Cultural Studies
- Role of social, political, and cultural interactions in the development of identity.
- Personal identity as a function of an individual’s culture, time, place, geography, interaction with groups, influences from institutions, and lived experiences.
- Role of diversity within and among cultures.
- Aspects of culture such as belief systems, religious faith, or political ideals as influences on other parts of a culture such as its institutions or literature, music, and art.
- Cultural diffusion and change over time as facilitating different ideas and beliefs.
History, Geography, Humans and the Environment
- History as a formal study that applies research methods.
- Reading, reconstructing, and interpreting events.
- Analyzing causes and consequences of events and developments.
- Considering competing interpretations of events.
- Relationship between human populations and the physical world (people, places, and environments).
- Impact of human activities on the environment.
- Interactions between regions, locations, places, people, and environments.
- Spatial patterns of place and location.
Development and Transformation of Social Structures
- The natural and the social: interdisciplinary studies.
- Role of social class, systems of stratification, social groups, and institutions.
- Role of gender, race, ethnicity, education, class, age, and religion in defining social structures within a culture.
- Social and political inequalities.
- Expansion and access of rights through concepts of justice and human rights.
Power, Authority, and Governance
- Power, Authority, and Governance.
- Purposes, characteristics, and functions of various governance systems as they are practiced.
- Individual rights and responsibilities as protected and challenged within the context of majority rule.
- Fundamental principles and values of constitutional democracy.
- Origins, uses, and abuses of power.
- Conflict, diplomacy, and war.
- The role of mass media and the Internet.
- The influence of education.
- The role of the media.
Civic Ideals and Practices
Basic freedoms, rights and responsibilities of citizens in democracies.
Role of the citizen in the community and nation, and as a member of the global community.
Civic participation and engagement.
Respect for diversity.
Civic ideals and practices in countries other than democracies.
Struggle for rights, access to citizenship rights, and universal human rights.
Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Economic Systems
Production, distribution, and consumption.
Scarcity of resources and the challenges of meeting wants and needs.
Supply/demand and the coordination of individual choices.
Economic systems. Economic policies.
Trade, interdependence, and globalization.
Role of government in the economy.
Personal finance.
Science, Technology, and Innovation
Scientific and intellectual theories, findings, discoveries, and philosophies.
Applications of science and innovations in transportation, communication, military technology, navigation, agriculture, and industrialization.
Relationship between science, technology, and innovation and social, cultural, and economic change.
Social construction of science and technology.
Global Connections and Exchange
Past, current, and likely future global connections and interactions.
Cultural diffusion; the spread of ideas, beliefs, technology, and goods.
Role of technology.
Benefits/consequences of global interdependence (social, political, economic).
Causes and patterns of migration.
Tension between national interests and global priorities.
