11 th & 12 th Grades – Standard and Higher Level
Our ignorance of history causes us to slander our own times.
Gustave Flaubert
The study of History is far more than the memorization of names and dates from the past. Although the focus of study is that of our collective past, its significance is the bearing it has on our present, on the world we live in now and the world we will live in in the future. More significantly, History greatly shapes and determines how we view the world we live in and our relationships with others. One of the greatest rewards of the study of History is the realization that truth is subjective and relative, and depends largely on contextual perspective.
Historians and students of History alike critically question the historical truths that influence us today. The beauty of the discipline, contrary to the convention view of History, is that the discipline is not static. Rather, it is dynamic and constantly evolving; History lives and changes as we change.
Students of History should learn that study of the discipline depends on the posing of questions without providing definite answers. In order to understand the past, students must engage with it through exposure to primary resources and the work of historians, while constantly analyzing and evaluating resources critically. At the same time, the study of History requires and depends on an individual’s understanding of, and empathy for, people living in other periods and contexts.
IB Diploma Programme History provides both structure and flexibility, fostering an understanding of historical events in a global context. It requires students to make comparisons between similar and dissimilar solutions to human situations, whether they be political, economic, or social. It invites comparisons between, but not judgments of, different cultures, political systems and traditions. The international perspective in the IB
Diploma Programme History course provides an excellent foundation for the promotion of international understanding and intercultural awareness necessary to prepare students for global citizenship. Above all, it fosters respect and understanding of people and events in a variety of cultures throughout the world.
Aims of IB Diploma Programme History
The primary aims of the 2 year IB Diploma Programme are as follows:

To promote an understanding of History as a discipline, including the nature and diversity of its sources, methods and interpretations.

Encourage an understanding of the present through critical reflection of the past.
The author acknowledges that the above ideas have been extracted from the IB Diploma Programme History Guide First Examinations 2010 published by the IBO.


Encourage an understanding of the impact of historical developments at national, regional and international levels
 Develop an awareness of one’s own historical identity through the study of historical experiences of different cultures.
11 th & 12 th Grades – Standard and Higher Level
The IB Diploma Programme History course of study is a two year curriculum at both the Standard and Higher
Levels, which consists of a core curriculum that includes a prescribed subject and topic of units. For the purpose of the International School of Busan (ISB) History course, our core curriculum will focus on 20 th
Century World History. The breakdown of the 2-year 20 th Century World History course will be as follows:
20 th Century World History Course
I.
Prescribed Subject (Standard and Higher Levels)
The prescribed subject is an in-depth study, chosen from a prescribed list of potential subjects provided by the IBO. This in-depth subject of study will be covered by students at both Standard (SL) and Higher (HL) Levels. The prescribed subject for the History course at ISB will be Communism in Crisis
1976 – 1989.
Communism in Crisis will address the major challenges, both internally and externally, faced by the leading socialist (Communist) states – the USSR and China – in the 1976-1989 time period, and how these challenges led to a series of reforms that led to the end of the USSR . In the case of China, the subject will focus on how the Chinese Government managed to contain challenges and keep the regime in power. The areas we will examine under this prescribed subject will be:

The struggle for power after the death of Mao Tse-tung

China under Deng Xiaoping: economic policies, political changes, and the Tianamen Square events of 1989.

Domestic and foreign policies of the USSR under Brezhnev.

Gorbachev’s aims and policies (glasnost and perestroika) and the consequences of these policies for Eastern Europe.
II.
20 th Century Thematic Topics (Standard and Higher Levels)
In addition to the prescribed subject, students at both the Standard and Higher Levels will examine two thematic 20 th Century History topics. These topics will be examined through the lens of specific case studies and will cover at least two global geographic regions. The two thematic topics that ISB History students will examine are:
The author acknowledges that the above ideas have been extracted from the IB Diploma Programme History Guide First Examinations 2010 published by the IBO.

