History 9 builds upon the knowledge of the history of civilizations and cultures (begun in History 7 and 8) as students examine the events, the people, and the ideas of our own time—the world from the Industrial Revolution, through the 19th and 20th centuries, and to our own days. Students consult a variety of resources as they study—books of history and biography (secondary sources); first-hand accounts of events (primary sources); and oral interviews with people who lived through events themselves.
The history of any time includes much more than the stories of kings and queens, wars and migrations. It also encompasses the story of the everyday lives of common people, the science and technology, the music and art, the religion and philosophy, and even the poetry and stories of the time.
In addition to the history of ideas and people, the course addresses the geography of the places students are reading about: the physical features, the political boundaries, and the cultural identities of the people. The movement and isolation of peoples, the shelter or exposure offered by physical geography, the access to resources, and many other aspects of geography affect the progress of historical change.