History, Religion and Society

Grade 7 Humanities seeks to expose students to different aspects of the human experience and invite them to generate and ponder questions related to the impact critical issues and historical events can have on individuals, societies and the world. During the first part of the year, students explore concepts related to community inside and outside school, using critical thinking skills to ponder their rights and obligations as responsible community members. They explore the experience of His Majesty King Abdullah II at Deerfield Academy and his vision for King’s Academy. They also explore Madaba and its mosaics as part of their study of the wider communities to which they belong. They then move on to history, exploring the social and political situation surrounding the French Revolution as they strengthen their skills in reading and annotation, determining cause and effect, and identifying the legitimacy of different sources of information. They engage in Harkness discussions and presentations to expand their knowledge and discourse skills. During the second semester, students learn about social issues, focusing on activism and advocacy as they strengthen their awareness of various issues in society and develop their “voice”. They explore climate change and its impacts and engage in mock debates as parties to one of the United Nations climate conferences. Students conclude the school year with self-directed projects based on previous content, honing their teaching and presentation skills so that they become class instructors who are able to share what they know and engage others in learning. Ultimately, the class is designed to encourage students to find solid resources, take part in independent research, engage in respectful discussion, and think critically. They will acquire skills such as critical reading and annotation, time and task organization, teamwork, public speaking, and project development. 

This course explores the question of what it means to be human. Students begin the fall semester by reflecting on the concepts of identity and community. They then journey through ancient Mesopotamia to better understand how literature, the arts, language, philosophy, religion, architecture and other factors contribute to the formation of societies and influence human development. During the spring semester, students explore the field of ethics and explore ethical issues through Harkness discussions. In the final quarter, students use what they have learned to engage in a group “passion project”, where they explore important regional and global issues, events and topics of special interest to them. Throughout the course, students develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation of what it means to be human. They strengthen critical thinking, reading, writing, listening and discussion skills that prepare them for high school and university, and for life as active, thoughtful, well-informed citizens who can make a difference!

Islamic Studies aim to reinforce an understanding of the fundamentals of Islam. In this project-based learning course, students gain a deep understanding of their role as human beings and of how to be productive Muslims. Students are introduced to the values of Islam through projects that represent contemporary problems that they choose to solve in light of Islam. They are trained on 21st century skills to help them to achieve their goal.

Note: Islamic Studies (in English), is for students with no previous knowledge of the subject or whose Arabic proficiency does not allow them to take it in Arabic

Course length: Yearlong half credit course

Islamic Studies aims to reinforce our understanding of the fundamentals of Islam. In this course they gain a deep understanding of their role as human beings and how to be productive Muslims. The course will focus on project-based learning, and students are introduced to the values of Islam by working on projects that represent contemporary problems that they choose to solve in light of those values.

Note: Islamic Studies (in English), is for students with no previous knowledge of the subject or whose Arabic proficiency does not allow them to take it in Arabic

Course length: Yearlong half credit course

This course examines the development of societies during the period from antiquity to circa 1200. Those areas of focus include Mesopotamia, Egypt, Semetic, Persian, Greek, Roman, and Islamic civilizations. Course materials include a wide array of historical and literary texts that provide insight into key events, themes and ideas. Topics include the civilizations of classical Greece and Rome, the culture of late antiquity, the rise and spread of Islamic civilizations, and the origins and development of several major world religions (Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam). Students explore the cycles of civilizations in China and India. This course provides students with a foundation of core skills, including source analysis, discussion and debate, inquiry-based research, and analytical writing and presentation.

Note: Required of all freshmen

This course examines the development of several societies during the period from circa 1200 to the present. Course materials include a wide array of historical and literary texts that provide insight into key events, themes and ideas. The course also emphasizes the constant revisiting of beliefs, religions, and philosophies by the world’s people. Topics include the transformation of societies through the Renaissances, the Reformations, the Scientific and Commercial Revolutions as well as the Enlightenment. Renewal and reform of religions is also considered. In addition, students examine the rise of nationalism, the advent of the Industrial Revolution, imperialism and the cataclysms of the 20th century. Attention is paid to events within the Middle East to include the formation of the Ottoman and Safavid Empires, Ottoman reforms in the 19th century and the consequences of the interaction between the Middle East and the wider world during the 20th century. The course includes an interdisciplinary study of modern Jordan. Students gain a foundation of core skills, including source analysis, discussion and debate, inquiry-based research, and analytical writing and presentation.