A.
Origins and Development of Authoritarian and Single Party States
The 20 th century produced many authoritarian and single-party states. We will study the origins, ideology, organization, form of government, and impact of these regimes. The case studies we will focus on are:
 The USSR under Joseph Stalin
 Germany under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime
 Communist China under Mao Tse-tung
B.
The Cold War
This topic will focus on relations between the East and West from 1945-1991. The topic aims to promote an international perspective and understanding of the conflict that dominated global affairs for nearly half of the 20 th century. Students will focus on case studies that examine:
 US Policies and Developments in Europe
 Soviet Policies and the Sovietization of Eastern and Central Europe
 Soviet - Chinese Relations; US – Chinese Relations

The Berlin Crisis (1945-1961), The Congo (1960-1964), Afghanistan (1979-1988), Korea,
Cuba, Vietnam, and the Middle East

Stalin, Truman, Mao, Castro Kennedy, Gorbachev, Reagan
III.
Regional History Option (Higher Level only)
Students who choose Higher Level History will additionally study a regional history, as opposed to the more global approach of the prescribed subject and thematic topics. ISB Higher Level History students will study 3 sections of the Aspects of European and Middle Eastern History. The 3 sections ISB Higher
Level History students will examine are:
A.
Imperial Russia, revolutions, emergence of the Soviet State 1853-1924
B.
The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe 1924 – 2000
C.
The Second World War and post-war Western Europe 1939-2000
Similar to other IB Diploma Programme courses, ISB History students will be formally assessed both internally and externally upon completion of their 2-year program. Standard and Higher Level students will be assessed by: 1) writing an external examination and 2) producing an internal historical investigation research paper.
The external assessment consists of an externally assessed examination at the end of the 2-year curriculum.
Standard Level students will write two papers within the examination, totaling 2hours and 30 minutes. Higher
Level students will write three papers within their examination, totaling 5 hours.
The author acknowledges that the above ideas have been extracted from the IB Diploma Programme History Guide First Examinations 2010 published by the IBO.

In addition to the external IB examination, students will be required to write an internal historical investigation research paper. The internal assessment historical investigation is a research project in which students choose their own research topic and work with resources to produce their own piece of historical analysis. Standard
Level students must produce a piece of original research that consists of 1,500 words, while Higher Level students must provide 2,000 words.
The chart below highlights how students at both levels will be assessed for these two assessments:
Form of Assessment
I. External Examination
Who Will Write Percentage of Total Mark
30% SL, 20% HL A. Paper 1: Prescribed Subject (60 min.) SL & HL
- 4 short-answer, structured questions
B. Paper 2: 20 th Century Topics (90 min.) SL & HL 45% SL, 25% HL
- 2 extended-response questions
C. Paper 3: Regional History (150 min.) HL
- 3 extended-response questions
35% HL
II. Internal Assessment SL & HL 25% SL, 20% HL
- 1,500-2,000 word research paper. The IA is a historical investigation problem-solving activity that enables students to demonstrate the application of their skills to a specific historical topic. The purpose of the IA is for students to apply the skills of a historian by selecting, evaluating, and analyzing evidence and sources to reach a conclusion. Students at ISB will conduct this historical investigation in the Spring of 2009.
The following resources will be provided as texts from which ISB History students will work with. Please note that further resources will be used, yet the list of resources below represent the foundation of resources from which most of our readings will come from.

Palmer, R.R., Colton, Joel, and Kramer, Lloyd S. History of the Modern World. ISBN: 0071109102

Keylor, William R. The Twentieth Century World and Beyond: An International History Since 1900.

ISBN: 0195168437
Mackerras, Colin, China in Transformation, 1900-1949 ISBN: 0582312094

Benson, Linda. China Since 1949. ISBN: 0582357225

Thompson, John. A Vision Unfulfilled. ISBN: 066928291X

McCauley, Martin. Stalin and Stalinism. ISBN: 0582505879

Kuromiya, Hiroaki, Stalin (Profiles in Power Series)
 Kershaw, Ian, Hitler (Profiles in Power Series)
ISBN: 0582784794
ISBN: 0582437563
The author acknowledges that the above ideas have been extracted from the IB Diploma Programme History Guide First Examinations 2010 published by the IBO.


McDonough, Frank. Hitler and the Rise of the Nazi Party ISBN: 0582506069
 Williamson, D.G. The Third Reich. ISBN: 0582368839
 Breslin, Shaun G. Mao (Profiles in Power). ISBN: 0582437482
 McCauley, Martin. The Origins of the Cold War, 1941-1949 ISBN: 0582772842
 McCauley, Martin. Russia, America and the Cold War, 1949-1991 ISBN: 0582784824
The author acknowledges that the above ideas have been extracted from the IB Diploma Programme History Guide First Examinations 2010 published by the IBO.