High School History

We always hear that we need to study history so that we do not repeat it, but what does that really mean?

The purpose of studying history is to learn from the past because of the important lessons it holds concerning humanity, which are universal; It is for this reason that Cicero referred to history as “the teacher of life.” Greek philosophy taught us that we come to truth, not through one person, but through discourse- several thoughts and perspectives put forth and rationalized in the hopes of coming to some truth.

At Providence, we want to teach truth and give students the ability to look to the past and gain those important lessons without being misguided or limited by any kind of false agenda. Our students use what they learn in philosophy, theology, and literature to grapple with questions like: what is the nature of man? What does a good society look like? What is the object of government? What is the relationship between church and state?

And of course, when we approach history in this manner and seek truth, we can’t help but see the legitimacy of the Catholic Church and all its claims. As St. John Henry Newman said, “To be deep in history is to cease to be protestant.”

Courses and Central Texts

Ancient History (History I) 

  • The Histories, Herodotus

  • The History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides

  • Plutarch’s Lives: Vol. 1 and 2, Plutarch

  • The Early History of Rome, Livy

  • The Rise of the Roman Empire, Polybius

  • The Annals of Imperial Rome, Tacitus

  • The Athenian Constitution, Aristotle

  • Constitution of the Lacedaemonians, Xenophon

  • The Apology, Plato

  • The Founding of Christendom, Warren Carroll

Medieval History (History II)

  • Selections from primary sources

  • The History of the Catholic Church, Didache Series

  • The Building of Christendom, Warren Carroll

  • The Glory of Christendom, Warren Carroll

  • Seven Lies about Catholic History, Diane Moczar

  • Ecclesiastical History of the English People, The Venerable Bede

  • Two Lives of Charlemagne, Einhard and Notker the Stammerer

  • The Rule of St. Benedict, St. Benedict

American History (History IV) 

  • The Whig Interpretation of History, Herbert Butterfield

  • A History of the American People, Paul Johnson

  • Domestic Manners of the Americans, France Trollope

  • Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History, Michel Rolph Trouillot

Modern European History (History III) 

  • Selections from primary sources

  • Light to the Nations: The Making of the Modern World, Christopher Zehnder

  • The Revolution against Christendom, Warren Carroll

  • The Guillotine and the Cross, Warren Carroll