Social Studies

The BMHS Social Studies Department faculty members have lived in, studied in, or toured a combined total of over 95 countries, allowing them to share firsthand experiences that enhance cultural studies in the classroom.

RHO KAPPA Social Studies Honor Society is the only national organization for high school juniors and seniors that recognizes excellence in the field of Social Studies. RHO KAPPA provides national recognition and opportunities for exploration in social studies. The mission and purpose of this organization are to promote scholarship and to recognize academic excellence in social studies in secondary school environments and the community, to provide through its local chapters opportunities for exploration in social studies in secondary school environments and the community, to encourage interest in, understanding of, and appreciation for the social studies.

Why do we study history?

"If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton

"Who controls the past controls the future." George Orwell

"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past." Thomas Jefferson

"History is a broken mirror that does not cast a clear reflection." Geoffrey Molchan

The Social Studies Department faculty members have lived in, studied in or toured a combined total of over 95 countries, allowing them to share firsthand experiences that enhance cultural studies in the classroom.

Are there any overseas trips available for students?

Yes. While the exact destination of overseas trips for students may vary from year to year, in the past the Social Studies department has sponsored (or co-sponsored with the Foreign Language department) trips to Italy, Greece and Spain. These trips have typically occurred during the school's annual Spring Break. Service learning trips (not sponsored by the Social Studies Department) have also occasionally been undertaken to locations such as the Philippines and East Africa. Such trips generally are initiated by student interest.

What philosophy guides the teaching of Social Studies at Bishop McNamara?

History and Social Studies are integral to a student's Holy Cross education. The disciplines involved teach thought processes, intellectual attitudes, and analytic methods that shape the way students look at the past, the present, and the future.

The Social Studies Department stresses the objective analysis of facts by the individual, the structuring of those facts to form a hypothesis, and the presentation of both the facts and the hypothesis in a logical form.

It is hoped that history students will come to understand the significance of the past; to develop historical empathy; to understand historical causation and the role of the individual and of change in history; and to realize that the world and the United States are both made up of many diverse cultures, yet in the case of the world, there is a shared humanity, and in the case of the United States, a shared culture and a common experience.

The Social Studies department sponsors trips to Rome & Italy taking Bishop McNamara students on an exciting and enriching tour of the historical wonders of Florence, Venice, Assisi, Rome, and the ancient city of Pompeii.

The purpose of these trips is not only to open students to foreign cultures and history, but to hopefully inspire them to spend time abroad during their college years for study and future travel.

Students and Faculty also travel with the Modern & Classical Language department on additional trips to other locations.