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United States Academic Decathlon : Curriculum Topics and Theme

Curricular Theme and Topics

The new curriculum information will be posted the first week of March every year.

2009–2010 Curricular Theme and Topics

Attention USAD Participants:

USAD is pleased to release some preliminary information on the curriculum for the 2009–2010 Academic Decathlon season. The full subject area outlines will be posted on USAD’s website on May 1 and will also be published in USAD’s Academic Decathlon® Study Guide, which will begin shipping on May 15.

The curricular theme for 2009–2010 will be The French Revolution. Following is some general information on the topics in each of the subject areas.

  • SUPER QUIZ: The Super Quiz™ will focus on the French Revolution, and the Super Quiz™ Resource Guide will include readings on such topics as the Old Regime (Ancien Régime), the causes of the French Revolution, the radicalization of the revolution, the revolution in Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and the legacy of the French Revolution.
  • LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE: The language and literature curriculum will include critical reading, one novel, and six shorter works. The featured novel will be A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
  • ART: The art curriculum will focus on eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century French art.
  • MUSIC: The music curriculum will focus on music in France during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and will include a companion CD, featuring fourteen listening selections.
  • SCIENCE: The science curriculum will focus on an introduction to chemistry and will include a brief overview of the historical development of chemistry with particular focus on the role of Antoine Lavoisier.
  • ECONOMICS: The economics curriculum will cover fundamentals of economics, including general topics in macro- and microeconomics and international trade and global economic development. The economics curriculum will also include a thematic section focused on the economic history of revolutionary France.
  • MATH: The math curriculum will cover topics in the fields of general math, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and differential calculus.