American Frontier II                                                                 A338/25599

Spring 2006                                                                             Tues/Thurs 11-12:15; LD027

 

Professor Coleman                                                       Office hours in CA 503N

            Email: acolema2@iupui.edu                              Tues 2-4pm; Thurs 8:30-10:30am

            Office/voice mail: 274-5817                                          and by appointment

 

Introduction:

The American West is a region characterized at once by its physical setting, the historical processes that have occurred there, and the set of meanings American culture has ascribed to the region.  It is home to a highly diverse set of peoples that have been interacting with one another for years, decades, even centuries.  It is described by physical and political boundaries (the Mississippi River, the Pacific Ocean, and borders with Canada and Mexico), economic development (extractive industry, tourism), and by imaginative constructs (the "frontier," the "Wild West," and the mythic characters inhabiting such places).  This semester we will use a variety of approaches to explore a range of topics in our efforts to examine the American West from the later part of the 19th century through the 20th century.  We will focus on two specific themes: 1) the political, economic, social, and environmental relationships that have shaped the region; and 2) the cultural meanings and mythic representations people have attached to it.  The Mythic West, far from separate and distinct, has always been intimately connected to “real” western people, places, resources, and politics. We will study how the American West and its images have developed together, often in tension with one another, and how they have created the West that we know today. 

Because this is an upper-level history course, I expect students to exercise their minds strenuously.  This can be challenging, sometimes painful, and often fun, but either way it is always rewarding.  In order to do it we will need to master some core information.  During the first part of the semester we will contrast mythic representations with mainly political and economic history, we will move from the 18th through the 20th century chronologically, and we will establish a firm foundational knowledge of western history.  The second half of the semester will lead us into more social and cultural history as we explore how mythic images and western history have become inextricably entwined with each other.  Here we will use a topical rather than chronological approach that will focus on the 20th century.  In addition to some core assigned readings, students will develop class presentations and a longer paper based on a scholarly book and topic of their choice.  Here is our biggest chance to interpret, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate.   By the end of the semester it is my hope that you will have a working knowledge of western history, some skill in the historian’s craft of interpreting primary and secondary sources, and practice presenting your ideas powerfully in class as well as in clear, if not graceful, prose. 

Beyond adding to an understanding of American society and culture, this course speaks to a number of IUPUI’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning: it refines communication skills through class discussion, presentations, exams, and papers, it demands that students analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and apply a range of specific information as well as larger thematic ideas, it teaches information, writing, and thinking skills useful in a variety of real life situations, and in training students how to be good historians, it strengthens students’ intellectual depth and breadth.  In a perfect world, it will help you become informed and thoughtful citizens—of your home, neighborhood, city, and nation.

 

Books

Richard White, “It’s Your Misfortune and None of My Own”: A New History of the

            American West (1991)

Milner, Butler, and Lewis, eds., Major Problems in the History of the American West, 2nd

            ed (1997)  *note* there will be multiple copies of this on reserve at the library

Jane Tompkins, West of Everything: The Inner Life of Westerns (1992)

Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima (1972)

Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire (1968)

Sherman Alexie, Reservation Blues (1995)

 

Requirements

           

1) A midterm and a final exam, each of which will include IDs and essay questions based on lectures and discussion, course reading, occasional films, and larger course themes.  We will compile a list of identification terms from each class as the semester proceeds, and you will have potential essay questions a week in advance of each exam.  We will discuss how to prepare and write good exams during class. The final exam will consist of identifications from the second half of the semester; the essay questions may be cumulative. (Exams are worth 25% each towards your final course grade.)

 

2) A class presentation of 10 to 20 minutes on a topic and scholarly book of your choice (see attached list).  Students will be in charge of presenting their topic to the class on their appointed date, leading discussion of common reading, and connecting their topic to larger course themes.  Students must bring a one-page synopsis of their assigned book to a meeting with the professor two weeks before the date of their presentation or two weeks before paper drafts are due, whichever comes first.  See below for more information.  (10% of final grade)

 

3)  An analytical paper of 10-12 pages, based on this same topic and scholarly book, due the last week of class.  Students must incorporate at least one scholarly journal article, one primary source, and one cultural representation of the West in addition to their scholarly book.  Students will develop these papers throughout the semester and performance on intermediate assignments will count as well as the grade on their final paper.  I will provide more guides and information on this as the semester progresses.  (Intermediate assignments: 10% final course grade; final draft: 15% of final grade)

 

3) Participation in regular class discussions, smaller presentations, and general signs of intellectual life.  These are integral to the learning process and to the success of this course.  We will be discussing readings every week, and you must come prepared.  Quality class participation means asking good questions more than answering them, and we all appreciate quality comments over sheer quantity.  If you are painfully shy, begin by emailing me your comments or come visit during office hours.  (15% of final grade)

 

4) Attendance. Faithful attendance is vital to your success in this course and is required. Since emergencies plague even the most diligent, however, you may miss up to four classes without penalty, no questions asked or excuses required.  *For each and every class missed past four, I will deduct two points from your final grade average.  Avoid this at all costs since it can do significant damage to an otherwise hard-earned grade.  Save your free misses for emergencies!  Perfect and almost perfect attendance will bump up your grade.

