History & Social Sciences

Answering the charge to develop students who have the capacity for thoughtful and ethical leadership, the History & Social Sciences Department encourages a deep understanding of the diversity and complexity of the human experience. Students study the past in order to understand its connection to the present and how it may impact the future. Through a constructivist, geographic, chronological, comparative approach to the study of history, students conduct research, analyze and assess primary and secondary source evidence and make informed conclusions and decisions.

The arc of exposure to historical actors, events, belief systems and cultures begins at the youngest grades through an exploration of one’s family, neighborhood, city and state. By the time students are in middle form, the arc has expanded to include the ancient civilizations, the United States, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. By high school, students engage in a critical dialectic, interrogating historical narrative and theories of knowledge. Throughout the curriculum, students acquire a set of competencies and literacies that include ethics, civics, economics, geography, psychology and culture.

A Sacred Heart education inspires students to become informed social activists and educated leaders intent on restoring justice and building community. History & Social Sciences provides students the opportunity to think critically and to understand their place in society.