All students at Thomas Jefferson will take four credits of Social Studies.  All courses are taught at the honors or Advanced Placement level and provide students with a solid foundation in historical and social science reasoning skills, reading, writing, critical thinking, and communication.  Social studies courses incorporate the study of history, politics, religion, geography, as well as several other fields from the social sciences and humanities.  Students complete three out of the four social studies courses by taking the following required courses:

1. 10th Grade:  World History and Geography II as part of Humanities I (teamed with English 10: World Literature)
2. 11th Grade: either AP United States History or Honors US/VA History as part of Humanities II (teamed with English 11: American Literature)
   1. AP US History vs. Honors US/VA History
3. 12th Grade: AP United States Government.  AP Government may be taken as a stand-alone course or teamed with AP Literature (Senior Seminar) or teamed with AP Language (Global Studies)

All of the teamed courses emphasize connections between social studies and literature while continuing the emphasis on analytical writing, responsible research, and critical thinking. Students earn the fourth social studies credit by completing a yearlong course such as Ancient and Classical Civilizations, African American History, or History of Science OR by completing 2 semester courses from the following list: America and the World since 1989; Anthropology; Inquiry Into Ideas; Law and Society; Psychology: Brain and Behavior; Religious Studies; and Twentieth Century World History. Please note: World History and Geography I is NOT a required course.

Courses

Below are the courses offered through the Social Studies department.

The department chair for Social Studies is Elizabeth Evans

The department administrator for Social Studies is Volita Russell