Description:

Students will be immersed in detail and fully engaged in this intensive history course led by well- known homeschool instructor and historian Hugh Gardner. This history class is unlike other high school history course. Instead of learning a sequential set of names, dates, and battles, students will learn how to analyze and interpret history. Much like a college seminar, this approach to American History incorporates historiography (the history of the history.) Mr. Gardner does not teach a narrow view from a single textbook or static set of prepared notes. Instead, he presents the back story and multiple interpretations for the "why" questions in American history. Class discussion considers interpretations from a wide array of scholars and is updated as new sources are published. Rather than running through a timeline of outcomes, students will evaluate contributing factors (the "how" questions) and will learn about the personalities, prejudices, and biases of the people involved ("who").

First semester will cover the background, events, and inter-war years leading up to the Second World War. The class will examine Hitler's rise to power, election in 1933, and his massive effort to rebuild the German war machine. They will discover Hitler's systematic takeover of eastern European countries before launching a blitzkrieg invasion of France. They will look at Britain acting alone to resist Germany through the deployment of commandos and special forces in targeted raids and the German threat to cross the Channel to invade Britain. The class will learn about military and naval engagements throughout the Mediterranean including north Africa, Sicily, and mainland Italy along with a fight in the Middle East to gain control of the oil supply. Finally, the class will study conflicts along the Eastern Front. The class will discuss the effects on the political, social, and economic climate as well as influences on the arts, science, literature, religion, and warfare. This is no ordinary history class as Mr. Gardner surrounds the students with vivid posters, maps, charts, primary sources, and artifacts to supplement his story-telling style. Students will be able to examine and handle period pieces such as antique and replica weapons and military accoutrements of the era while learning how these tools helped shape the battlefields and turning points in history. With an emphasis on primary sources, students will scrutinize historical atlases and original writings, all in a collaborative and interactive setting. Just for fun, students earn historical trading cards for class participation.

Topics in this Series: WWII: From Looming War through Stalingrad (Semester 1), WWI: The Defeat of Germany and the Wars Against Japan (Semester 2). Continuing students from first semester receive priority pre-registration for second semester.

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Note: This section will be held entirely ONLINE in a virtual classroom, providing synchronous online instruction via videoconferencing for the full year. This is not a pre-recording of the 9:30 am class. Recordings will be made for students with schedule conflicts.

Workload: Students should expect to spend 1-2 hours per week outside of class on assigned readings.

Assignments: are given in class and e-mailed to parents and students.

Assessments: Will not be given

Textbook: Students should purchase two books: (1) Atlas of World War II by Richard Natkiel, published by The Military Press, 1985. (Note: hardback or paperback editions from the 1980s are preferred over more recent small format editions from 2011 -– on. Used copies available on Amazon.) (2) Collins Atlas of the Second World War, by John Keegan ed., published by HarperCollins, 2003. (Note: This is a very large format atlas in different editions with some titled Times instead of Collins; key is John Keegan as editor. Used copies available on Amazon.) For those families who want to investigate the course themes at a deeper level, an optional reading list will be furnished.

Credit: Homeschool families may wish to count two semesters of this course as a full credit in American or World History for purposes of a high school transcript.