S
Spring 2010
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HISTORY 369
HISTORY OF THE WEST
& PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Instructor: Doug Sackman
email: dsackman@ups.edu phone: 3913
Office: Wyatt 138
Office Hours: Tu: 10.-11; Wednesday and Friday, 11-11.50am (I am also
available to meet with you at other times; just email me for an appointment)
webpage: http://www.ups.edu/faculty/dsackman/
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Instead of one American West, we are now faced with many. These many
Wests have surfaced because recently a new group of historians, wishing to
value the multiple stories peoples have told about the West (or El Norte or
the navel of the world or Gam Saan) have attempted to break down
ethnocentric frontier mythology and instead give us a multicultural and
perhaps even a multiperspectival Western history. Following those tracks, we
explore the encounters, exchanges and conflicts among peoples and between
people and nature, with a view to uncovering what the western regions can
tell us about our nation’s motto: e pluribus unum.
The flux of the West is a matter of geography as well as perspective. For
some historians, the West begins at the frontier of Europeans and Natives on
the eastern seaboard, and then progressively moves west over time. In this
view, the Old Northwest of the Ohio Country is categorized as part of the
West until a certain point when it transmogrified into the Midwest. Others
use the Mississippi or the 98th meridian or the Rocky Mountains as the firm
dividing line between the East and West. But how far west does this West
go—does it include Hawai‘i and Alaska? A recent “Atlas of the New West”
says no, and it even excludes the Pacific Coast, including Western
Washington, from the domain of the real west. Our course will give some
attention to all of these fluctuating wests as well as to these issues of
definition, but the course will be anchored to the Pacific Slope—the far
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western region centering on the states of California, Oregon, and
Washington. Some attention will be given to bordering areas, including
Hawai‘i, Alaska, British Columbia and Mexico. Chronologically, we will
concentrate on the period between the onset of European penetration of the
region in the late 18th century through World War Two.
In this course we will approach the Pacific Slope from several angles. We
will look for the dynamics of cultural conflict and exchange among competing
peoples in the region, attending to issues of race, class and gender. We will
ask how regional identities have been made, and look at the relationship
between culture and nature over time in landscapes that have been both
celebrated and transformed to an astounding degree. Throughout, we will
examine the ways that western experience has been translated into stories,
whether in the oral traditions of native peoples, the triumphalist narratives of
national expansion, the fictional accounts of writers and filmmakers, and the
critical accounts of recent historians and writers who have attempted to
rewrite the dominant narrative of western history. The course, then, will
encompass three major themes:
1) diversity and the dynamics of cross-cultural encounters on
the “frontier,” with attention to the values of different and
competing groups
2) the role of nature in the making of western history, and
3) the relationship of myth and narrative to western
experience and history.
FORMAT AND OBJECTIVES
In the above description, I have emphasized what “we” will do. I mean that:
the course is meant to be a collaborative investigation. Class time will be
devoted largely to discussions of the readings and the issues they touch upon.
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To make the course work, then, you will have to come to class having done
the reading and having thought about questions or comments you might want
to bring up in class discussion.
I’ve designed the course to give you a range of opportunities to participate
in the class and contribute to its course. Of course, you are encouraged to
actively engage with discussions, raising questions, making points and
otherwise contributing to the flow of the conversation. The readings for the
course are extensive (averaging about 100 pgs per week, though it varies
considerably), and essential. Your reactions to the content, ideas and
evidence presented in the reading will be crucial to what we do in class.
Doing the reading in time for class is thus critical to the success of the course.
In reading selections, you will find it useful to take notes and write down
particular questions you might have or topics you would like to discuss. As a
student, I found that underlining or highlighting passages, while helpful, was
not the best way to prepare me to participate in class discussions. I started to
take notes on a separate sheet of paper (or on my computer), listing the
relevant page number on the left and then some idea or quote that I found
interesting next to it. In class, then, I could use this as an index of my ideas,
and then point to a particular passage as a basis for a question or to present
my perspective on a particular issue. You may find that developing a notetaking system will work for you. Please bring the readings to class on the day
for which they are assigned. If you do not do the readings, you will get little
out of the class. If you do the readings, but have nothing to say about them,
then the class as a whole will suffer. The more you get involved, the more
you will get out of the class, and the more exciting, engaging, and successful
the class will be as whole.
