History I - PRE-HISTORY

The first history course for students ages 11-adult. How did the universe, the planet, and life get here? The scientific and religious ideas of creation explored in detail.

Integrating subjects generally not taught in a unified manner (History, Geography, Philosophy, Art, Politics, Economics, Science and Religion), this first course takes the student on a journey through many of mankind's most important concepts of where the Universe and our planet came from, and how we came to be. This course covers scientific, philosophical and religious theories of creation, and of the development of mankind. Without bias, the course delivers to the student in a thorough and easily understood manner, conflicting (or seemingly conflicting) concepts about the world he lives in, and then allows the student himself to determine what he wishes to accept or reject.

The course makes use of various books and films. THE FILMS NEEDED TO DO THE COURSE ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE MATERIALS SOLD, AND MUST BE PURCHASED SEPARATELY. (This particular course uses no text book, and can be started immediately.)

An included Teacher's Guide contains a copy of the five tests to be taken during the course, and the answer guide for each test. The Teacher's Guide contains materials which can help the instructor get a student through difficulties they may encounter.

This course is the shortest of the Study Guides for history. The students who first tested this course almost always scored at 95% and better on their tests, on subject matter which many adults would unquestionably flounder. This course requires no additional materials.

History II - EARLY CIVILIZATIONS

History for students ages 11-adult. The great histories of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Middle East, India and China. Where did civilization start? What was the first city, the first religions, the first professions! An in-depth study of early civilization.

The second history course covers the beginnings of civilization, including Mesopotamia and Sumaria, Ancient Egypt, Cultures of the Middle East including the ancient Hebrews, China and India. This course integrates History, Geography, Philosophy, Art, Literature, Economics, Politics, Science and Religion to create an honest and involving view of the start of civilization.

The beginnings of early religions are covered extensively, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Jainism. The earliest dawning of science is studied. The first literature and art is looked at. The Old Testament is covered through film and reading. The first laws and social contracts are reviewed.

In short, the beginning of nearly every area of human endeavor is researched and understood. And in every case, the student relates the studied materials to his own life, discovering ways to make history, science and religion real and useable. In covering a religion, the student reads about that religion’s birth, its beliefs and practices from materials belonging to that religion.

Then, he attends services or ceremonies regarding that religion. The student interviews people who practice that faith, and asks them a prepared list of questions, such as "Why do you practice this religion?"; "What about your religion could society benefit from today"; etc. In studying the first motions of science, the student often re-creates in simple ways the methods used by the original discoverers. Students develop their own theories based on observation, and use science as it was originally used.

The student develops his own view of each science, as he experiences first hand that area of study. The first method of writing is looked at. The student even recreates the method of the first writings, in clay, with a sharpened tool. The first great architecture is studied, in reading, photos and in documentaries.

The first laws ever written are reviewed, and re-written by the student to be more effective. The student is constantly asked to compare thoughts and beliefs, looking for relative values. This is a lengthy course, sometimes requiring over a semester. It comes with a related materials list, and the purchase of the University level textbook Civilization Past & Present, Tenth Edition (not included, but now available used on many internet sites) is required, along with securing access to several other books and films, all carefully listed and priced in the “Added Materials” section of the attached materials. (Civilization Past & Present will be used extensively in every history course to follow in the Connect The Thoughts Upper School Program.)

The course comes with related written materials, tests and answer keys. The result of this course will be a student who knows where and how civilization, and most of our beliefs and institutions, started. The student will understand the genesis of much of our law, science, government, economics, religion, art, literature and architecture. He will be able to understand and evaluate this information, and use it to improve current conditions in life. This course also comes with a teacher's guide. This course requires additional materials not provided by Connect The Thoughts , including a book or books, and possible DVDs or CDs.

History III - GREECE

For students ages 11-adult. The birth of Western Civilization! AN extremely thorough course covering philosophy and science, warcraft and democracy, theatre and poetry! No one living in the modern world can afford not to understand the civilization which gave us much of what we cherish.

The third history course covers the amazing story of the birth of Western Civilization. Most of the political, scientific, philosophical and artistic ideas that occupy the Western World today began in Greece, 2,500 years ago. The student learns about the beginnings of Western Science, and through various exercises, walks in the footsteps of those first brilliant and inquisitive Greeks. The study and inquiry into the heavens, Earth, life in general and mankind in specific was a province of the Greeks.

The first astronomers questioned the nature of the stars and planets. The first biologists looked for the first time at the living world around them, with an eye for more profound questions than "what's edible". The first mathematicians created much of the basic tapestry of numbers and quantities we are still using today. The student pulls back the curtain separating him from his distant, creative Western fathers, and walks at their side, taking from them much that may be useful today. The most influential philosophers in Western culture prior to the twentieth century, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, are studied.

The student compares and contrasts, looking for the best and brightest ideas, those most useable today. Greece was the first "Democracy", and this remarkable experiment in government is considered. The Greek passion for art is explored. The invention of theatre is looked at in detail, from the dawn of acting with "Thespis", the first actor, through the invention of tragedy and comedy, the artistic forms that still guide performing artists today. Greek architecture, the monumental works such as amphitheatres and the Parthenon, are studied. The student is exposed to the beginning of all Western literature with the Iliad and the Odyssey, the wondrous works of the first story-teller, Homer. The life of perhaps history's greatest general, Alexander, is reviewed in detail, in writing and film.