The success of our class discussions depend upon students keeping up with the reading.  I expect you to meet deadlines and due dates.  Print out your papers well ahead of time, and always save a copy on disk.  If you have a conflict with something, you must talk to me BEFORE it happens, otherwise I will need documentation of illness or other emergency.  Avoid intellectual dishonesty at all costs—representing someone else’s words or ideas as your own counts as plagiarism, and if I catch you doing this or cheating on exams you will face anything from failure of the work in question to failure of the course and disciplinary action from the university.  See the Code of Student Conduct at http://life.iupui.edu/help/code.asp as well as campus policies on academic misconduct at http://registrar.iupui.edu/misconduct.html; and come see me if you have questions.  Please take advantage of my office hours and email account if you have questions, need help, or just want to talk about the class.  If you have more general questions or need guidance about pretty much anything, contact the Student Advocate Office. The Student Advocate Office is located in UC002 (278-7594 or http://www.life.iupui.edu/advocate/)

 

 

Schedule of Assignments

 

Jan 10              Introduction

Jan 12              Mythic Themes - Shane I (Dykstra essay in Major Problems ch. 6 due)

 

Jan 17              Mythic Themes - Shane II

Jan 19              Westerns Interpreted (discuss Tompkins, West of Everything, due in class)

 

Jan 24              Historical sources and research; book reviews; choosing a topic

Jan 26              Western History I (presentations and discussion of White parts I and II)

 

Jan 31              Reading and research day – no class

Feb 2               Western History II (presentations and discussion of White part III)

 

Feb 7               Workshop on presentations *(topics due)

Feb 9               Western History III (White parts IV and V)

 

Feb 14             Western History IV (White part VI)

Feb 16             Mythic and Real Wests Butt Heads (Major Problems ch. 1 due)

 

Feb 21             Midterm Exam

Feb 24             Workshop on research papers

 

Hispanic West

Feb 28             Borderlands (last four docs of MP ch. 2; first five docs of MP ch. 5 due)

Mar 2               Chicano culture (discuss Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima due in class)

 

Mar 7               Hispanic Los Angeles (last 3 docs in MP ch. 13 due)

*(bibliography, thesis, and outline due)

Resources

Mar 9               Water (MP ch. 11 due)

 

Mar 14             Spring Break – no class

Mar 16             Spring Break – no class

 

Mar 21             Fish and Animals (MP ch. 3 due)

Mar 23             Ore, Oil, and Oranges (MP ch. 9 and bits of ch. 12 due)

 

Tourism

Mar 28             Parks *(paper drafts due)

Mar 30             Mountains and Towns

 

Apr 4               Loving Nature (discuss Abbey, Desert Solitaire, due in class)

Identity

Apr 6               Class and Labor

 

Apr 11             Gender *(final papers due)

Apr 13             Race and Ethnicity (bits of MP chs 8, 12, 13 to be announced)

 

Native Americans

Apr 18             Indian Policy (first 2 docs and first essay from MP ch. 10 due)

Apr 20             Indian Power and Culture

 

Apr 25             Indians’ Past and Present (discuss Alexie, Reservation Blues in class)

Conclusions

Apr 27             Course Wrap Up

 

May 2              Final Exam 1-3:00pm in LD 027

 

 

 

 

PRESENTATION TOPICS AND SCHOLARLY BOOKS

 

Hispanic West

   Borderlands:

Benjamin Haber Johnson, Revolution in Texas : how a forgotten rebellion and its bloody suppression turned Mexicans into Americans (Yale University Press, 2003)

James F. Brooks, Captives & cousins : slavery, kinship, and community in the Southwest borderlands (University of North Carolina Press, 2002)

 

   Los Angeles

            George J. Sanchez, Becoming Mexican American : ethnicity, culture, and identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945 (Oxford University Press, 1993)

            William F. Deverell, Whitewashed adobe : the rise of Los Angeles and the remaking of its Mexican past (University of California Press, 2004)

 

Resources

   Water

            Richard White, The Organic Machine (Hill and Wang, 1993)

            Donald Worster, Rivers of empire : water, aridity, and the growth of the American

West (Pantheon, 1985)

            Donald Worster, Dust Bowl : the southern plains in the 1930s (Oxford University Press, 1979)

            Mark Fiege, Irrigated Eden : the making of an agricultural landscape in the American West (University of Washington Press, 1999)

 

   Fish and Animals

            Joseph E. Taylor III, Making Salmon: An Environmental History of the Northwest Fisheries Crisis (University of Washington Press, 1999) *in Bloomington business/SPEA library

            Jon T. Coleman Vicious: Wolves and Men in America (Yale University Press, 2004)

            Andrew C. Isenberg, The Destruction of the Bison : an environmental history, 1750-1920 (Cambridge University Press, 2000)

            David Igler, Industrial Cowboys : Miller & Lux and the transformation of the Far West, 1850-1920 (University of California Press, 2001)

