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Curiosity is encouraged!

Courtney Runchey

Full refund until the class begins, or within 24 hours of purchase (until class starts), then a pro-rated refund based on the number of meetings.

Flexible

Social Studies

In this 14-week class students get immersed in history using films to set the stage and bring history to life. We will use the movies, video clips, articles, and original documents to learn about the past in a fun way.


Get immersed in history using films to set the stage and bring history to life. This is not a boring class about just memorizing facts and dates. We will use the movies, video clips, articles, and original documents to learn about the past.

🎬 No film this week

Focus:

Welcome, learner intros & expectations

What is “usable history”?

Timeline overview: WWI to 21st century

Source types: Primary vs secondary

🧠 Activity: Interactive timeline game + primary source challenge

📘 OER Project: World History 1750 – Unit 6.0

✅ Week 1: Welcome + Course Overview

🎬 Film Options:
They Shall Not Grow Old (R, intense but historically rich – OPTIONAL)
🎬Alternate: War Horse (PG-13) or
🎬Gallipoli (PG) – both offer accessible WWI perspectives

Focus:

European alliances, imperialism, and nationalism

Middle Eastern fronts & Ottoman Empire’s collapse

🧠 Activity: WWI propaganda poster analysis

📘 OER Project: 6.1 & 6.2
📺 Homework Option: Crash Course #209 + articles on British colonial troops

✅ Week 2: The Road to World War I & The Middle East

🎬 The Promise (PG-13, Armenian perspective in Ottoman Empire)

Focus:

WWI as a global event: Africa, Asia, and the Middle East

Economic and societal upheaval from the war

🧠 Activity: Economic cause/effect roleplay – students take on postwar roles

📘 OER Project: 7.0 & 7.1
📺 Crash Course #36 & #37

✅ Week 3: WWI as a Global War + Economic Impacts

🎬 The Imitation Game (PG-13) – use to pivot into ethics of secrecy, repression, and marginalization
🎬 Alternate for younger audiences: The Book Thief (PG-13)

Focus:

Understanding the Armenian Genocide in WWI’s context

Ethics of remembrance and denial

🧠 Activity: Primary source diary excerpts + moral dilemma discussion

📘 OER Project: 7.2
📺 “What is Fascism?” overview + survivor testimony readings

✅ Week 4: The Armenian Genocide & Memory of Atrocity

🎬 Schindler’s List (R, very intense)
🟢 Alternate options:
🎬Defiance (PG-13) – Jewish resistance fighters in WWII
🎬The Book Thief (PG-13) – gentler, still powerful

Focus:

Mexican Revolution’s roots in land and inequality

Russian Revolution’s rise of Bolshevism

🧠 Activity: Compare revolutionary propaganda posters

📘 OER Project: 7.3 & 7.4
📺 Crash Course World History #38 & #220

✅ Week 5: Revolutions – Mexico & Russia

🎬 Bridge of Spies (PG-13)

Focus:

End of WWII & Cold War origins

U.S. vs USSR: ideology, espionage, nuclear tensions

🧠 Activity: Create Cold War “spy dossiers”

📘 OER Project: 8.0
📺 Crash Course US History #37 & #38

✅ Week 6: The Cold War Begins

🎬 Cry Freedom (PG-13, South African apartheid context)

Focus:

Fascism in Europe vs oppression in colonies

Human rights movements and resistance

🧠 Activity: Compare 2 freedom speeches across cultures

📘 OER Project: 8.2
📺 Decolonization video + Ghanaian resistance article

✅ Week 7: Fascist Histories – Resistance and Revolution

🎬 Thirteen Days (PG-13) – Cuban Missile Crisis

Focus:

Rise of totalitarianism and polarization

Political party platforms and global tensions

🧠 Activity: Students “design” a political party & present platforms

📘 OER Project: 9.0 & 9.1
📺 Crash Course Globalization #41

✅ Week 8: Between the Wars & Political Ideologies

🎬 Hotel Rwanda (PG-13)

Focus:

International response to humanitarian crises

What happens when the world fails to intervene

🧠 Activity: Debate on international intervention

📘 OER Project: 9.2
📺 Crash Course #228

✅ Week 9: The World in the 1930s

🎬 Argo (PG-13)
🟢 Alternate or lighter film: 
🎬 The Pianist (PG-13)
🎬 The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (PG-13)

Focus:

Totalitarian regimes and WWII buildup

Media, fear, and manipulation

🧠 Activity: Compare fascist propaganda vs modern media

📘 OER Project: 9.3
📺 Supplemental video: How fascism spread

✅ Week 10: Fascism in Germany & Italy

🎬 Charlie Wilson’s War (R, political themes, can skip intense scenes)
🟢 Alternate: 
🎬 First They Killed My Father (TV-MA, viewer discretion) or documentary segment

Focus:

Communist structure and purges

Japanese expansion and authoritarianism

🧠 Activity: Primary source diary analysis from both sides

📘 OER Project: 9.4
📺 Crash Course on Israel & Palestine

✅ Week 11: Communism in the USSR & Japan’s Imperialism

🎬 Dark Waters (PG-13) – lens on government secrecy, modern implications

Focus:

Control of information and suppression

Long-term legacy of unchecked power

🧠 Activity: Create a “what would you do” scenario response

📘 OER Project: 9.5
📺 Crash Course on energy, famine, and water access

✅ Week 12: Fascism, Part II – Authoritarian Control

🎬 No movie

Focus:

Students begin final presentations: choice of essay, digital project, or creative format

Instructor holds optional breakout rooms for one-on-one support

🧠 Activity: Peer review and project check-in

📘 Supplemental primary sources by interest

✅ Week 13: Final Project Work Week

🎬 No movie

Focus:

Each student presents their final analysis or creative interpretation

Class reflection: What did we learn from history—and how does it matter now?

🧠 Activity: Historical “What If?” roundtable discussion

📘 Final feedback and celebration

✅ Week 14: Final Project Presentations

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#academic

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Courtney Runchey

Live Group Course

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