Catalog Description

Advisory: Eligibility for English 1A
Hours: 54 lecture
Description: History of the movement of the American people from the eastern coast of North America to the Pacific Ocean, including the history of the trans-Mississippi West from the 16th century to the present. Included will be the numerous historical issues associated with the region, including cultural contact and conflict, economic development, visions and meanings of the West, human interaction with nature and the environment, relationship between western states and the federal government, tourism, the growth of the sunbelt cities, and the shifting nature of race, class, gender, and power in the region. (CSU, UC)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Analyze the role of geography in major political, economic and social changes.
  • CSLO #2: Compose coherent, persuasive academic historical arguments using correct academic citation methods.
  • CSLO #3: Differentiate primary and secondary sources and how each are used to make historical claims.
  • CSLO #4: Investigate major political, economic and social changes with emphasis on culture, race, class, gender and/or ethnicity.

Effective Term

Fall 2021

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

1. Interpret primary and secondary sources and to compose an argument which uses them, as appropriate, for support.
2. Utilize analytical categories of race, class, gender and ethnicity to evaluate the development of the American West.
3. Evaluate the growth of the American West in a global context.
4. Explain the major economic, technological, and scientific developments of the American West and their historical significance.
5. Analyze major political trends, attitudes, conflicts, and events and explain their historical significance within the context of the American West.
6. Explain the major social and cultural developments in the American West, their causes and effects, and their historical significance.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Literature & Language
    • AA/AS - Multicultural Studies
    • AA/AS - Social Sciences
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSU - US1 Hist/Const/Amer Idea
    • CSUGE - D Social Sciences
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)
      • IGETC - 4 Soc./Behav Sciences

    Articulation Information

    • CSU Transferable
    • UC Transferable

    Methods of Evaluation

    • Classroom Discussions
      • Example: What impact did the Indian Schools have on Native Americans during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries?
    • Essay Examinations
      • Example: Answer the following question in your Bluebook. Organize your answers and use specific historical examples from lecture and the textbook to support your thesis. Pick one or more examples of the “Old West” in popular media, such as a television show, game, or film. Analyze the image of the “Old West” depicted in the example(s)versus the historical reality.
    • Objective Examinations
      • Example: Answer each of the following multiple choice questions on your Scantron form 882: Which of the following Native American tribes was attacked during the Massacre at Wounded Knee? A. The Sioux B. The Cherokee C. The Chickasaw D. The Peaquots The Dust Bowl experiences of the Oklahoma farmers during the Great Depression demonstrated the A. effect of geography on people’s lives B. success of government farm subsidies C. limitation of civil liberties during times of crisis D. result of the Indian Removal Act
    • Reports
      • Example: Students choose a category (medicine, science, sports, politics, law, business, etc..) and for 10 points submit a 1 page, single-spaced biography with sources about a significant figure within the history of the American West.

    Repeatable

    No

    Methods of Instruction

    • Lecture/Discussion
    • Distance Learning

    Lecture:

    1. The instructor will assign primary source materials on the lives of Trans-Mississippi settlers prior to class. In lecture/discussion format, the instructor will use these materials as a starting point to compare and contrast historical points of view in either classroom/web-based discussions or in writings assignments.
    2. The instructor will provide material in lecture format (either oral or written) on "Frontier Violence". Students should be prepared to discuss in class.

    Distance Learning

    1. The instructor will assign a Discussion Board assignment in the online course, which requires the students to compare the experience of pioneer women with their male counterparts in the Trans-Mississippi West. The students must then respond to two students in the discussion board.

    Typical Out of Class Assignments

    Reading Assignments

    1. Read a selection of primary source documents about the experiences of settlers travelling the Oregon Trail and analyze their interaction with Native Americans in the Trans-Mississippi West. 2. Read Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America and examine the central role the the railroad industry relative to the complex development of industry in the late 19th Century.

    Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

    1. Write a 7-10 page research paper covering a topic in the History of the American West. The paper project will be comprised of four steps which are explained below: a. Write a prospectus where you explain your topic area of interest, the question you will address, and why you find it compelling. Your prospectus must be approved before you can move on to the research paper outline. b. Write a research paper outline where you structure the paper after completing a significant amount of your research. The outline will include an introductory paragraph with a clear thesis statement. c. Write the research paper, using Chicago Manual of Style guidelines, making sure you include footnotes, a title page and bibliography. 2. Write a critical review of one of the following monographs in the History of the American West. Your review must include both a summary of the contents and a critical analysis of the text. The review must be double-spaced and at least 500 words in length. Richard White, "The Organic Machine: The Remaking of the Columbia River Peter Cozzens, "The Earth is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West" Patricia Nelson Limerick, "The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West" Dick Kreck, "Hell on Wheels: Wicked Towns Along the Union Pacific Railroad" Geoffrey O'Gara, "What You See in Clear Water: Indians, Whites, and a Battle Over Water in the American West

    Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

    Required Materials

    • Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American West
      • Author: H. W. Brands
      • Publisher: Basic Books
      • Publication Date: 2009
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • The American West
      • Author: Dee Brown
      • Publisher: Touchstone
      • Publication Date: 1995
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • The Organic Machine: The Remaking of the Columbia River
      • Author: Richard White
      • Publisher: Hill and Wang
      • Publication Date: 1996
      • Text Edition: 1st
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • The American West: A Concise History
      • Author: Anne M. Butler and Michael J. Lansing
      • Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
      • Publication Date: 2007
      • Text Edition: 1st
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Surviving on the Texas Frontier: The Journal of a Frontier Orphan Girl in San Saba County, 1852 - 1907
      • Author: Sarah Harkey Hall and Paula Mitchell Marks
      • Publisher: Eakin Press
      • Publication Date: 1996
      • Text Edition: 1st
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:

    Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.