History 491-02: History Seminar – The American West
Flannery Burke
Department of History
Saint Louis University
Fall 2009
Lecture/discussion times and location: TR, 12:45-2:00 PM Humanities Rm. 243
Office Hours: TR 2:15-3:00 and by appointment
Office telephone: (314) 977-2914
Email:
Course Description:
From Last of the Mohicans to Lone Ranger lunch boxes to luxury ski cabins, the American West has been the place where Americans went to dream, hope, and play. It is perhaps the place Americans think of most when they imagine the nation’s future. As a place of hopes and dreams and, sometimes, fears, the American West has acquired a position in the national imagination that has more to do with myth than with the reality of western history. This class will give you an opportunity to investigate the myth, the reality, and the history of where myth and reality have intersected in the American West. One could cover the history of the American West without explicitly engaging ideas of myth and representation, but the opportunity is such a good one, it seems a shame to pass it up. From first contact with indigenous people to the development of the world’s first atomic weapon, the American West is a rich place for historical investigation and for understanding why Americans tell themselves myths about the past. This class will give you chance to check out the raw material that led to the images and the reality alike.
In many respects 491 is the most difficult class for History majors because it requires that you combine primary source research with analysis. Unless you pursue graduate education in History, you are unlikely to have another opportunity like this one. Make the most of your chance now. Because this class requires that you must conduct your own research, you will need to manage your time meticulously. Start planning how you will write your paper now. You will be pleased with the result this semester and in years to come.
Assignments
Reading is not optional for this class. It should be completed BEFORE class. We can’t have good or lively discussions without you giving your best shot at the reading. That said – whether you have done the reading or not – come to class! You’ll be amazed at how much you can learn and how much you can participate even if you have not done the reading. Sometimes our “reading” will actually be watching a film. I expect you to bring the same critical eye to the films you watch that you bring to the reading. In fact, developing critical thinking skills about film and other non-written forms of popular culture is one of the key skills that we’ll develop in this class. Finally, bear in mind that the reading for your papers should always take priority. You will find it easy to read the secondary sources at the beginning of the semester, but make sure you give your own primary source reading first priority.
Participation means showing up, listening to your classmates, and making your own contributions to class discussions. Participation means more than being present and is absolutely crucial to your grade and to how much you can get out of this class. Everyone benefits when we’re all invested in what we can learn from each other. I do notice when I see students cooperating on assignments and engaging one another in class, and I reward students accordingly. I encourage you to challenge yourselves and your classmates in class discussion – oftentimes our deepest insights come from constructive debate. Of course, I do ask you to treat one another politely and respectfully, even when differences of opinion arise.
Your participation grade will be based in part on the attention you give to the papers of your peers in our conference session.
Papers:
Response Sheets: Throughout the semester, you will complete assignments that will help you draft your final paper. I will grade them with a check, a check plus, or a check minus. While the response sheets might seem minor, bear in mind that the quality of your final paper depends on the quality of your work throughout the semester. Make the quality of your response sheets high, and your final paper should fall into place.
Conference Papers: At the end of the semester, we will hold two conference sessions in which you will present a segment of your final paper or a concentrated version of its central argument. Your conference papers will be read aloud and should be between 10 and 15 minutes in length. You will present on panels organized thematically. Each session will include a question-and-answer period. If possible, I will recruit chairs and commentators for the panels from the larger community of western historians in the St. Louis area. You should plan on presenting just as you would at a professional conference. Wear business attire and come prepared to ask and answer questions respectfully. Should your paper go well, you might want to consider revising it for the department conference at the end of the academic year.
You will find it easier to have a full draft of your final paper completed before you write your conference paper. In general, it is easier to extricate a conference paper from a longer work than it is to expand a conference paper into a longer work.
You should submit a hard copy of your conference paper to me at the first conference session. Your conference papers should have footnotes, but you will not read the notes.
Final Paper: This is where it’s all been headed. Your final paper should use primary sources that you found yourself. Your paper should make an original argument. You should incorporate secondary sources to amplify, counter, and fully explicate your thesis. Your final paper should reference at least 5 primary sources of at least 2 different kinds. We will talk about different kinds of primary sources in class. Your final paper should reference at least 3 secondary sources, and at least one of these sources should be one that we read as a group. Your final paper should be 16-20 pages long. It should include footnotes and a bibliography.
You should take time to run the drafts of your papers by someone in the Writing Center. Even if you already consider yourself an excellent writer, revising makes just about every piece of written work better. You can also bring drafts of your paper to me, and I will go over them with you. The sooner you bring it to me, the more time I can invest in helping you to make it better.
You may email papers to me if, for some really, really good reason, you can not be in class the day an assignment is due. I will not grade your papers, though, until I have received them in hard copy. I will return papers 2 weeks after I have received them in hard copy. If you do choose to email me a paper, be sure that I send you a confirmation email that I have received it. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 24 hours, assume that I have not received your paper.
Your papers are due at the beginning of class and should be double-spaced, use 12-point Times New Roman font, and have one-inch margins. When you cite sources, follow the Chicago Manual of Style for proper citation style in your notes.
For now – here’s how the grading breaks down:
Response sheets: 20%
Conference paper: 20%
Final paper: 40%
Participation: 20%
It will be very difficult to cheat in this class because you will be producing original work based on original research. Nonetheless, cheating or plagiarism of any kind on any assignment will result in an “F” in the course and disciplinary action.