Ideally, students in this course:
• will gain a basic understanding of the persons, events, and forces that have
shaped history in the West and Pacific Northwest from the late-eighteenth
century through World War Two
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• will sharpen their ability to read and analyze historical writing
• will deepen their understanding of the process of conquest, colonization and
resistance in the West
• will deepen their understanding of how cultural diversity, the environment,
and narratives have played critical and interrelated roles in the making of
Western/Pacific Northwestern history
• will learn to analyze events and narratives about events from multiple points
of view
• will develop their skills of oral and written expression, including how to
formulate a position on an open-ended topic and effectively use evidence to
support that position
• will gain practice working with web-based materials and working
cooperatively in groups
• will have opportunities to engage with Western/Pacific Northwestern
history as a teacher as well as a student
READINGS
• Thomas Slaughter, Exploring Lewis and Clark: Reflections on Men and
Wilderness
• Richard White, The Organic Machine: The Remaking of the Columbia River
• Annie Dillard, The Living
• Mae Ngai, Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America
• John Steinbeck, The Harvest Gypsies
• History 369 Reader
EVALUATION
Guidelines for each of the assignments will be distributed when appropriate in
the term.
1) Attendance, Class Participation and several Short Papers [28%]
(including informal writing assignments and group work): This category
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includes reading, attendance & participation in discussions. Regular
attendance is expected.* Students can participate in class by making points
and connections, raising questions, listening and responding to the
comments of other students, and otherwise engaging with the flow of the
discussion. Class participation and the short papers will be weighted about
equally in determining this portion of your grade. The class participation
component is based on your preparation for class and your active and
constructive involvement in discussions. The Discussion Papers, which will
not be graded but will be assigned a number from 0-4 that assesses their
general quality, give you a chance to consider the reading assigned for the
day that the discussion paper is due and pose a question that the group as
a whole might discuss in our class session. There are 6 days on which you
have a discussion paper due, but you may skip one of these of your
choosing. In addition to the discussion papers, you are expected to write a
Film Discussion Paper on 1 of the 2 films screened for the class, and
complete 2 Document Gathering Assignments. Guidelines for the short
papers appear in the syllabus below.
2) Class Presentation [5%]: A ten-minute presentation on a topic—
person, place, event or idea— related to Western history of your
choosing.
3) Paper I [19%]: A 4-6 page paper, due in week 7 (topics and guidelines
distributed by week 4).
4) Paper II [19%]: A 4-6 Page paper, due in week 12 (topics and guidelines
distributed by week 9).
5) Research essay [29%]: An 8-12 page paper on a topic of your own
choice; prospectus due in week 11, final draft due Friday of Finals Week by
3pm.
Note: If the class and I determine that the reading is not being
done, quizzes and/or daily papers may be added.
*
Unexcused absences will weigh down your participation grade. Extreme cases, where a student
misses more than 5 classes, will normally result in the student being withdrawn from the class.
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Late Policy: Assignments that are up to 24 hours late will receive a 1/3
grade reduction (e.g. a B would become a B-); assignments turned in more
than one but less than two days late will be lowered 2/3 of a grade; work
turned in more than two but less than three days will be lowered a full grade.
Work turned in later will be lowered 1 and 1/3 grade.
PRESENTATION GUIDELINES
For the presentation, please choose a topic that has some relevance to this
class. Presentations should be no more than 10 minutes long, but the format
for the presentation is up to you. However you decide to present your
findings, the best presentations are well-organized, rehearsed, informative,
interesting, and engaging. They at once do a good job of presenting
information in an interesting manner and conveying a few larger points or
conclusions about the topic. While your presentations no doubt will be
informative, we will also be interested in your interpretations. Thus, you
might want to consider these kinds of questions: What significance do you
see in your topic? How does it relate to other aspects of Western history
we’ve looked at in the class? Does it tell us something about one or more of
the three main themes of the course?
