If you didn t know history, you didn t know anything. You were a leaf that didn t know it was part of a tree.

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Gladys Waters
5 years ago
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history@dsg Preamble Professor Johnston often said If you didn t know history, you didn t know anything. You were a leaf that didn t know it was part of a tree.

1 Preamble Professor Johnston often said If you didn t know history, you didn t know anything. You were a leaf that didn t know it was part of a tree. He had a term for people like this: temporal provincials people who were ignorant about the past, and proud of it. Temporal provincials were convinced that the present was the only time that mattered, and that anything that had occurred earlier could be safely ignored Extract from Michael Crichton s Timeline Mission Statement The Department of History of St Mary s DSG (Pretoria) aims to expose learners to world history through a mixed and varied syllabus and in so doing, raise awareness of recurring patterns and themes within the sweep of history. We hope to achieve this through promoting habits of analysis, debating and critical thinking amongst the learners. We do this in order to bring the learners to a point where they can see the past as a building block for the future; appreciate current affairs and their causes; and prepare themselves for an active role in the world after school. Why study History? A study of history builds the capacity of people to make informed choices in order to contribute constructively to society and to advance democracy. History, as a vehicle of personal empowerment, engenders in learners an understanding of human agency, which brings with it the knowledge that, as human beings, they have choices, and that they can make the choice to change the world for the better. A rigorous process of historical enquiry: encourages and assists constructive debate through careful evaluation of a broad range of evidence and diverse points of view provides a critical understanding of socio-economic systems in their historical perspective and their impact on people supports the view that historical truth consists of a multiplicity of voices expressing varying and often contradictory versions of the same history

2 History is an excellent preparation for the world of work. Society values people who are: independent thinkers open-minded good at problem-solving able to pick out the essential from the trivial Career Paths and Opportunities The Department believes that History offers a preparation for careers in the legal profession; political science; social sciences; journalism; teaching and lecturing and in fact, in any career where an appreciation of the past, and empathy with world problems and an ability to think clearly and concisely, would be valued. It is our greatest wish that learners of all ages not only enjoy their studies in the department, but that they avoid becoming Crichton s Temporal Provincials. Curriculum Outlines Grade 8 Under the general heading of Changing Worlds we study all the events that have made our world what it is today. We look at the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution and World War One. Grade 9 Even if your daughter does not take History as a subject in Grade 10, she will still have a working knowledge of the 20th Century and the world that she inhabits. Our theme is Human Rights and Human Wrongs and the work we do is World War II, Nuclear age and the Cold War, and Apartheid. Grade 10 The world in the 15 th century; Impact of conquest, warfare, early colonialism; Slavery, quest for Liberty; Industrial Revolution; Change in world between 1450 and 1850; Transformation in Southern Africa ; Constructed heritage icons celebrated today. Grade 11 Challenges to Capitalism: Russian Revolution; Crises of Capitalism: The Great Depression; Competing Nationalisms and identities in Africa: Pan-Africanism; How unique was Apartheid in South Africa?

3 Grade 12 What was the impact of the Cold War in forming the world as it was in the 1960s? How was uhuru realized in Africa in the 1960s and 1970s? What forms of civil society protest emerged from 1960s up to 1990? What was the impact of the collapse of the USSR in 1989? How did SA emerge as a democracy from the crises of the 1990 s What do we understand by globalization? Homework, Assignments and Projects Homework is set so that your daughter may: Study for a test Research a given topic Present a project: written, spoken or enacted Assignments offer your daughter the opportunity to: Apply basic knowledge Explore topics of interest Extend her skills of application or presentation Projects (Group or Individual) Provide an in-depth study of a specific area of the syllabus, linked to Outcomes Based Education requirements. Assessment and Examinations Grade 8 Class tests and a module examination Grade 9 Class tests and a module examination IEB externally modulated assessments Grade 10 One paper examination, with source based short questions & multiple sources analysis essay and a discursive essay. Grade 11 Paper 1: Source based short questions & multiple sources analysis essay Paper 2: Discursive Essays GRADE 12 Paper 1: Source based short questions & multiple sources analysis essay Paper 2: Discursive Essays

Excursions / Items of Interest We will always try to expose your daughter to a variety of historically-vibrant centres of learning: Museums Apartheid Museum JHB Constitutional Hill (Old fort JHB)

4 Excursions / Items of Interest We will always try to expose your daughter to a variety of historically-vibrant centres of learning: Museums Apartheid Museum JHB Constitutional Hill (Old fort JHB) Ndebele Cultural Village & Museum (Bronkorstpruit) Buddist Temple (Bronkorstpruit) Historical Movies We use Historical Movies in class as enhancement to the understanding of themes, for example: Roots Amistad The Mission All quiet on the Western Front Life is Beautiful Sarafina Always better on the big screen! We will arrange class or grade outings to appropriate movies when they are available. Gr 12 History trip to Cape Town We take our History girls yearly to Cape Town. Here are some of the places we visit: Parliament Robben Island District 6 Museum Slave quarters Apartheid museum Holocaust museum The Castle Staff Head of Department: Mrs T Beukes BA.Ed (RAU) Teacher of History: Mrs J Townsend B.Phys Ed (Wits)

5 Why should you take History? Perhaps the best explanation for studying history was given by the blind Czech historian Milan Hubl to the novelist Milan Kundera: "The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history, Then have somebody write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history. Before long the nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was. The world around it will forget even faster." (Source: Milan Kundera, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting)

REPORT ON CANDIDATES WORK IN THE CARIBBEAN ADVANCED PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION MAY/JUNE 2012 HISTORY

CARIBBEAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL REPORT ON CANDIDATES WORK IN THE CARIBBEAN ADVANCED PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION MAY/JUNE 2012 HISTORY Copyright 2012 Caribbean Examinations Council St Michael, Barbados All rights