    1. UNIT Comparative World Cultures & Analyzing Bias
     
    Essential Questions

    • How is culture formed? How are the views of individuals created and affected by their own cultural experiences?

    • What is the value of thinking critically about one’s own culture and studying similarities & differences?

    • How does geography influence the development of human civilization, the economy and growth and decline of nations?

    • Why do historians work with primary sources?

     

    Enduring Understandings

    • Culture consists of beliefs and understanding surrounding key parts of society and is formed through parents, family, media, peers and cultural institutions like education. Individuals more so than often define their culture as normal and superior as a result of cultural experience.

    • Ethnocentrism allows for discrimination and stereotyping to potentially become the norm and dominate discourse. Cultural Relativism is potentially difficult to achieve because of one’s own bias and perspective.

    • Advantageous geography contributes greatly to the population, economic growth and specialization of societies.

     

    KNOWLEDGE

    • The key elements of culture are government, education,economy, history, art, social groups, language, and beliefs.

    • Ethnocentrism is when a person believes their culture is superior and you judge other cultures due to your own personal bias.

    • While primary sources include one less layer of bias and offer valuable insight into the past, both primary and secondary sources need to be evaluated and checked for bias.

    UNIT: The Fall of Rome & Development of Medieval Europe

    Essential Question

    • How do the social and economic needs of a society shape the creation and sustenance of organizations and government?

    • What is class? How does our own class influence our opportunity and understanding of the world? What are the benefits of class mobility and opportunity and what increases and limits mobility?

     

    Enduring Understandings

    • The fall of Rome created a power vacuum that led to the rise of Feudalism in Europe.

    • While Byzantium changed certain aspects of Roman culture, it also bridged the the traditions of Rome from the Roman Empire to the Renaissance.

    • High economic mobility and opportunity allow for growth and innovation while static class structures limit growth and innovation.

    • People sometimes sacrifice rights and opportunity for protection and salvation.

     

    KNOWLEDGE

    • The manor system met needs of people throughout Continental Europe.

    • Christianity became the new unifying force in Europe.

    • Medieval European society lacked mobility due to a rigid class system and corruption.

    • The need for protection and salvation led to the rise of the feudal system and the spread of Christianity.

    • The development of towns and the rise of commerce began to shift power away from Feudal society.