Placement in Honors, Academic, or College Prep levels of World History, United States History, Government, and Economics will be determined by a student’s placement in his or her English classes. Exceptions to this policy should be cleared with the instructor of the course and Vice Principal for Academics.
- College Prep World History parallels College Prep English.
- Academic World History parallels Academic English.
- Academic United States History parallels College Prep or Academic English.
- ACP American History is open to sophomores in Honors English 10 and juniors and seniors in all academic levels of English with a 3.3 GPA.
- AP World History is offered for freshmen who score 95% or higher on the placement test and are enrolled in Honors English. Students have the option of taking this course after their freshman year with teacher recommendation.
World History and Civilization (College Prep)
C510CF/C510CS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to freshmen and sophomores in College Prep English.
Course Description:
This course emphasizes key events and developments in the past that influenced peoples and places in subsequent eras. The primary focus of the course is to enable students to understand their connections to the development of civilizations and historical events. Students will develop and practice skills and processes of historical thinking and inquiry that involve chronological thinking, comprehension, analysis and interpretation, research, issues-analysis, and decision-making. They examine the key concepts of continuity and change and unity and diversity among various peoples and cultures throughout the world from the past to the present. The course is designed to be a launching pad preparing for the increased rigor in American History, Government, and Economics courses students will encounter in their later years at Cathedral.
World History and Civilization (Academic)
C510AF/C510AS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to freshmen and sophomores in Academic English.
Course Description:
This course emphasizes key events and developments in the past that influenced peoples and places in subsequent eras. The primary focus of the course is to enable students to understand their connections to the development of civilizations. Students are expected to practice skills and processes of historical thinking and inquiry that involve chronological thinking, comprehension, analysis and interpretation, research, issues-analysis, and decision-making. They examine the key concepts of continuity and change, universality and individuality, and unity and diversity among various peoples and cultures throughout the world from the past to the present. Additional emphasis is placed on categorizing historical evidence, construction of a thesis, and presenting their analysis through written, and/or oral reports.
World History and Civilization (Honors)
C510XF/C510XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to freshmen and sophomores in Honors English.
Course Description:
This course emphasizes key events and developments in the past that influenced peoples and places in subsequent eras. The primary focus of the course is to enable students to understand their connections to the development of civilizations. Students are expected to practice skills and processes of historical thinking and inquiry that involve chronological thinking, comprehension, analysis and interpretation, research, issues-analysis, and decision-making. They examine the key concepts of continuity and change, universality and individuality, and unity and diversity among various peoples and cultures throughout the world from the past to the present. Additional emphasis is placed on categorizing historical evidence, construction of a thesis, and presenting their analysis through written and/or oral reports. Readings in addition to the textbook are required. Students will analyze historical events by interpreting and synthesizing primary and secondary sources developing the skills necessary to construct historical essays.
AP World History (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C511XF/C511XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to students with a composite score of 75 or higher on the high school placement test.
Course Description:
AP World History is designed to engage students in the careful reading and critical analysis of historical materials. The course includes an intensive study of world history from 1200 through the present. Along with in-class lectures and discussions, the students will be required to engage in outside reading related to the class subject matter. In addition to exposing students to the historical content listed above, an AP course should also train students to analyze and interpret primary sources, including documentary materials, maps, statistical tables, and pictorial and graphic evidence of historical events. Writing will be an integral part of AP World History. In preparation for college level courses, students will learn how to write analytically and understand materials in a historic frame of mind. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
U.S. History (Academic)
C520AF/C520AS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to sophomores and juniors in Academic English, juniors in College Prep English, and juniors in the Language Support Program.
Course Description:
This course is a comprehensive study of the events, issues, and persons that have shaped American history. Students are tested on their knowledge of historical events with considerable emphasis placed on analysis and evaluation. Students are expected not only to learn historical facts of U.S. History but will also be exposed to Historical skills, including the analysis of primary and secondary sources, the identification of broad historical themes, and synthesizing evidence including primary and secondary sources.
AP U.S. History (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C523XF/C523XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to students who have completed AP World History, AP European History, or AP Human Geography. Juniors and seniors who have not completed AP World History, AP European History, or AP Human Geography should be in Honors English.
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide students with analytic skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in United States history. Students will learn to assess historical materials – their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance – and to weigh the evidence and interpretation presented in historical scholarship. The course develops the student’s skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in an essay format. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
ACP American History, H105 and H106 (Dual Credit)(Honors)
C525XF/C525XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to sophomores in Honors English and juniors and seniors in all academic levels of English with a 3.3 GPA.
