Social Sciences Department
Social science courses are interdisciplinary subjects that help students learn about people and their relationship to each other and the world. This department helps students develop the knowledge, skills, and civic understanding they need to function effectively in a democratic society, possess the investigative skills needed to study the past while making connections to the present so that they can make informed decisions about their future.
2024-2025 Teachers: Aashil Chawla, Carmen Varela, David Santiago Bravo, Juanerie Mejia, Jon Wooden, Maria Fernandez, Nikita Patel, Sharlene Parker, & Stephina Fisher
Global Studies 1
For two years, global studies courses are designed to help students explore different regions and civilizations at a given time, and to investigate issues and themes from multiple perspectives. The courses emphasize the importance of historical and spatial thinking, and include all of the social studies practices and standards. Students also have opportunities to improve their literacy skills by focusing on thinking critically while reading, writing, and speaking like historians.
Global Studies 2
This course is a continuation of Global Studies 1. Both courses cover a variety of topics, including the development of world history from 4000 B.C. to around 1750 A.D., the transformation of Western Europe, and the rise and fall of empires. Students also learn how to apply themes such as belief systems, justice and human rights, nationalism, diversity, and change to their study of history.
United States History
This United States history course will help students understand the history of the United States and New York, as well as the development of American culture. Students use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in history. They will also analyze primary sources to develop claims based on evidence.
Civics
BASE offers civics education to help students develop civic competencies that are important for a democratic society. Civics education can help students learn how to identify and address problems in their community, respect the rights of others, and disagree with others' viewpoints. It can also help students understand the role of government, their rights and responsibilities as citizens, and how to participate in the political process.
Elective:
History of Hip Hop
This course will explore the transition of rap music from a counter-culture, to a subculture, to mainstream culture by tracing the creation and evolution of hip-hop from the early 1970s to the present and analyzing the growth of a youth culture from the streets, parks, and playgrounds of America's most important cities to around the world.
Elective:
Film History
Daily screenings and discussions of avant-garde, animated, independent and foreign films will be given to engage students with a diverse range of ideas and conceptual story-telling techniques. This course provides a visual and auditory way of studying history by giving a general perspective of the development of those political, economic, and social institutions that explain our present-day civilization through film.
Elective:
AP African-American Studies
AP African-American Studies is an interdisciplinary College Board Advanced Placement course that examines the diversity of African-American experiences through direct encounters with rich and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment.
Elective:
AP United States History
The AP U.S. History course is a College Board Advanced Placement course that covers historical events and processes in the United States from 1491 CE to the present day in a single academic year. Because of the volume of course content, students will have to process and remember a lot of information in a short amount of time. They'll also need to analyze data, understand other people's points of view, make arguments, and explain your point of view clearly and convincingly.
