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AP PsychCivicsIB HOTA
HOTAIB History of the Americas
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Course syllabus

IB History of the Americas

2025–2026 · Higher Level, Year One

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

— George Santayana

Course description

History of the Americas (HOTA) is year one of the two-year higher-level International Baccalaureate course. It is a systematic and critical study of the human experience, including social, economic, political, and cultural events through the 19th and 20th centuries, providing historical explanations from an international perspective.

Students are expected to study the histories of a selection of countries and themes within the chosen region. The study of a country’s national history is placed in the comparative, regional framework of the History of the Americas. The course covers three of the IB’s eighteen options: the Great Depression and the Americas (1920s–1940s), the Cold War and the Americas (1945–1981), and civil rights and social movements in the Americas since 1945.

Every student will maintain a three-ring binder for this class only. Notebooks will be graded at any time during the grading period. Contents will include the following, in this exact order:

  1. Syllabus / course description (this document)
  2. Class notes — your notes from class discussions; you are responsible for acquiring and maintaining them, and keeping them organized for test preparation
  3. Source documents (primary and secondary) — completion of source reading assignments is your responsibility; assignments are posted daily. Entries for each reading should be dated, labeled with the corresponding title, and handwritten.
  4. Maps
  5. Charts

Course texts

Main text: History of the Americas 1880–1981 (Oxford University Press, 2015). It is expensive, so there is no obligation to buy it — relevant copied excerpts are provided for assignments and readings.

Course goals

In this course, students are required to:

  • Comprehend, analyze, evaluate, and integrate source material critically as historical evidence.
  • Explain different approaches to, and interpretations of, historical events and topics.
  • Place events in their historical context.
  • Explain the causes and effects of historical continuity and change.
  • Present arguments that are clear, coherent, relevant, and well substantiated.
  • Present historical explanations from an international perspective.
  • Plan, organize, and research an individual historical investigation.
  • Demonstrate an in-depth historical understanding of approximately 100 years of history in the region of the Americas.
  • Demonstrate historical understanding through the acquisition, selection, and effective use of knowledge.
  • Identify and evaluate different approaches to, and interpretations of, historical events and topics.

Grading

  • Summative (tests, exams, projects) — 60%
  • Formative (quizzes) — 20%
  • Practice (classwork assignments) — 20%
Units in this course7 units