On the day of your presentation, please also turn in an annotated
bibliography of at least three sources consulted (at least one of which should
not be a web-based source, that is, a scholarly book or article; for books, use
Simon or Summit; to find articles, use the database America: History and Life).
The annotation can simply be 2-4 sentences describing the source and the
way it is useful. You may wish to ask me for ideas for sources.
The following should give you some idea of the grading criteria: a presentation
that is researched adequately, is informative, and is organized effectively is roughly a
B-/B; presentations that manage to be engaging and are especially interesting in
their interpretations and/or imaginative and creative in their presentation move up
higher on the scale; presentations that are less well-organized, poorly presented,
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drag on beyond the time allotted, and/or are not very informative move down on the
scale.
In thinking of a topic, feel free to talk to me about your interests and we
might be able to come up with one together. You may also wish to browse
Hine and Faragher, The American West, Richard White, It’s Your Misfortune and
None of My Own, or Schwantes, The Pacific Northwest for possible topics. After
everyone has selected topics, I will assign days for the presentations (and if
the day selected for your presentation doesn’t work for you, we can make
adjustments).
Please select your topics by Tuesday in the second week of classes. I will pass
around a sign up sheet.
GUIDELINES FOR THE SHORT PAPERS
There are several short writing assignments, including Discussion Papers, 1
Film Discussion Paper and document gathering assignments. These are meant
to be somewhat informal assignments, giving you the opportunity to develop
and express your ideas free from the pressure of grading. These papers will
be carefully read, and though I will not be able to make extensive comments
on them, they will be assigned a number from 0-4 that assesses their general
quality. Papers that receive a 2 are considered good. If you receive 0s and 1s,
you should put more effort into future papers so that they merit 2s. Papers
that are particularly well crafted and present an exceptionally penetrating,
creative, or sophisticated analysis, interpretation or reaction to the reading,
film or other subject merit 3s or 4s.
Discussion Papers: There are several Discussion Papers of 1-2 pages each
that reflect on the reading for the day and identify a topic suitable for class
discussion. The purpose of these assignments is to deepen your engagement
with the material, allow you to pursue and communicate your own
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perspectives in written form, improve your writing through practice, and give
you and the class a launching pad of ideas going into the day’s discussion.
Discussion Papers for your group are due on the days indicated in the
course schedule in the syllabus (these “groups” are merely a way of dividing
up the class; you will not be working with other people in the group on the
papers; rather, every member of the group will independently write his or her
discussion paper for the day). Bring them with you to class, but they will be
turned in at the end of class since you may need to refer to them during class
time. Usually under no circumstances, including computer failure, may
Discussion Papers be turned in late. (In certain circumstances, I may allow you
to switch the day for which you write a Discussion paper, but you must ask
me about this at least 24-hours in advance). You may, however, skip one of
the Discussion Papers on a day of your choosing.
Discussion Papers should be typed and between 1 and 2 pages long. The
Discussion Papers involve two components: a topic discussion and an issue
identification:
Topic Discussion: For the topic discussion, I would like you to write 2-3
paragraphs or so about some aspect of the reading for that day that grabs
your attention and you would like to discuss. I am not looking for you to
summarize the reading. Instead, I would like you to identify some theme or
issue raised in the reading and interpret its significance. You need not deal
with the reading as a whole; in fact, you may want to focus on a small part
of the larger reading. When there are multiple readings assigned, you may
wish to raise points of comparison, though you may also elect to focus on
one or the other of the readings. In finding an angle from which to
approach the reading, you might find it useful to relate your topic in some
way to one of the three major themes in this class, i.e., 1) diversity and the
dynamics of cultural encounters on the “frontier,” 2) the role of nature in
the making of western history, and 3) the relationship of myth or narrative
to western experience and history. This is a suggestion but not a
requirement.
