Grades 9-10: Civics Content

Concepts
- Citizenship
- Decision making
- Human rights
- Imperialism
- Justice
- Nationalism
- Nation State
- Political systems
- Power
- Multi-Regional Empires
- Government
- Constitutions
- Rights and responsibilities of citizenship
- Democracy
Content Understandings
- Methodology of Global History and Geography
  Political Science
  1. The purposes of government
  2. Political systems around the world
  3. Political concepts of power, authority, governance, and law
  4. Rights and responsibilities of citizenship across time and space
  5. Critical thinking skills
- Unit One: Ancient World- Civilizations and Religions (4000BC-500AD)
  - Greek civilization: rise of city-states, growth of democracy in Athens versus Sparta
  - Roman Republic: law (Twelve Tables)
  - Indian (Maurya) Empire: government system
- Unit Two: Expanding Zones of Exchange and Encounter (500-1200)
  - Byzantine Empire (330-1453AD): political structure and Justinian Code
  - The spread of Islam to Europe, Asia, and Africa: the development of Islamic Law and its impact
  - Medieval Europe (500-1400): feudalism
- Unit Three: Global Interactions (1200-1650)
  - The rise and impact of European nation-states/decline of feudalism
- Unit Four: The First Global Age (1450-1770)
  - The Impact of the Ottoman Empire on the Middle East and Europe: Suleiman I (the Magnificent, the Lawgiver)
  - Political Ideologies: global absolutism and divine right theory
  - The response to absolutism: the rise of parliamentary democracies in England
- Unit Five: An Age of Revolution (1750-1914)
  - The Enlightenment in Europe: writings of Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu; impact of the Enlightenment on nationalism and democracy; the enlightened despots- Maria Theresa and Catherine the Great
  - Political revolutions: human and physical geography of revolutions, American Revolution, French Revolution, and Independence movements in Latin America
  - Global nationalism: human and physical geography, role in political revolutions, forces for unity and self-determination (e.g., unification of Italy and Germany), Asian and Middle Eastern nationalism, Zionism, Forces leading to conflict (e.g., Balkans, Ottoman Empire)
  - Imperialism in India, Africa, China
- Unit Six: A Half Century of Crisis and Achievement (1900-1945)
  - Revolution and change in Russia-causes and impacts: Stalin and the rise of a modern totalitarian state
  - The Nazi Holocaust: human rights violations
  - War crime trials
- Unit Seven: The 20th Century since 1945
  - Roles of the United Nations: peace keeping, social and economic programs, contemporary social conditions
  - Terrorism
  - Chinese Communist Revolution
  - Collapse of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union
- Unit Eight: Global Connections and Interactions
  - Status of women and children: political issues, e.g., participation in the political process