Note: Required of all sophomores

The following two elective courses are offered to students in grades 10, 11, and 12 and must be taken as paired one-semester classes in a sequence.

This semester-long course explores political science themes that shape our understanding of political systems and governance. Students will examine how power is distributed, exercised, and legitimized, as well as the impact of political institutions like legislatures, executives, and courts. The course covers ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, and socialism, and how citizens engage in democratic systems, including voting and representation. Students will analyze different political systems, including democracies and authoritarian regimes, while exploring the intersection of politics and economics, focusing on capitalism, trade, and globalization. Ethical topics like justice, liberty, equality, and individual rights will also be addressed, offering a comprehensive framework for understanding political systems and behavior.

Note: Open to 10^th, 11^th and 12^th graders. Semester-long course paired with HRS 302: Business Systems and Management

Prerequisites: Department consent

The aim of this course is to provide a comprehensive understanding of core business systems and management principles essential for navigating the modern business environment. The course allows students to explore how business structures, strategies, and operations influence organizational performance and decision-making. Through real-world case studies, students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills to address the challenges faced by managers and entrepreneurs. The curriculum focuses on equipping students with practical knowledge and tools to analyze, design, and manage effective business systems. Key topics include business operations and processes, organizational structures, strategic management, globalization, and international business.

Note: Open to 10^th, 11^th and 12^th graders. Semester-long course paired with HRS 301: Introduction to Political Science
Prerequisites: Department consent

Adolescent Psychology is a skills-based course that aims to advance student skills through learning about their own development. Students who graduate from this course are equipped to debunk psychological myths, wade through the intricacies of nature via nurture interaction, and appreciate their identity and what forces contribute to it. Students explore their neurological development, cognitive development, and psychosocial development as they debate, present, write and produce learning outcomes that employ essential skills for their higher education. Students learn to learn, think critically, and reflect, all the while exploring the intrigue of human behavior.

Note: Open to 11^th and 12^th graders

Prerequisites: Department consent

This interdisciplinary course offers a comprehensive introduction to the Middle East, spanning from the late 19th century to the contemporary era. The course covers a range of pivotal themes, including political, economic, social, and cultural developments. Students engage with the major events, influential figures, movements and ideas that have significantly shaped the Middle East's history. The course also delves into the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Arab World and the Middle East within a sociohistorical context, providing students with a nuanced understanding of the region's complexity. Additionally, it encompasses an analysis of the historical and political background of the Middle East, alongside its contemporary social and political issues, crucial for comprehending the current dynamics and challenges faced by the region. The study of the ethnic, religious and cultural diversity of Middle Eastern peoples highlights the varied identities and traditions within the region. The course includes an in-depth exploration of Jordan; through field trips and cultural events, students immerse themselves in Jordan's rich history, culture, and traditions.

Note: Open to 10^th, 11^th and 12^th graders

Prerequisites: Department consent

The advanced course in Comparative Government and Politics is based on college-level introductory comparative government courses that focus on the comparative study of political institutions and processes in different regions of the world. This course provides an introduction to the essential questions and concepts used by political scientists to examine various state systems and investigates the functions of a state, relationships between citizens and the government, separation of powers, democracy and electoral systems, government-parliament relations, and fundamental questions of social and political rights. In the course, students examine the political and constitutional systems of Great Britain, China, Nigeria, Mexico, Russia and Iran and use these examples to draw conclusions about global trends in government and politics. Enrolled students are required to sit for the AP Comparative Government and Politics Exam in May.

Note: Open to 11^th and 12^th graders

Prerequisites: Department consent

In this course, which covers both microeconomics and macroeconomics, students gain an understanding of how scarcity and rational economic decision-making can shape individual decisions within a nation’s economic system and various market systems. In the microeconomics portion, individual households, firms and industries become the focal point for understanding laws, principles and models that give meaning to economic systems. The course also explores the vagaries of international trade, labor intensive goods, land intensive goods, capital intensive goods, gains from trade, free trade, trading possibilities line, supply and demand, exports and imports, and production. The macroeconomics portion focuses on National Accounting, and on how nations solve their economic problems of recession or inflation. Lastly, the concepts of why nations trade is explored by looking at exchange rates and specialization of countries. Enrolled students are required to sit for the AP Macroeconomics and AP Microeconomics exams in May.