Course Description:
This is a dual credit course allowing honors U.S. History students the option of obtaining credit for studying U.S. History from both Cathedral High School and Indiana University. Topics addressed in H105 and H106 include the Colonial Period, the American Revolution, Confederation and Constitution, the national period to 1865, the continuing evolution of American society, and the US role in international affairs from 1865 to the present. Students will also be expected to master the skills of a 100 level college history class, including the ability to analyze primary sources and distinguish between fact and opinion in media sources. A research project will be required during the spring semester.
*Course Fee* – determined by Indiana University.
Government (Academic)
C534AF/C534AS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors in Academic English or AP English Language and Composition and seniors in College Prep or Academic English.
Course Description:
This course provides a survey of how people formed contracts with those who govern them. Students will discuss comparative forms of governments and the origins of the US government from the colonial period to the present, focusing on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The course covers the three branches of our government and how each works within the confines of the concept of separation of powers and the system of checks and balances. This course is taught through a project-based approach where students will be responsible for research and presentation of ideas.
AP U.S. Government & Politics (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C591XF/C591XS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Successful completion of U.S. History. Completion of AP U.S. History or ACP American History is recommended, but not required.
Open to juniors in AP English Language and Composition and seniors in ACP English or AP English Literature and Composition.
Course Description:
This course is designed to give students an analytical perspective on government and politics in the United States. This course involves both the study of general concepts used to interpret U.S. politics and the analysis of specific case studies. It also requires familiarity with the various institutions, groups, beliefs, and ideas that constitute U.S. political reality. The following is covered in the course curriculum: political theory, constitutional underpinnings of United States government, political beliefs and behaviors that lead individuals to vote a certain way, the influence of political parties, interest groups, and mass media on elections and government, the institutions of the national government such as Congress, the Presidency, Bureaucracy, and Federal Courts, and a study of individual civil rights and civil liberties through case law. While in class, students will participate in mock simulations, debates, and discussions over historical application of constitutional principles as well as current events. Being abreast of what is happening in the news will also be an important part of class. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
Three Sectors Institute: Interdisciplinary Studies in Economics, Government, and Philanthropy (Academic)
C588AF/C588AS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to Seniors.
Course Description:
This course satisfies both the Government and Economics graduation requirements. This two semester interdisciplinary study of the Private, Nonprofit, and Public Sectors will fulfill Cathedral’s Economic and Government requirements. This interdisciplinary course of study will explore the structure, purpose, and links between the economic, philanthropic, and public sectors and the role each plays in American Society. This course will resemble a college seminar with opportunities for site visits and guest lecturers from each of the three sectors giving the students the opportunity to explore their passion with a second semester internship in the Private, Nonprofit, or Public Sector. The Three Sectors Institute will model Cathedral’s Next Generation Teaching and Learning methods providing authentic learning experiences that will inspire innovation, create lifelong connections, promote stewardship, and enhance the public good.
Economics (Academic)
C544AF/C544AS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors in Academic English or AP English Language and Composition and seniors in College Prep or Academic English.
Course Description:
This is the introductory course to the study of economics. This course is broken down into two surveys: nine weeks of microeconomics and nine weeks of macroeconomics. The microeconomic section will focus on the allocation of scarce resources and the rational decision making process involved to mitigate the situation. It will examine comparative economic systems, efficiency in production and allocation, supply and demand, international trade, and decisions made by firms and industries. The macroeconomic section focuses on the US national economy and the role and effect it has on businesses. There will be units covering the role of government, measuring the economy, national income, and economic stabilization through fiscal and monetary policy.
AP Microeconomics (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C545XF/C545XS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors and seniors in AP or ACP English or in an AP math course or by permission of the instructor.
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to the functions of individual decision makers, both consumers and producers, within the economic system. It places primary emphasis on the nature and functions of product markets and includes the study of factor markets and of the role of government in promoting greater efficiency and equity in the economy. AP Microeconomics focuses on how economic decisions are made by individual people, businesses, and government. This course focuses on the individual markets and how businesses are structured and compete against one another. If students are looking to choose between this and AP Macroeconomics, those who are interested in business and accounting would enjoy this course more. While in this course, students will partake in class discussions, debates, simulations, and small group interactions. Some student projects assigned in this course will include a stock market simulation, entrepreneurship group project that creates a business, and creation of a personal and/or family budget. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Macroeconomics (Advanced Placement)(Honors)
C547XF/C547XS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors or seniors in AP or ACP English or in an AP math course.
Course Description:
AP Macroeconomics is a one semester course that focuses on the economy as a whole. Macroeconomics is the study of measures of economic performance like unemployment, inflation, national income accounting, etc. Special attention is focused on basic economic concepts, measurement of economic performance, national income and price determination, the financial sector, inflation, unemployment, and stabilization policies, economic growth and productivity, and international trade and finance. If students are choosing between this course and AP Microeconomics, those who are more interested in international relations, politics, the influence of the Federal Reserve, and how government affects the economy as a whole, AP Macroeconomics will be more interesting. Some student projects assigned in this course will include a stock market simulation, monopoly boards representing other countries’ economies, and creation of a personal and/or family budget. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Psychology (Advanced Placement)(Honors)
C550XF/C550XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to all Seniors. Open to juniors in AP English Language and Composition.