This takes the student on a tour of the Middle East into Asia and Africa, just as the genius of Greek civilization was spreading through the globe. The student studies elements of Alexander’s campaigns, and determines for himself whether or not he would have done what Alexander did. Additionally, the student studies both Athens and Sparta, the two significant and very different Greek city-states, in detail. Upon completing this course, the student will have journeyed through and come to understand the very beginnings of Western science, art, history and philosophy. In addition to the above, on this course the student starts to use the inter-active computer program from Zane, called History Through Art (not included).

This splendid program shows art from the period up close, with lots of simple explanations of what the student is looking at, and how the art relates to history.

This extensive course takes around a semester. It comes with the Study Guide, Teacher’s Guide, Tests and answer keys, along with a list of additional materials that must be purchased or borrowed, and detailed information to assist in this endeavor. This course requires additional materials not provided by Connect The Thoughts , including a book or books, and possible DVDs or CDs.

History IV - ROME

For history students ages 11-adult. Learn about the greatest and longest-lived empire the west has ever known! For 1,000 years, Rome dominated the known world, its roads and writings and politics conquering all in its reach. The rise of Christianity and the life of Christ is covered in detail.

Connect The Thought's fourth history course brings to life the longest-lived empire in Western history. The greatest experiments in government and world rule are deeply looked in to. The lives of perhaps the most important figures in Western Civilization are studied. This extensive course provides a thorough overview not only to Rome, but to Christianity, and to the various forces which surrounded Rome during its 1,000 years as an Empire.

The lives and words of Caesar and Christ are studied. The great spokesmen of Rome such as Cicero, are read and considered. The Roman ways of life, or war, of art and literature and architecture, are all studied. The dome, the aqueduct, the Forum and the Coliseum are examined and appreciated. Even works inspired by Roman History, such as Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, are examined. The course extensively uses selected sections from The Classical Roman Reader (not included), an easily found compilation of the best writings from the greatest of Roman thinkers and figures.

Their art and architecture is given full view in Zane's History Through Art (not included). Roman theatre is read, and the student experiences first hand what a Roman actor experienced. All materials are firmly integrated into a comprehensive, powerful learning experience. The course also covers the history of both India and China, during the crucial Roman period in world development.

The surrounding forces that shaped the Fall of Rome, including the Germanic tribes of Northern Europe, are considered in detail. When finished, a student will have developed a thorough appreciation and understanding of this greatest of Empires, both its strengths and its failings. And he will relate these to his own society, in way of evaluating how we're doing today.

The course comes with the Study Guide, and a Teacher's Guide with tests and answer keys. It contains articles and added materials that enhance the student's understanding of this most important turning point in Western History. This course requires additional materials not provided by Connect The Thoughts , including a book or books, and possible DVDs or CDs.

History V - THE MEDIEVAL AGE

For the history student, ages 11-adult. A serious, intensive study of 1,000 years of human darkness. After the fall of Rome, we see a Europe lost in plagues and awash in religion. At the same tgime, in the Middle East, Islam is born in the writings of its prophet, Mohammad. A period of history that must be understood, to understnad the modern world.

Connect The Thought's fifth history course covers over 1,000 years of world history. From the expansion of the Catholic Church, to the explosion into history of Muhammad and the birth of Islam, from the mysteries of ancient Byzantium to the ancient civilizations of Africa and Asia, from the growth of new nations and powerful rulers in Europe and their battle with religious leaders for ultimate power, the student witnesses our modern world start to take shape. The start of law and government as we practice them today are first represented in this course.

Universities come into being for the first time in history. Plagues, feudalism, castles and crusades…the entire panoply of medieval life is explored by the student. The course includes the use of many films and multi-media materials which further enhance the students study of this long and vital period, one of the most brutal and yet beautiful in the history of human civilization.

This course utilizes Civilization Past & Present , as well as many other texts and films. Your student will understand clearly upon completing this course, many of the movements and pressures that made (and make) our "modern" world. This course requires additional materials not provided by Connect The Thoughts , including a book or books, and possible DVDs or CDs.

History VI - THE THREES "R"S (The Reformation, Renaissance and Restoration)

For history students, ages 11-adult. Europe is awash in religious war, as the Protestant faiths are born, separating from the Catholic Church. The Renaissance sees the greatest explosion of great art in history, from Da Vinci to Shakespeare, all studied in depth. One of the most alive periods in human history.

Upper School History VI covers the European Reformation, Renaissance, Restoration, and the Enlightenment, leading up to and including essential information on the foundations of the American Revolution. One of the most glorious and bloody periods in history, Shakespeare and Luther, Queen Elizabeth and Cromwell, Henry VIII, Columbus and Galileo all come to life, as Europe awakens to its cultural and nationalistic future. This course requires additional materials not provided by Connect The Thoughts , including a book or books, and possible DVDs or CDs.