 

   Ore, Oil, and Oranges

            Kathryn Taylor Morse, The nature of gold : an environmental history of the Klondike gold rush (University of Washington Press, 2003)

            Paul Sabin, Crude politics : the California oil market, 1900-1940 (University of California Press, 2005) *in Bloomington business/SPEA library

            Douglas C. Sackman, Orange empire : California and the fruits of Eden (University of California Press, 2005)

 

 

Identity

   Class

            Gunther Peck, Reinventing free labor : padrones and immigrant workers in the North American West, 1880-1930 (Cambridge University Press, 2000)

            Karl Jacoby, Crimes against nature: squatters, poachers, thieves, and the hidden history of American conservation (University of California Press, 2003)

 

   Gender

            Peggy Pascoe, Relations of rescue: the search for female moral authority in the American west, 1874-1939 (Oxford University Press, 1990) *IUPUI copy lost – others in IU system OK

            Susan Lee Johnson, Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush (W.W. Norton, 2000)

            Matthew Basso, Laura McCall, and Dee Garceau, ed., Across the Great Divide: Cultures of Manhood in the American West (Routledge, 2001) *at IU Southeast library

 

   Race and Ethnicity

            James N. Gregory, American exodus : the Dust Bowl migration and Okie culture in California (Oxford University Press, 1989) *IUPUI and Bloomington copies missing

            Ronald T. Takaki, Strangers from a different shore : a history of Asian Americans (Penguin, 1989)

            Quintard Taylor, The forging of a black community : Seattle's Central District, from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era (University of Washington Press, 1994)

            Quintard Taylor, In search of the racial frontier: African Americans in the American West, 1528-1990 (W.W. Norton, 1998)

 

Tourism

   Parks

            Marguerite S. Shaffer, See America first: tourism and national identity, 1880-1940 (Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001)

            Mark David Spence, Dispossessing the wilderness: Indian removal and the making of the national parks (Oxford University Press, 1999)

            Stephen R. Fox, John Muir and his legacy: the American conservation movement (Little Brown, 1981)

 

  Towns, Mountains, Region

            Bonnie Christensen, Red Lodge and the mythic West : coal miners to cowboys (University Press of Kansas, 2002) *in Bloomington Wells research library

            Hal Rothman, Devil's bargains : tourism in the twentieth century American West (University Press of Kansas, 1998)

            Hal Rothman ed., The grit beneath the glitter: tales from the real Las Vegas (University of California Press, 2002)

            Annie Gilbert Coleman, Ski Style: Sport and Culture in the Rockies (University Press of Kansas, 2004)

 

 

Native Americans

   Indian Policy

            Francis Paul Prucha, The great father: the United States government and the American Indians, Abridged ed., (University of Nebraska Press, 1986)

            George P. Castile, To Show Heart: Native American Self-Determination and Federal Indian Policy, 1960-1975 (University of Arizona Press, 1998)

            Kathleen S. Fine-Dare, Grave Injustice: The American Indian Repatriation Movement and NAGPRA (University of Nebraska Press, 2002)

 

   Indian Power and Culture

            John W. Sayer, Ghost Dancing the Law: The Wounded Knee Trials (Harvard University Press, 1997)

            Peter Iverson, We Are Still Here: American Indians in the Twentieth Century (Harlan Davidson, 1998)

            Joane Nagel, American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and the Resurgence of Identity and Culture (Oxford University Press, 1996)

 

 

Book Summaries

 

These are due at least two weeks before you present the topic in class (or two weeks before your paper draft is due, whichever comes first), and you need to bring two copies to discuss with the professor to her office.  Make an appointment.  We will use these to make sure you “get” the book and to develop appropriate supporting pop culture and primary documentary sources. This meeting will be integral to a successful class presentation and paper, you will distribute a revised summary to the class as part of your presentation, and the summaries count as an important intermediary assignment for your paper.  You will receive a letter grade on them. 

 

These summaries should be limited to one page, single-spaced, with complete sentences but in outline form.  They are designed to provide you and your classmates with an efficient overview of the book’s thesis, argument, sources and method, as well as a brief evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses.  A nod to where it fits into our understanding of a particular period or topic is desirable – note how the book fits within White’s analysis, for instance.  These summaries will teach you to read a book critically and efficiently, and they will serve as a jumping-off place for a group discussion of the themes/topics at hand as well as your larger paper.  Here is a structure to follow:

 

  1. Bibliographic citation of the book (University of Chicago or Turabian style)
  2. Thesis and argument – summarize the author’s main thesis in a sentence or two, then explain how s/he proves it briefly – note structure of the book here, and what the author’s purpose is
  3. sources and method – note the sources used and how the author used them – mention a couple of specific references - think about what kind of historian the author is (social, political, gender) or if they are a sociologist, journalist, etc., to understand what kind of conceptual or theoretical framework they use and what historiographical tradition the book fits into
  4. strengths and weaknesses – think about the above categories here – what did the book contribute to your understanding of the subject, the field, the discipline? How is it original, what limitations did you notice?