Course Description:
AP Psychology is a two semester course designed for college-bound seniors who wish to earn college credit for Introductory Psychology or wish to explore Psychology in greater depth than a traditional high school course. To accomplish this, the course provides instruction in each of the following 14 content areas: History and Approaches, Research Methods, Biological Bases of Behavior, Sensation and Perception, States of Consciousness, Learning, Cognition, Motivation and Emotion, Developmental Psychology, Personality, Testing and Individual Differences, Abnormal Psychology, Treatment of Psychological Disorders, and Social Psychology. The goals of this course are to teach the foundation for the study of psychology, to teach skills necessary for a successful collegiate academic career, including critical thinking, language, and study skills, and prepare students for successful performance on the Advanced Placement exam for Psychology. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
Psychology (Academic)
C554AF/C554AS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors and seniors.
Course Description:
This course is designed to introduce students to the scientific study of behavior and mental processes of humans and animals. Students will explore the nature of human behavior from varying psychological viewpoints, such as: behavioristic, psychoanalytic, cognitive, and humanistic models. Students examine research methods, biological basis of behavior, personality, social psychology, abnormal behavior, therapy, human development, learning, and memory. Lastly, students will be exposed to a variety of career paths stemming from the study of psychology.
Sociology (Academic)
C555AF/C555AS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors and seniors.
Course Description:
This course emphasizes the study of society in America. Students learn to use a sociological perspective to examine social issues by using the theories of structural function, social conflict, and symbolic interaction. Topics covered include population, education, deviance, socialization, race and ethnicity, family, economy, and politics.
AP European History (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C505XF/C505XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors in Honors or AP English or by permission of the teacher.
Course Description:
This course is a chronological study of the history of Europe from 1450 to the present day. The events of this history and the movements are explored through three themes: intellectual and cultural history, political and diplomatic history, and social and economic history. In addition to exposing students to the historical content listed above, an AP course should also train students to analyze and interpret primary sources, including documentary materials, maps, statistical tables, and pictorial and graphic evidence of historical events. The goals of the AP program in European History are to develop an understanding of some of the principal themes in modern European history, an ability to analyze historical evidence, and an ability to analyze and express historical understanding in writing. In this course writing assignments, research, and outside readings will be required. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
AP Human Geography (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C501XF/C501XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors in Honors or AP English or by permission of the teacher.
Course Description:
AP Human Geography is a year-long course that focuses on the distribution, process, and effects of human population on the planet. Units of study include population & migration, culture, political geography, economic development, industry, agriculture, and urban geography. Emphasis is placed on the geographic models and their application. Case studies from around the globe are used to compare the situations in the United States, other countries, and even locally. Internet activities and journal articles are used to explore a number of topics. Writing assignments, research, and outside readings will be required. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*
Sports History and Culture (Academic)
C585AF/C585AS 1 Semester 1 Credit
Prerequisite:
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
Course Description:
This one-semester course will emphasize the use of relevant articles, documentaries, texts, and readings about historical events and what role sports played in that event. This course will also help students form opinions about how American culture has been shaped by the sports landscape. Topics discussed will be centered around equality, nationalism, gender issues, tragedy, and impacts on modern culture. By the end of the course, students will be able to focus on and answer three major questions: How have sports positively and negatively impacted the fabric of American culture? How have sports displayed a public theater for Americans to watch as historical events unfold? How have sports served as an agent of social change regarding social class, race and ethnicity, gender, media, and international political affairs?
AP Art History (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C702XF/C702XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors in Academic or Honors English.
Course Description:
This course is an equivalent to an introductory college art history survey. The focus will be on developing students’ art historical skills as they examine and analyze major forms of artistic expression from a variety of cultures from ancient times to the present. This course involves critical thinking and will develop an understanding and knowledge of diverse historical and cultural contexts of architecture, sculpture, painting, and other mediums that are utilized throughout our world. Visual analysis is a fundamental tool for the art historian. The course will also emphasize understanding how and why the works of art function in a context, considering such issues as patronage, gender, and the functions and effects of works of art. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring. Note: This course fulfills the fine arts graduation requirement.
*Course Fee*
AP African American Studies (Advanced Placement) (Honors)
C502XF/C502XS 2 Semesters 2 Credits
Prerequisite:
Open to juniors and seniors.
Course Description:
AP African American studies is an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with authentic and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment. This course foregrounds a study of the diversity of Black communities in the United States within the broader context of Africa and African diaspora. Students are required to take the AP exam in the spring.
*Course Fee*