Pre-university education (IB) in the 21st century is centered on an integrated approach which creates a balanced student who is connected to the global world. In the humanities department, the student is equipped with a robust broad-based foundation for lifelong learning that cuts across nationality, global awareness and critical thinking. For the successful integration of knowledge and the requisite skills that prepare the student for future academic and career endeavors, the department works in close collaboration with all the academic disciplines offered by the school. This provides all-around excellence in a rigorous educational environment. The department offers Geography, Economics, History, and Social and Cultural anthropology.  

Geography

Geography is about a real differentiation. It is a subject that synthesizes knowledge from different areas of human endeavour to solve problems by looking at processes, patterns and trends that underpin each problem. Thus, it is multidisciplinary in nature.  . At the MYP level, the course creates the pathway for the development of procedural knowledge and roadmap to geographic thinking, where a statement of inquiry provides the framework for the exploration of any geographic issue. Activities are also designed to help students develop their approaches to learning skills. The territory that is mapped by geography at the DP level includes but is not limited to Globalisation, Population, Cities and Resource Consumption, International Policies and Development, and Future Possibilities. Students are trained to connect concepts across disciplines and between topics in the geography classroom. Indeed, the study of geography is the post stamp of global citizen.

History

The History program at SOS-HGIC introduces students to important concepts that include Significance of Key Events, Continuity and Change, and the Causes of Major Historical Events. To explore these concepts, students at the MYP level engage with topics that investigate how important ideas have shaped our modern world, and others that cover the reasons why nations go to war and why peace making is difficult. At the DP level, students have a unique opportunity to explore African History and the role of significant individuals in tackling the challenges the continent is confronted with when external forces colonized Africa. When students pursue History, they leave with important skills that allow them to analyse source materials and synthesize information from different historical texts. Besides, these skills also enable them to refine their arguments (verbal and written), encourage wide reading and provide a deeper appreciation of ideas in other academic disciplines. 

Economics

The IB Diploma course in economics deepens not only on the understanding of how economic theories and concepts are formulated but also the relevance of such theories and concepts to the challenges that confront human societies. The nature of the economics makes it accommodate ideas from many academic disciplines. By studying economics, the student is encouraged to appreciate in concrete terms the impact of the use of resources by individuals and societies, the interconnectedness between nations of the world, decision-making in the face of critical resource constraints and how models of human behaviour could be applied in the real world. The economics course in SOS-HGIC has a robust continuum that links MYP to the DP . In the study of economics, students learn how to develop and apply models of human behaviour beyond the classroom. In a typical economics class, the student tries to find answers to questions such as, “Is this the most reasonable way of doing things or will this way of doing things ensure the highest level of efficiency?”   

Social and Cultural Anthropology

Social and Cultural Anthropology (SCA) is the comparative study of culture and human societies. Anthropologists seek an understanding of humankind in all its diversity. This understanding is reached through the study of societies and cultures and the exploration of the general principles of social and cultural life.  . The subject helps students to develop an accommodative attitude which enables them not only to function in a global world but also develop reflexive knowledge which symbolizes a key cornerstone in IB education. The anthropological tradition is rich in participant observation and in-depth, empirical study of social groups (ethnographic fieldwork). Some of the key topics covered by the course include: power relations, belief systems, health, illness and healing, social change, kinship, ethnicity, migration, minority groups and conflict.