Choices Blog

This unit provides a wide-ranging overview of racial slavery in the Americas and the opportunity for students to consider how the past shapes the present.

Students explore the history of Syria from the Ottoman Empire to French colonial rule, Syrian independence, and the rise of the Assad regimes as historical background to understand the recent conflict.

Students trace the history of Iran from its early dynasties to the present and explore Iran’s cultural history, its efforts to establish a representative democracy, and the role the great powers played in shaping events in Iran.

Students explore Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and consider the changes colonialism imposed on African governments, economies, and societies. Students consider the ways Africans responded to European colonialism.

Students trace Cuba’s history from the country’s precolonial past to its most recent economic, social, and political changes. Students re-create the discussions Cubans on the island are having about their country’s future.

Students trace the history of France during this epoch and explore France’s political and social organization, as well as its competition for empire, its financial crises, and the efforts to reshape French society.

Students trace the development of the American colonial world and one of the greatest wealth-producing colonies in world history. They consider the groups involved in the conflict and reflect on the legacies of one of the most successful revolts of enslaved people in history.

Students examine the history leading up to the British withdrawal from the Indian subcontinent in 1947 and the legacies of partition that remain today.

Readings and activities explore the history of Iraq, help students understand events surrounding the U.S.-led invasion, and examine the effects of the war on Iraq, the United States, and the international community.

Students explore Mexico’s economic and cultural transformation and probe Mexico’s complex identity and history, coming face-to-face with the difficult policy choices confronting the people of Mexico today.

Students examine oil and geopolitics, issues between the Palestinians and Israel, the significance of the Iranian Revolution, and other issues that have shaped U.S. relations in the region.

Students explore Nigeria’s history—from the precolonial to the present—and consider the future of Africa’s most populous country.

This is a major, must-have overhaul and replacement for this popular unit. Students explore the events leading up to Lenin and the Bolsheviks’ assumption of power; the political and economic conditions that led to the fall of the Tsar; and the competing political ideologies in revolutionary-era Russia.

Students examine the history of South Africa and the development of a race-based society, the effects of apartheid, and the use of violence by some members of the anti-apartheid community.

The largest South American country has an often surprising and overlooked history. In this unit, students see Brazil as a unique, dynamic country with an important history, diverse culture, and its own path of development.

Students grapple with questions regarding the involvement of the United States in Afghanistan by exploring Afghanistan’s culture and history and then examining the events that led to the Soviet invasion, the arrival of Osama bin Laden, and the situation today.

Students trace the final years of the Ottoman Empire, the struggle for independence, and Turkish resistance against European imperialism.