Attendance
Attendance is necessary in this class. Getting the notes from a friend will not be sufficient to pass, particularly because each of you will be producing original work. I will begin lowering your grade at two absences. If you know you will be missing class, please tell me in advance. There are no excused or unexcused absences in this course. You do not need to explain to me why you have missed class. If you miss two classes, however, your grade will begin to decline. If you know that it is likely that you will miss more than two classes, you should consider taking another course with a different schedule.
Books and Museum Visits:
The following books are required:
Henry Nash Smith, Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth Cambridge: Harvard University Press (1971)
Elliott West, Contested Plains
Robert Berkhofer, The White Man’s Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present New York: Vintage (1971)
David Wrobel, Promised Lands: Promotion, Memory and the Creation of the American West Lawrence: University Press of Kansas (2002)
Recommended:
Major Problems in the History of the American West (I had no idea that this book was quite so expensive. Feel free to buy a copy, but you can also get by reading it on reserve.)
You are under no obligation whatsoever to buy your books at the bookstore. Feel free to look for more affordable online sources of materials. You might also enjoy exploring some of the independent bookstores in the St. Louis area.
Archive Visits:
We will visit both the Missouri Historical Society archives as well as the Mercantile Library on the UMSL campus. You needn’t restrict your research to these archives, but you should consider this opportunity to do original research at such well-respected and well-stocked institutions. Our visits will take longer than the allotted time for class. I have cancelled class sessions so that your overall time commitment to the class should not change. If you are unable to make the archive visits, please let me know, and I’ll arrange a visit for you at another time if it’s necessary for your research. I do strongly encourage you to take advantage of these visits, if you can.
Students with Disabilities: Please alert me at the beginning of the semester if you have a disability that requires accommodation.
Keeping up: I realize that many of you have multiple demands on your time. Sometimes, I know, those demands can become overwhelming. If you find yourself falling behind in this class, please don’t disappear! Come talk to me as soon as you recognize that there is a problem so that we can discuss your options.
Schedule
Week 1 Introductions
Aug. 25 In class screening: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (depending on Welcome Week activities)
Aug. 27 Finish Liberty Valance and post-movie discussion (depending on Welcome Week activitives)
Week 2
September 1 Frontier
Reading: Henry Nash Smith, Virgin Land Books 1 & 2
Major Problems Chapter 1
September 3 Garden or Wilderness?
Readings: Henry Nash Smith, Virgin Land Book 3
Week 3 Or Front Yard?
September 8 Native Views
Reading: Robert Berkhofer, The White Man’s Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present
September 10 When Myth and Reality Collide
Reading: Philip Deloria, “Violence” from Indians in Unexpected Places [ereserve]
Assignments: Chapter Choices for Major Problems Due
Week 4 Crucible
September 15 Where and When?
Reading: Contested Plains Parts 1 & 2
Chapters 2-7 chosen from Major Problems
September 17 Contested Plains Part 3
Chapters 8-14 chosen from Major Problems
Assignment: Chapter summary of Major Problems emailed to class
Week 5 Digging in
September 22 Archive Tour to Missouri Historical Society
September 24 No class
Assignment: Final Paper topics due
Week 6 Imagined Into Being
September 29 Promises Made, Promises Broken
Readings: David Wrobel, Promised Lands
Parts 1&2
October 1 Promises Delivered
Promised Lands Part 3
Week 7 Making Choices
October 6 Archive Visit – Mercantile Library
October 8 No class
Week 8
October 13 Online Sources Tour
October 15 Assisted peer writing group
Assignment: Secondary source bibliography response sheet due
Week 9
October 20 In-class viewing: Chinatown
October 22 Movie discussion and brief peer meeting
Assignment: Primary source bibliography response sheet due
Week 10
October 27 Seeing on the Canvas and on the Screen
Reading: Brian Dippie, “The Visual West,” from The Oxford History of the American West [ereserve]
Martha Sandweiss, Introduction and Epilogue from Print the Legend [ereserve]
Philip Deloria, “Representation” from Indians in Unexpected Places [ereserve]
October 29 Assisted peer meeting
Reading: Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke “The 5 C’s of Historical Thinking” [ereserve]
Assignment: Critical questions asked
Week 11
November 3 Seeing and Being Seen
Reading: Leah Dilworth, “‘Handmade by an American Indian’”: Souvenirs and the Cultural Economy of Southwestern Tourism,” in The Culture of Tourism, The Tourism of Culture [ereserve]
Sylvia Rodriguez, “Tourism, Difference, and Power in the Borderlands,” in The Culture of Tourism, The Tourism of Culture [ereserve]
David Wrobel, “Introduction: Tourists, Tourism, and the Toured Upon,” from Seeing and Being Seen [ereserve]
November 5 Assisted peer meeting
Assignment: critical questions answered
Week 12 Saddling up
November 10 Individual meetings with me
November 12 Individual meetings with me
Week 13 Ride on
November 17 Individual meetings with me
November 19 Individual meetings with me
Week 14 Did you know domesticated turkeys originally came from Mexico? It’s a historical fact!
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 24 No class – work on papers – but do note assignment below
Assignment: Annotated Outlines Due
Week 15 Fistful of Wests
December 1 Mini-Conference #1
December 3 Mini-Conference #2
Final Papers Due
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