Peter Mantius
History Instructor

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"To think history-writing must aim simply to recapitulate the failures that dominate the past is to make historians collaborators in an endless cycle of defeat. If history is to be creative, to anticipate a possible future without denying the past, it should, I believe, emphasize new possibilities by disclosing those hidden episodes of the past when, even if in brief flashes, people showed their ability to resist, to join together, occasionally to win. I am supposing, or perhaps only hoping, that our future may be found in the past's fugitive moments of compassion rather than in its solid centuries of warfare."

-Howard Zinn

A Message from the Chair of the History and
Social Sciences Department

Besant Hill’s History and Social Sciences Department strongly encourages students to think critically about their subject materials, examining historical and author bias with a thoughtful eye. By examining history and social sciences critically, we strongly echo our school's philosophy that we are all life-long learners, using the Socratic method of discovery. The courses offered in this department are Cultural Geography, World History, U.S. History and Honors U.S. History, AP US Government and Politics, Art History, and Psychology. The department challenges students to examine history, psychology, and art through a multi-faceted and interdisciplinary approach, incorporating many supplementary materials and texts that illustrate a myriad of peoples' perspectives.

Jennifer Stroud
History and Social Sciences Department Chair

For more information contact Jennifer Stroud at jstroud@besanthill.org or (805) 646-4343, extension 129.