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Issue ID: The second component of the Discussion Paper is the
identification of some issue that can be suitable for class discussion. This
can be one or two sentences long, and it can be as simple as identifying a
quote from one of the readings that you find illuminating and interesting,
or questionable. You might also raise a point of comparison (e.g. the
different ways that Bret Harte and Annie Dillard portray settlers). The
issue may be related to your topic discussion, though it need not be. Be
prepared with these: I will on occasion ask you to present your issue id in
class.
Film Discussion Papers: For one of the two films screened for the class, I
would like you to write a 1-2 page discussion paper. You may wish to relate
something you see portrayed in the film to some aspect of Western history
we have discussed in class or to one or more of the course’s three main
themes. Film discussion papers are due in the next class session following the
screening of the film.
The Document Gathering Assignments:: These are explained in the
course schedule, below. They involve gathering a primary source
document and writing about its significance in relation to course topics
and readings in about a page.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Faith in your academic integrity is vital to all we do at UPS. It should go
without saying that the college expects that all work submitted for evaluation
in courses will be the product of the student’s own labor and imagination. Of
course, you are free to speak with others about your work and share ideas
and perspectives. In writing your papers, though, you are developing your
own ideas and arguments. You can incorporate the ideas or words of others
in your own paper, but to do so you must properly cite your sources.
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Turning in a paper that attempts to pass off the words or ideas of others as
your own constitutes plagiarism (see The Logger for more information on
plagiarism and University policies on academic honesty, online at
http://www.ups.edu/x4718.xml). Like other forms of cheating, plagiarism is a
contamination that pollutes our environment. Students who knowingly turn in
work that involves plagiarism or is marred by other forms of cheating will not
pass the course (i.e. , they will fail), though more severe penalties may be
recommended for egregious cases.
One can understand the temptation to turn in illegitimate work: students
working under intense pressures may turn to cheating as an easy way out. But
to do so, you not only steal the work of others, you cheat yourself and your
fellow students as well. A real degree from UPS cannot be obtained through
looting. If you are worried about your grade or completing an assignment,
please come and talk to me. I can work with you to help you get over the
hurdles and make it possible for you to get something positive out of the
course.
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Readings should be completed by the day in which they will be discussed, and
you should bring the appropriate texts with you to class. Those readings with
a number are drawn from the History 369 Reader.
PART I: THE MYTH OF THE WEST
AGAINST WESTERN
HISTORIOGRAPHY
Week 1 From the Old West to the New Wests
T (1/19): Three Trails West: Myth, Environment, and Cultural Encounters
Th (1/21): The Frontier Thesis and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West: Ur-myth of the Nation?
[Discussion Papers due for Groups A and B: normally, you are free to
choose whatever aspect of the reading you wish for your topic discussion and
issue id, but for the first session I would like those in Group A to pose an
Issue ID related to the Turner reading, and for those in Group B to pose an
Issue ID related to the White reading; you are free to discuss either or both
readings in your Topic Discussion]
1. Frederick Jackson Turner, “The Significance of the Frontier in American
History” (1893) [all numbered readings to be found in the 369 Reader]
2. Richard White, “Buffalo Bill and Frederick Jackson Turner” (369 Reader)
Week 2 Frontier and Region
T (1/26): Placing the West and Northwest [Groups C and D; normally, you
are free to choose whatever aspect of the reading you wish for your topic
discussion and issue id, but for this session I would like those in Group C to
pose an Issue ID related to one or both of the Limerick readings, and for
those in Group D to pose an Issue ID related to the Findlay reading; you are
free to discuss either or both readings in your Topic Discussion]
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3. Patricia Limerick, “What on Earth is the New Western History?”