History VII - AMERICAN CIVICS--AN OWNER'S MANUAL

For serious history students, ages 11-adult. An owner's manual for the American citizen. What was the idea behind America, that drove people here to go to war with England for their independence? Break down all the important documents that made America, like the Constitution, and find out what they mean in history, and what they mean to you, today!

THIS COURSE IS WRITTEN TO STAND ALONE FOR THE STUDENT WHO ONLY WISHES TO STUDY AMERICAN CIVICS. Our nation's founding and rules have rarely been made more germane and involving than in this course, which is an "owner's manual for Americans", and the student (or adult) who completes it will never look at their nation in an indifferent or ineffective way again. In this course, the student is given a simple history of America, and the revolution that set us apart from England.

The student intently studies and rewrites the Declaration of Independence and the Paris Treaty. He studies several of the Federalist Papers, written by John Adams, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the most significant argument we possess for the acceptance of our form of government. The Constitution is broken down article by article, and each article is considered by the student for its current and historical effectiveness. Each article is then rewritten by the student as deemed needed to make it more useful and appropriate for the times. All American holidays and their history are studied, and the usefulness and current appropriateness of each holiday is determined by the student. The same is done with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Prominent American speeches are reviewed for their current effect on the nation and on the student's own life, including Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, and Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address". The student even fills out an actual form to run for President of the United States.

This course, with the exception of a few films, comes complete. The course will take a semester, and will result in a student who understands the American form of government, how it should work, how it does work, how it fails, and how it might be corrected. This course requires additional materials not provided by Connect The Thoughts , including a book or books, and possible DVDs or CDs.

History VIII - REVOLUTIONS AND NATIONS

For history students ages 11-adult. The detailed tale of the French revolution, the industrial revolution, and the changes that embraced the world in the 1800-1900s. Great art, great literature, and great changes filled the world. Discover them today!

The American and French Revolutions, the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of England as a world power, the great art of Mozart, Beethoven, Monet, Renoir, the spectacular rise and fall of Napoleon...it's all here for the Upper School (ages 11-adult) student.

Utilizing Connect The Thoughts unique, remarkable techniques, history is presented as an integrated experience, just as it is experienced in life! History, art, religion, science, politics...all of the drives of mankind are investigated as they appear in the parade of history! A major course, 120-140 hours to complete. The student will need Civilization Past & Present , edition X, by Longman Publishers.

History IX - WORLD WARS & THE 21ST CENTURY

For students ages 11-adult. The story of the most violent and volatile century in human history. From World War I, to the atom bomb, to the Cold War, the moon and the Internet. For the serious student who wants to understand the world we live in.

For Upper School Students (ages 11-adult). The most active and astonishing period of history, our own century, is investigated in creative detail. World Wars I and II, and the historic national leaders, Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill and Hitler, are looked at in detail. The birth of the Bomb, and the aftereffects. The separation of India from England, and Pakistan from India. The formation of a Jewish state as a reaction to the devastation of World War II. The seemingly endless Cold War between The United States and the USSR for dominance. The growth of third world powers, particularly in Africa. The Space Race, ending up with men walking on the moon! It's all here in detail, for the student hungry to understand the forces that shape our lives today.

Utilizing Connect The Thoughts unique, remarkable techniques, history is presented as an integrated experience, just as it is experienced in life! History, art, religion, science, politics...all of the drives of mankind are investigated as they appear in the parade of history! A major course, 130-150 hours to complete. The student will need Civilization Past & Present , edition X, by Longman Publishers.

History X-XI - THE LESSONS OF HISTORY; HISTORY COMPLETION

For the student, aged 14-adult, who already knows his history, and who wants to understand its value and use in today's world. Actually two courses. The first, built around Will and Ariel Durant's The Lessons of History , sums up the values of all the student has learned. The second course, History Completion , brings history up to today, and asks the student to understand the troubled world we live in.

You've studied history, and know it well. (Especially if you've completed Connect The Thoughts Upper School History I-IX ! You know your ancients, your great civilizations and great religions and ideas. Congratulations!

Now, what are you going to DO with that knowledge?

This remarkable bundle of two incredibly creative courses will perfect your understanding of where we came from and why we are the way we are. Your grasp of history and its importance will deepen with every hour of study. Then, you'll discover for yourself the greatest issues facing today's world...and how you can use your knowledge of history to help handle them! Knowledge IS power! Discover yours!

The first course of the two guides you through a creative and highly structured review of history, comparing your own knowledge and understanding with that of America's greatest historians, Will and Arial Durant. What do you know about the meaning of history, and how does it compare with the Durant's? What can you still learn? How can you deepen your grasp and your own thinking regarding mankind? This course will take you there.

The second course walks you through an exploration of your world, today, right now. Discover what your civilizations strengths and weaknesses are. Find your own special way to make a difference, using what you've learned!

Utilizing Connect The Thoughts unique, remarkable techniques, history is presented as an integrated experience, just as it is experienced in life! History, art, religion, science, politics...all of the drives of mankind are investigated as they appear in the parade of history! A major course, 130-150 hours to complete.