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World History Program

History is philosophy teaching by example.

— Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War

 

Scholars have argued for centuries as to how best to study history.  One approach is to memorize facts, dates, names, and biographies of significant figures.  Another is to view history as a movement towards some end, or goal (Karl Marx was certainly not the first writer to try this, but he might remain the most significant).  The approach favored by the faculty of Scholars Online is to study history and government by immersing oneself into the cultural, social, and intellectual movements of the time.  We believe that it is not necessarily the place of modern man to judge history through some abstract standard of the day, but rather to understand the great events and great men who have influenced our own time.

Sandra Howard

American History and Government

I believe in God the Creator and Redeemer of the world — as a great Storyteller who sets the scene and brings us His characters into the tale; yet He also encourages us to improvise and to bring our own efforts to His work. To explore history, therefore, is to explore one of God’s great creations — and to explore our own creations as well, both good and evil. In understanding the past, we come to understand God better, but we also come to understand ourselves. Understanding the past is crucial to understanding the present, and a vital requirement for fulfilling all our duties, sacred or civic. Yet history is not something to learn in a semester or over a few years, but something to explore continually.

Many people have tried to retell the story of the world to suit their own purposes — and this can be baffling. The past is complex and incompletely knowable, and hence the pursuit of history is a process of continual challenge. Historians constantly make and revise theories, assess and reassess evidence, and put each other’s theories to the test. Scholarship in history is not just a study of facts, dates, and events, but learning the tools of the historian and putting them to use. Chief among them are:

• The knowledge of sufficient key events and chronology to place in-depth study in context;
• The ability to discover, interpret, and assess texts and other historical sources;
• The ability to assess historical theories based on the available evidence;
• The ability to write coherently and persuasively.

As an instructor, I consider it my chief duty to be a model and advisor to the student in mastering those tools, and to be a constant challenger, inspiring students to make their work as excellent as possible on all levels. To do so, I teach controversies — not to put forward an agenda, but as the most direct route to critical thought. I teach difficult issues to give students practice in coming to their own rational, informed opinions and in building a strong moral code. I particularly endeavor to keep my personal opinions out of my teaching; in fact, I often take up positions and then switch sides in order to ensure continual challenge for the class. I teach the most dramatic and the most delightful, in hopes that my students will come to love the subject as much as I do. I teach the essential turning points, and I try to model and exercise the skills of the discipline: careful research, understanding context, reasoned and well-supported argument, and formal writing.

Students will bring their own perspectives to class as well. All points of view are welcome, so long as they are presented courteously, well-reasoned, well-supported, and bear up under the examination of the evidence. I invite students to test and question my perspectives in turn, for just as all reasoned opinions are welcome, all opinions, including my own, must be subject to scrutiny. All students of history must come to their own conclusions and follow their own paths of study, but I hope to serve as a guide for the first few steps along the path.

Paul Christiansen

Individual courses

Students are encouraged to take World History first, and it is recommended but not required that American History be taken prior to enrolling in American Government.

If you would like to see a couse not yet listed, please use the EMAIL US link below to contact Scholars Online Administration with your course request.

Students who were enrolled in courses from previous years will find the teacher, text, and course description information available from the student's unofficial transcript, which can be reached from the parent's Account Management Center, or from an alumni's own Account Management Center.

Government

To see details about an individual course, click on the black triangle to the left of the course name

American Government • 2009 listing - for reference only • Grade 10 or above

History

To see details about an individual course, click on the black triangle to the left of the course name

American History • 2009 listing - for reference only • Grade 10 or above • History Sequence

Tudor England • 2009 listing - for reference only • Grade 9 or above • [Summer course] • History Sequence

Ironies and Tragedies of the US Civil War • 2009 listing - for reference only • Grade 9 or above • [Summer course] • History Sequence

The United States Since 1945 • 2009 listing - for reference only • Grade 8 or above • History Sequence

World History • 2009 listing - for reference only • Grade 9 or above • History Sequence

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To enroll in any of the courses listed above, log into your Scholars Online Account Management Center using the login link at the bottom of any page and select the member you wish to enroll. If you do not have an account, you may create one using the Membership and Enrollment link in the SiteMap to the left of any page.

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Scholars Online has been provisionally accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools.