History 4910: American Southwest Borderlands
Spring 2005
9:30-10:20 M/W/F Animal Science 303
Professor Lawrence Culver
Email: lawrence.culver@usu.edu
Phone: 797-3101
Office: Old Main 321-L
Office Hours: M/W/F 10:30-11:30, or by appointment.
Graduate Teaching Fellow: Jennifer Holland
Email: jholland@hass.usu.edu
Office Hours: By appointment.
Texts Available at USU Bookstore:
Richard W. Etulain, ed. César Chávez: A Brief Biography with Documents
Linda Gordon, The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction
Oscar J. Martinez, U.S.-Mexico Borderlands: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Douglas Monroy, Thrown Among Strangers: The Making of Mexican Culture in Frontier
California
David J. Weber, ed. What Caused the Pueblo Revolt of 1680?
This course examines the history of the American Southwest Borderlands. We will survey
regional history from the Pre-Columbian era to the present, and the movement of the border and
border peoples during the Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. eras.
Assignments and Grading:
There will be a total of five papers in this class. You will write a review/analysis paper on three
books: What Caused the Pueblo Revolt of 1680?, Thrown Among Strangers: The Making of
Mexican Culture in Frontier California, and The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction. You will
write a fourth paper based on the primary documents found in U.S.-Mexico Borderlands:
Historical and Contemporary Perspectives and César Chávez: A Brief Biography with
Documents. Your final paper for the class will be a review of the historical content of an
historical website, such as a site maintained by a museum, historical site, or historical society
related to the history of the Southwest. The other graded components of the class will be in-class
quizzes on the readings and class lectures, a midterm exam, and a final exam.
Reading/Lecture Quizzes: 10%
Midterm: 15%
Final: 15%
What Caused the Pueblo Revolt of 1680? Paper (3-5 pages): 10%
Thrown Among Strangers Paper (3-5 pages): 10%
The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction Paper (3-5 pages): 10%
Primary Source Paper (3-5 pages): 10%
Website Paper (3-5 pages): 10%
Class Participation: 10%
Class Participation:
This course is intended to include in-class discussions, and is not solely a lecture class. Your
participation in discussion is essential, and will determine 10% of your final grade. Simply
showing up to class does not constitute active participation. Your participation grade will
depend upon your contributions to our discussions. Joining in these conversations demonstrates
your understanding of the readings, and allows you to share your views on the topics we discuss.
Your class presentation will also be considered as part of your participation grade.
Attendance:
Attendance is mandatory. Unexcused absences will lower your participation grade. You should
make every effort to be present when we meet. The second absence will result in the lowering of
your participation grade by a full letter grade. The third absence will result in a zero for your
participation grade. To avoid these penalties, you must speak with me prior to any absence
except in the case of an emergency. If an emergency occurs, contact me as soon as possible to
be excused from class.
Reading Assignments:
You are expected to complete each week’s reading on schedule. These assigned readings
provide the core materials for the course, and will enable you to participate in discussion.
Failure to complete reading assignments will endanger your participation grade and make it
impossible to successfully complete quizzes, exams, and written assignments.
Grading:
All work received on time will be graded and returned as promptly as possible. If your paper is
turned in late, it will receive a reduced grade (1/3 of a letter grade a day) unless you make
arrangements with me well in advance. You are expected to proofread and revise your written
assignments before turning them in. Please feel free to meet with me to discuss a topic, thesis
statement, introductory paragraph or preliminary outline for your papers before they are due.
Academic Dishonesty:
The USU Honor Code prohibits academic dishonesty. Plagiarism includes knowingly
“representing, by paraphrase or direct quotation, the published or unpublished work of another
person as one’s own in any academic exercise or activity without full and clear
acknowledgement. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another
person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials” (Code of
Policies and Procedures for Students, Article V, Section 3A.1). The penalties for plagiarism are
severe. They include “#1) warning or reprimand and #2) grade adjustment” (see: Article VI,
Section 1A). Plagiarism or other academic dishonesty will result in an immediate F, and will be
reported to the Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Other penalties
may also be imposed at the Dean’s discretion. These include probation, suspension, expulsion,
withholding of transcripts, denial or revocation of degrees, referral to psychological counseling,
and other appropriate disciplinary actions.
