The Ancient Greeks:  how they came to be and highlights of their history and culture
Each student will do a brief research project on an important figure of ancient Greece

The Romans:  their history, culture, and genius at conquering and holding territory.  This unit includes the beginnings of Christianity and its impact on western civilization. A Special segment of this unit is the lessons we can learn from the fall of the Empire.
Begin:  Medieval Civilization:
Medieval I:  the establishment of medieval society and culture on the ruins of Rome and nomadic Germanic warriors—feudalism and manorialism.

October

Continue Medieval civilization and culture
Medieval II:  Medieval society:  how medieval people lived, worked, existed, and advanced.
Medieval III:  The end of Medieval society/culture, the 100 Years’ War, the Plague, and the terrible 14th Century in general

November

The Renaissance, including the leading figures of that time (report #2) and the reasons for the “blossoming” of learning and culture where it happened, when it happened (N. Italian city-states, from the end of the 14th through the mid-15th centuries.
Begin:  the Reformation: the problems with the Catholic Church, early Church protestors, the actions of Martin Luther and the extreme importances of this change in European religious life.

Continue the Reformation.
The English Reformation:  Henry VIII and the Church, his marriages, and the Tudor lineage, through Elizabeth I.

January

Busy month:  The rise of the Hapsburgs, Bourbons, Stuarts, and Hohenzollerns in the background of politics and wars in Europe, especially the 30 Years’ War.
The Scientific Revolution:  individual reports on the first scientists of the modern period.
The Enlightenment:  individual reports on the most prominent thinkers of this period.

February

The French Revolution:  a detailed discussion of the events surrounding the two French Revolutions, in the context of Maslow’s hierarchy and the differing needs of middle vs. lower classes, through the rise of
Napoleon:  his triumphs, but with special emphasis on the reasons his empire failed (as an historic, cautionary tale).

March

The Industrial Revolution:  another detailed unit on the incredible importance in the rise of manufacturing and modern methods of production.  Also highlighted are the effects this has on ordinary people and society as a whole.
The Economists:  individual reports on that new branch of social science dedicated to the study of how things are bought and sold.  Reports presented in strict chronological order so that students can see how ideas are built, one on top of the other.

April

A variety of topics leading to the background to World War I:
The Unification of Italy
The Unification of Germany
Late-19th Century Imperialism

Background to WW I:  background causes from the Unification of Germany (in context, from above), to the subsequent arms race.
World War I:  A European perspective on the conflict; more detailed than the previous study in American history but less about the American contribution
The Treaty of Versailles, and how it led, inevitably, to World War II.
If there’s time, some other short units:  An Overview of Russian History, the rise of Fascism, background to World War II.