Note: Open to 11^th and 12^th graders

Prerequisites: Department consent and completion of or concurrently taking pre-calculus or a higher-level mathematics course

The AP Psychology course is a gateway to the systematic and scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. Students embark on a journey of learning psychological theories, concepts, and phenomena to understand why we are who we are, and why we do what we do.  Students explore the areas of biological bases of behavior, cognition, development, learning, social psychology, personality, and mental and physical health. Throughout the course, students develop the primary skill of applying these psychological concepts to their everyday life. As they evaluate the evidence and claims they encounter, they employ their knowledge of psychological research methods, data interpretation, and ethical guidelines to effectively communicate their ideas.
Students enrolled in this course are required to sit for the AP Psychology Exam in May.

Note: Open to 11^th and 12^th graders

Prerequisites: Department consent

This interdisciplinary course brings together politics, economics, sociology, history, geography, religion, culture and urban studies. Students learn to analyze current events and their historical contexts from a global perspective, making connections across several disciplinary fields. Units include economic development, race and ethnicity, urban studies, culture, political geography, and climate change and the Anthropocene. The course analyzes interactions between societies and the interaction and relationship between humans and the environment. In addition to preparing for the Advanced Placement test, students read, analyze and write critical essays on complex real-world issues. Finally, the course encourages students to think critically and engage with the guiding principles of King’s. Through case studies from across the globe and analysis of current issues students gain a better understanding of themselves and the world around them. Enrolled students are required to sit for the AP Human Geography exam in May.

Note: Open to 11^th and 12^th graders

Capstone Seminar engages students in cross-curricular conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing divergent perspectives. Using an inquiry framework, students practice reading and analyzing articles, research studies, novels and philosophical texts; listen to and view speeches, broadcasts, memoirs and personal accounts; understand science experiments; and experience artistic, musical and cinematic works. Students learn to synthesize information from multiple sources, develop their own perspectives in written essays, and design and deliver oral, multi-media presentations, both individually and as part of a team. Ultimately, the course aims to equip students with the power to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy, meaning and precision in order to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments.

Notes:

• Students enrolled in this course are required to submit a portfolio of work for College Board assessment and to sit for the AP Capstone Seminar exam in May.
• Open to 11^th and 12^th graders, and 10^th graders with permission of the department.

This course surveys the history of the world, but rather than simply covering the 13^th century to contemporary history through conventional classroom methods, students explore history as historians do; by engaging in the extensive examination and analysis of primary sources to gain a better understanding of past events, figures and phenomena. Students should expect regular reading and writing assignments throughout the year, as the course aims to help improve their critical reading and composition skills. Enrolled students are required to sit for the AP World History: Modern exam in May.

Note: Open to 10^th, 11^th and 12^th graders. This course will NOT be offered during the 2026-2027 academic year.

Prerequisites: Department consent

This course surveys the history of the United States from the earliest European colonial impulses to the beginning of the 21st century. The course is interdisciplinary in its scope, and multicultural in its exploration of the formation and evolution of the United States. Students engage in the extensive examination and analysis of primary sources in order to gain a better understanding of past events, figures and phenomena. Students should expect regular reading and writing assignments throughout the year, as the course aims to help them improve their critical reading and composition skills. Students enrolled in this course are expected to sit for the AP United States History exam in May.

Note: Open to 11^th and 12^th graders

Prerequisites: Department consent

In this course students study world history through the artistic images created by humankind — its scope spanning from prehistoric cave paintings to artistic works of the year 2000. Students see the history of the world unfold within its intellectual, social, religious, economic and cultural context, deepening their understanding of art, architecture, painting and sculpture, as well as the civilizations from which these forms of expression were born. As this is an AP course, it emphasizes the sharpening of writing skills and the habits of effective thinking, speaking, reading and writing. Students enrolled in this course are required to sit for the AP Art History exam in May.

Note: Open to 11^th and 12^th graders. This course will NOT be offered in the 2025-2026 academic year, but will be offered during the 2026-2027 academic year

Prerequisites: Department consent

Aligned with one of the most challenging and rigorous of all of College Board’s classes, AP European History surveys the history of Europe from the late Middle Ages to contemporary history. The course emphasizes the evolution of political, economic, social, philosophical, artistic and scientific trends. As in other AP-level history courses, students engage in the extensive examination and analysis of primary sources in order to understand the complexity and multiple perspectives of past events, figures and phenomena. There is intensive reading and writing throughout the year as the course strives to hone students’ critical reading and composition skills. Students in the course are required to sit for the AP Modern European History Exam.