4. Patricia Limerick, “Region and Reason”
5. John Findlay, “A Fishy Proposition”
Th (1/28): Landscapes and Regional Identity [Group E]
6. G.E Stevens, "Tacoma Invites You” (@1917)
7. Erwin Weber, “Why the Pacific Northwest is Destined to Dominate the
Commercial World” (1924)
8. Lonnie Bunch III, "The Greatest State for the Negro"
beginning of Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
Week 3 Printing the Legend
T (2/2): Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
Th (2/4): [Group A]
9. Elliott West, “Stories”
54. Gloria Anzaldua, from La Frontera/Borderlands
<<If you select this film to write on, your Film Discussion Paper Due in
class>>
PART II: COLUMBIAN ENCOUNTERS:
FURS. EMPIRES AND NATIVES, 17411840
Week 4 Mutual Discoveries: Lewis and Clark
among the Indians
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T (2/9): [Group B]
10 Exploration Documents (Hezeta, Cook, Vancouver, Puget)
11. Murray Morgan, "The Eyes of Discovery…"
12. Jefferson’s Instructions to Lewis
Th (2/11): [Group C]
• Slaughter, Exploring Lewis and Clark, introduction and chapters 1, 2 and 5
13. Selections from The Journals of Lewis and Clark,
Week 5 The Lewis and Clark Story
T (2/16): [Group D]
• Richard White, The Organic Machine, intro and chapter 1
• Slaughter, chs. 6 and “reflections” (which begins on p. 186)
PART III: GOLD & MANIFEST
DESTINY
Th (2/18): The Borderlands and the Spanish Mission in California [Group E]
14. Documents on Spanish and Mexican California
16. Francis Guest, "Cultural Perspectives on Death and Whipping"
17. Antonia Casteñada, "Spanish Violence against Amerindian Women"
Week 6: Mexico, Californios and American
Conquest
T (2/23): The Reconquest of California and the Myth of the Gold Rush
[Group A]
18. Richard Henry Dana, from Two Years before the Mast
20. William Perkins, “Life at Sonora,”
21. John Ridge, “The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta”
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22 James Sandos, “’Because he is a liar and a thief’”
Document Gathering Assignment [Group D and E] Find a passage (a
page or less) from one of the documents at the California As I Saw It: First
Person Narratives of California's Early Years virtual archive that relates in
some way to the Gold Rush. You may especially be interested in how
Mexicans or Californios were portrayed, but feel free to search for other
topics. In about a page, analyze the passage and relate it in some way to a
reading assigned for today. Website: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/
Th (2/25: Gold Rush, Social Fissures and Racial Formation [Group B]
27. Dame Shirley Letters
24. Sucheng Chan, “A People of Exceptional Character”
25. Tse Chong-Chee, “Letters to Tsi Chow-Choo” and Chinese-English
Phrase Guide
Document Gathering Assignment [Group C and A] Find a passage (a
page or less) from one of the documents at the California As I Saw It: First
Person Narratives of California's Early Years virtual archive that relates in
some way to the Gold Rush. You may especially be interested in how
Chinese—or other "ethnic" or "racial" groups— were portrayed, but feel free
to search for other topics. In about a page, analyze the passage and relate it in
some way to a reading assigned for today. Website:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/
Week 7: Contested Claims in the Gold Rush
T (3/2): Gold Rush inscribed on the Land, People and in Memory [Group C]
26. Bret Harte, “The Luck of Roaring Camp”
27b Frank Norris, from McTeague
52 Doug Sackman, “Nature and Conquest: After the Deluge of ’49”
Recommended:
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28. Bret Harte, “Tennessee’s Partner”
29. Susan Johnson, “’My own private life’: Toward a History of Desire in
Gold Rush California”
Th (3/4): The Oregon Trail
32. Oregon Trail Documents (The Letters of Narcissa Whitman; Sidney
Walter Moss, from The Prairie Flower; Knight’s Journal; 1850 letter)
<Paper 1 due Friday by 3pm: Please turn them in to the folder next
to my office.>
PART IV: FROM THE OREGON TRAIL
TO THE TRANSCONTINENTAL
RAILROAD: THE INDUSTRIAL
TRANSFORMATION OF THE WEST
Week 8: Landscapes of Promise and
Dispossession
T (3/9): [Group D]
33. Peter Boag, from Environment and Experience, 280-299
35. Chief Joseph, “An Indian’s View of Indian Affairs”, 302-305
36. Alexandra Harmon, “Treaties and War”, 306-321
Th (3/11):
No class: I am away at the American Society for Environmental History
Conference
Spring Break
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Week 9: Imagining Settler Society
T (3/25): [Group E and A]
29. Seattle’s Speech
• Dillard, The Living, pp. 3-121
Th (3/27): [Group B]
38. Abigail Scott Duniway, from Path Breaking, 324-328
39 Selections from Duniway's The New Northwest, 330-340
48. Patricia Limerick, “The American Landscape discovered from the West”, 411-424
Recommended: 40 Susan Armitage, “Tied to Other Lives: Women in Pacific Northwest
History”, 341-349
Week 10:
T (3/30): [Group C]
• Dillard, The Living, 121-240
Document Gathering Assignment [Group B]: Find an article in The New York
Times, The Nation, the Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor or a 19th
century magazine describing or involving Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham,
