Group 3 History (HL/SL)

Entry Guidance

While the course is designed to support any student regardless of their past experience, it is recommended that students seeking to take History at the HL have completed the International GCSE History course or a course of similar rigour.

Course Aims

The main aim of History at IB is for students to develop a broad and sophisticated historical understanding. It requires students to study the past of more than one region of the world, as well as to engage with different perspectives and interpretations of topics and periods. Through this, students will start to:

• Critically evaluate and analyse information that sources put before them.

• Make balanced, reasoned judgments on historical factors and events.

• Master bodies of knowledge in order to critically explore the past.

• Write sophisticated analysis around historical questions.

• Actively engage with and challenge differing historical perspectives on past events.

Course Content

The course focuses on world history, with a HL focus on Asia, in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is currently divided into the below, though this can change based on student preference year on year:

• The Move to Global War 1931-1941 (HL & SL)

- In this unit, students learn about two case studies (Japan and Italian/German foreign policy) in the years leading up to World War Two.

• The Cold War: Superpower Tensions and Rivalries (SL & HL)

- In this unit, students gain an overview of the Cold War and analyse its effect on two countries, the impact of two crises, and the role of two leaders.

• 20th Century Authoritarian States (SL & HL)

- Examples include: Hitler’s Germany, Mao’s China and Castro’s Cuba.

• 20th Century Asia (HL Only)

Assessment Outline

HL Assessment Component Weighting

External Assessment (5 hours) 80%

• Paper 1: Source based (1 hour)

• Paper 2: Essay based (1 hour 30 minutes)

• Paper 3: Regional options (2 hours 30 minutes)

Internal Assessment 20%

• Historical investigation

SL Assessment Component Weighting

External Assessment (2 hours 30 minutes) 75%

• Paper 1: Source based (1 hour)

• Paper 2: Essay based (1 hour 30 minutes)

Internal Assessment 25%

• Historical investigation

For Further Advice

Contact Lucy Haley, Head of Humanities: Lucy.Haley@dulwich-seoul.kr