Note: Note: Open to 11^th and 12^th graders. This course will NOT be offered in the 2025-2026 academic year, but will be offered during the 2026-2027 academic year

In this second course in the AP Capstone sequence, students deeply explore one academic topic, problem, issue or idea of individual interest. They design, plan and implement a six-month long investigation to address a research question. Through this inquiry, they further develop the skills they acquired in Capstone Seminar by learning research methodologies, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing and synthesizing information. They reflect on their skill development, document that process, and curate the artifacts of their work through a reflection portfolio. They work on one project: a 5000-word academic paper. As in Capstone Seminar, students share their work thought a multimedia presentation and an oral defense before a panel. The AP Research mentality is about developing and practicing reasoning processes that can help scholars make intentional, strategic decisions.

Note: Open to 11^th and 12^th graders

Prerequisites: HRS 505: Capstone Seminar

This interdisciplinary course in the social sciences brings together the fields of history, politics, political economy, sociology, anthropology and legal studies. The seven disciplinary fields included in the course are history and memory, political economy and labor, politics of culture, law, international development, political studies, and refugees and Palestinian diaspora. This is not a comprehensive course on Palestine; rather, it provides students the opportunity to understand the different ways to study, research and write about Palestine. In this course, students read, analyze, and synthesize college level texts. They analyze the specific ways the authors use research questions, strategies and methodologies when writing on Palestine. They learn how to evaluate multiple points of view on complex issues from different disciplines.

Note: Open to 12^th graders (and to 11^th graders with permission of the department)

This course serves as an introduction to the core principles and practices of the Muslim religion. Students focus on: the Qur’an, the Hadith, the doctrine of Islam, lessons from the life of the Prophet Mohammed, concepts of Islamic jurisprudence, and Islamic morals and principles. Besides these topics, students are trained on multiple skills, such as annotation, reflection, critical thinking, and designing questions with different levels. This course fulfills Jordanian Ministry of Education requirements for Muslim students.

Note: Islamic Studies (in English, HRS 100E), is for students whose Arabic proficiency does not allow them to take it in Arabic (HRS 100A)

Course length: Yearlong half credit course

This course builds on the foundation laid by the first year of study by expanding students’ perspective to include early Islamic history, Islamic law and theology and aspects of Islamic civilization. Students delve into an analysis of the five pillars of Islam, in addition to learning about the attributes of God, and other essential topics of Islamic theology, such as Prophethood and how to follow the examples and manners of the previous prophets and messengers. Students also study various topics in the context of contemporary society across the Muslim world. This course fulfills Jordanian Ministry of Education requirements for Muslim students.

Prerequisites: HRS 100: Islamic Studies I; the alternative course, Islamic Studies II (in English HRS 200E), is for students who have taken the 9th grade course in English (HRS 100E) or whose Arabic proficiency does not allow them to take it in Arabic (HRS 100A)

Course length: Yearlong half credit course

What is Islam? What is modernity? What does one have to do with the other? What are the ways in which Muslim thinkers and activists have responded (and continue to respond) to the challenges presented by modernity and modernism? What has been the experience of different Muslim communities and intellectuals? This course focuses on reinforcing the foundation built in previous courses as well as providing answer to the broad question of how societies, predominantly influenced by Islamic traditions, might find a home in the modern world on their own terms. It also explores Muslim voices in Europe and North America and tracks new trajectories of renewal and reform in the West, where Muslims live as small but increasingly significant minority communities.

Note: Open to 11^th graders
Course length: Yearlong half credit course

Prerequisites: HRS 200: Islamic Studies II; the alternative course, Islamic and Modernity (in English HRS 300E), is for students who have taken the 10th grade course in English (HRS 200E) or whose Arabic proficiency does not allow them to take it in Arabic (HRS 300A)

This course aims to provide students with an understanding of pertinent issues regarding the practice of Islam in the world today. Students learn how to navigate intellectual, legal and theological topics that are of relevance in their daily lives. The course covers four main areas in Islamic thought: morality and ethics, common misconceptions in Islamic law and theology, modern interpretations of Islam, and selected topics in Islamic jurisprudence. Course assessments are project and research based.

Islamic and Contemporary Issues (in English HRS 400E), is for students whose Arabic proficiency does not allow them to take it in Arabic (HRS 400A)
Note: Open only to 12^th graders

Course length: Yearlong half credit course