Humanities at Utahloy International School, Guangzhou

The teaching of Humanities plays a unique role in helping to bridge the gap between other curriculum areas. It helps students to gain a greater sense of personal identity and an international perspective, fostering a sense of belonging to a ‘global village’.

Students in years 7 to 10 follow the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), studying units incorporating both Geography and History in Humanities lessons in years 7, 8 and 9, and units of Geography, History and Economics/Business in year 10, progressing in levels of complexity through years 7 to 10. This prepares a solid foundation for our students for the set programme and requirements of the IB Diploma (DP) programme. DP courses in Group 3 (Individuals and Societies) in years 11 and 12 either build on the knowledge and understanding of Geography, History, Economics or Business & Management from the MYP years or allow the skills learned to be applied in a new subject, such as Psychology or Information Technology for a Global Society (ITGS).

Aims
The aims and objectives for the Humanities subjects are:

To communicate historical, geographical and business information in a variety of forms
To develop the skills to investigate, analyze and interpret data, ideas and issues
To develop skills in gathering and processing information from a range of sources

To develop in the student the capacity to identify, to analyse critically and to evaluate theories, concepts and arguments about the nature and activities of the individual and society
To enable the student to collect, describe and analyse data, ideas and issues used in studies of society, to test hypotheses, and to interpret complex data and source material

To promote the appreciation of the way in which what has been learned is relevant to both the culture in which the student lives and the culture of other societies

To develop an awareness in the student that human attitudes and opinions are widely diverse and that a study of society requires an appreciation of such diversity

To enable the student to recognise that the content and methodologies of the Humanities subjects are contestable and that their study requires the toleration of uncertainty.
To consider a range of points of view and detect bias
To make reasoned and informed decisions and be able to justify views about issues or ideas
To allow students to appreciate their own and other people’s past and traditions by developing knowledge and understanding of different societies and the significant periods, events and people which have shaped these societies
To gain an understanding of the physical and built surroundings that provide the physical context for social changes and cultural development
To provide students with opportunities to develop respect and care for the environment and an understanding of the ways environments change through physical as well as human actions
To develop an understanding of how local changes may impact on human lives globally by causing cultural, social and environmental change
To develop an understanding of geographical concepts and to apply geographical techniques

To promote the importance of exploring business issues from different cultural perspectives
To enable a student to appreciate the pace, nature and significance of change.

To develop a sense of curiosity, imagination and critical thinking skills

Useful resources for Students

The school subscribes to a number of resources that students are advised to make use of. These include magazines, such as Wideworld and Geography Review, for Geography, and Hindsight and Twentieth Century Review for History. In addition, the school subscribes to other periodicals and databases which allow students to keep up-to-date with current geographical news from around the world.