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Course Schedule
Week 1
January 10 Course Introduction
January 12 The Southwest and Mesoamerica before 1492
January 14 Spain and Europe before 1492
Reading: Primary Source Documents (On USU Library Reserve. Password: CUL4910)
Week 2
January 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday – No Class
January 19 Contact, Conquest, and the Columbian Exchange
January 21 The Evolution of New Spain and Mestizo Mexican Culture
Reading: What Caused the Pueblo Revolt of 1680?, pages v-80.
Week 3
January 24 Northern Expansion and Explorations
January 26 Visit USU Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art to see photography exhibit,
In the Eye of the Sun: Mexican Fiestas (Tentative date)
January 28 Pueblo Revolt and the Reconquest of New Mexico
Reading: What Caused the Pueblo Revolt of 1680?, pages 81-129.
Week 4
January 31 From Military Conquest to Missionization
What Caused the Pueblo Revolt of 1680? paper due
February 2 Regional Developments in the Late Spanish Period
February 4 Mexican Revolution and Independence
Reading: Thrown Among Strangers, pages xiii-162.
Week 5
February 7 Regional Developments after Independence
February 9 Californios, Natives, and the Rancho System
February 11 Anglo-American Economic and Exploratory Incursions
Reading: Thrown Among Strangers, pages 163-285.
Week 6
February 14 The Alamo and Independence for Texas
February 16 The U.S.-Mexican War
Thrown Among Strangers paper due
February 18 U.S. Annexation of the Mexican North
Reading: U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, pages xiii-84.
Week 7
February 21 President’s Day Holiday – No Class
February 23 The Gold Rush and Its Effects on Californios and Native Californians
February 25 Midterm Review
Reading: The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction, pages ix-117.
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Week 8
February 28 MIDTERM EXAM
March 2 From Borderland to Bordered Land: Imposing Anglo-American “Order”
March 4 Inventing the Southwest
Reading: The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction, pages 118-208.
Week 9
March 7 Tourism and Transformation in the Southwest
March 9 The Growth of Cities, Barrios, and Economic Change on Both Sides of the Border
March 11 Mexican Civil War, World War I, and the Creation of the Modern Border
Reading: The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction, pages 209-318.
Week 10
March 14 Spring Break Holiday – No Class
March 16 Spring Break Holiday – No Class
March 18 Spring Break Holiday – No Class
Week 11
March 21 Mexican Immigration into the Southwest
March 23 Depression and Deportation
The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction paper due
March 25 World War II at Home and Abroad for Southwesterners
Reading: U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, pages 85-148.
Week 12
March 28 Unrest in L.A.: Zoot Suit Riots and the Sleepy Lagoon Case
March 30 From Mexicans to Mexican Americans
April 1 The Bracero Program and Labor Issues
Reading: U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, pages 149-174.
Week 13
April 4 César Chávez and the United Farm Workers
April 6 Civil Rights, Becoming Chicana/o, and Reclaiming Aztlan
April 8 The Immigration Boom
Reading: César Chávez: A Brief Biography with Documents
Week 14
April 11 NAFTA, Trade, and Blurring the Border
April 13 Proposition 187 and Other Political Fights over Immigration and Immigrants
April 15 Native Americans in the Contemporary Southwest
Primary Sources Paper Due
Reading: U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, pages 175-257.
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Week 15
April 18 Mex-America and an Expanding Borderland
April 20 Class Presentations
April 22 Class Presentations
Reading: Historical Websites
Week 16
April 25 Last Day of Class
Historical Website Paper Due
FINAL EXAM: Friday, April 29, 9:30 – 11:20
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