Washington Territory or State, or the Puget Sound and published before
1910. In about a page, analyze the article and relate it in some way to Dillard.
Th (4/1): Machine in the Garden [Group D]
37. Henry George, "What the Railroads Will Bring" (1869)
53 Solnit, selections from River of Shadows
Week 11:
T (4/6): [Group E]
• White, The Organic Machine, ch. 2
44 Rudyard Kipling, On Salmon Fishing, 368-374
51. Erik Loomis, "The Industrial Workers of the World and the Battle for the Body,
1907-1917", 441-454
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PART V: CITIZENSHIP, RACE &
EMPIRE: THE BORDERLANDS OF THE
WEST THROUGH WWII
Th (4/8): Hawaii and a New Manifest Destiny [Group A]
41 John Fairbanks, "Alaska and Hawai'i"
42. Queen Liliuokalani's Statement at her Trial for Treason
43. Huanani-Kay Trask on US Imperialism in Hawai‘i
<document gathering assignment group C:
find a newspaper article before 1910 that relates to the reading in some way>
<<Prospectus for Research Essay due Friday by 3pm>
Week 12
T (4/13): Race and the Western Crucible [Group B]
• Ngai, Impossible Subjects, 1-75
<document gathering assignment group D:
find a newspaper article before 1950 that relates to the reading in some way>
Th (4/15): [Group C]
• Ngai, Impossible Subjects, 93-126
46. Carlos Bulosan, from America is in the Heart
<document gathering assignment group B:
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find a newspaper article before 1950 that relates to the reading in some way>
<< Paper II Due Friday by 3pm>>
Week 13: Dust Bowl and Labor in Agribusiness
T (4/20): The Dust Bowl and the Garden of Eden [Group D and E]
• Steinbeck, The Harvest Gypsies
47. Documents on Dust Bowl California, 408-410
Th (4/22): Bracero program [Group A]
• Ngai, 127-166
<document gathering assignment group E:
find a newspaper article before 1970 that relates to the reading in some way>
Week 14: WWII as Social Crucible for the Far
West
T (4/27): Aluminum Melting Pot?: War Industries, Western Migration, Social
Amalgamation [Group B]
• Ngai, 169-201
47. Korematsu v United States
website:
http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/curaaw/main.html
Website: “Camp Harmony” Assembly Center in Puyallup:
http://www.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/harmony/Exhibit/default.htm
Th (4/29): [Groups C and D]
• White, Organic Machine, chs. 3 and 4
<document gathering assignment group A:
find a newspaper article before 1970 that relates to the reading in some way>
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Week 15:
< Monday Film screening: Lone Star 4pm-6.20pm>
T (5/4): A Multicultural West and the Legacy of Racial Nationalism [Group E]
44. Sarah Deutsch, George Sánchez, and Gary Okihiro, “Contemporary
Peoples/Contested Places”
• Ngai, 227-234, 239-248
<<final paper due in my office Friday of Finals
Week by 3pm>
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