WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY
PROPOSAL FOR REVISED COURSES
Department: History
Date: September 30, 2004
If proposed course change requires A2C2 and/or Graduate Council approval, ie. Not considered a
notification, complete and submit this form with the appropriate number of copies. Refer to
Regulation 3-4, Policy for Changing the Curriculum, for complete information on submitting
proposals for curricular changes.
A.
Current Course Information
History 233
History of Mexico
Course No.
This proposal is for an
Applies to
3
Course Name
X Major
Required
X
Elective
Credits
X Undergraduate Course
X
Minor
Required
X
Elective
____ Graduate Course
University Studies
X Not for USP
Prerequisites: None
Grading:
X Grade only
___P/NC only
______Grade and P/NC Option
Frequency of Offering: Every other semester
Proposed Course Information (Please indicate only proposed changes below)
History 463
History of Mexico
Course No.
Applies to
3
Course Name
X Major
Required
X
Elective
X
Credits
Minor
Required
X
Elective
University Studies
X Not for USP
Prerequisites: History 165 or permission of instructor
Grading X____ Grade only
____P/NC only
_____ Grade and P/NC option
Frequency of Offering: Every other year
B.
If the proposal requests any changes in the course description as listed below, please list
both the present description and the proposed change.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Catalog Description
Course Outline of the Major topics and subtopics
Basic Instructional plan and methods used
Course requirements (papers, lab work, projects etc.) and means of evaluation
1. Catalog Description
This course provides an in-depth examination of the history of the Mexican nation from
pre-historic times to the present. Themes discussed include the Native American and
Spanish roots of Mexican culture, the coming of independence and the construction of
the nation state, the liberal-conservative conflict, the Mexican Revolution of 1910, the
continuing Mexican Revolution, and the rise of the neo-Porfirian state in recent
decades.
2. Course Outline of the Major Topics and Subtopics
I.
The Earliest Civilizations in Mexico
A.
The Olmecs of the eastern coast
B.
The Civilizations of Oaxaca (Zapotec and Mixtec)
C.
The Maya in the Yucatan
II.
The Central Mexican Indigenous Civilizations
A.
Great City of Teotihuacan
B.
The Aztecs, The Romans of the Americas
C.
The Aztecs and their Neighbors
III.
The Conquest
A.
The Earliest Explorations in Mexico
B.
Hernan Cortes and the Aztecs
C.
The Ambivalent Conquest of the Maya
IV.
The New Society in the Sixteenth Century
A.
The Church in Sixteenth Century Mexico
B.
Spanish-Indian Relations and the New Laws of 1542
C.
The Administrative System: Mendoza brings Peace
D.
The Evolving Colonial Economy
V.
The Remainder of the Colonial Period
A.
Society and Culture in the 17th Century
B.
Economic and Political Change in the Colonial Siesta
C.
The Eighteenth Century: Reform or Repression
VI.
The Era of Independence
A.
Father Hidalgo and the Grito of Dolores
B.
Morelos continues the Struggle
C.
The Conservatives make independence happen
VII.
The Age of Caudillos
A.
The Early Nineteenth Century
B.
The Age of Santa Anna
C.
The War over Texas and the Mexican Cession
VIII.
Benito Juarez and the Rise of the Liberals
A.
The Liberal Revolution against Santa Anna
B.
The Constitutional Debate in 1857
C.
The War of the Reform
D.
The French Intervention
IX.
The Beginnings of a True Nation State, 1876-1910
A.
The Rise of Porfirio Diaz
B.
Differing Interpretations of Diaz
C.
Society in the Porfiriato
X.
The Mexican Revolution of 1910
A.
The Outbreak of Violence and the failure of the Moderates
B.
Military Dictatorship
C.
The Constitution of 1917: Reform or Revolution
XI.
The Revolution Continues
A.
Alvaro Obregon initiates social change
B.
Calles and Growing Corruption
C.
The Apex of the Revolution under Lazaro Cardenas
XII.
The Death of the Mexican Revolution
A.
The Emergence of the Business Sector in the 1940’s
B.
Growing Disenchantment with the Regime
C.
The Crisis of 1968
D.
The Economic Disaster of the 1980’s
XIII.
Contemporary Cultural Evolution
A.
The Comic Book as Cultural Icon
B.
Festivals and Public Celebrations
C.
Monuments as Symbols of Progress
D.
The Art of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo
XIV.
Contemporary Politics
A.
The Failure of Salinas
B.
The Landmark Election of 2000
C.
President Fox and Reforms
3. Basic Instructional Plan and Methods Utilized
The course will be conducted primarily through discussion with some occasional
lectures.
4. Course requirements (Papers, lab work, projects Etc and Evaluation)
Students will take regular quizzes on the readings to insure preparation and
participation. Students will also take two essay examinations and a final exam, and will
write a scholarly book review about one of the many new monographs in the field that
have appeared recently.
C.
Rationale
The department is proposing this course to broaden the upper-level electives for History
and Social Science/History majors in the category “Histories of Developing Societies and
Different Cultures.” As such, the course will substitute for History 233, which in the opinion
of the department has been offered inappropriately as a survey course meeting “different
culture” requirements under the old General Education program for the past 25 years.
Further, the course requires work consistent with the expectations held for majors at the
400 level. Students read difficult works and analyze them, and will gain an understanding
of the historiographical controversies that exist in the field. In addition, the study of this
particular country is in much greater depth than offered in History 165, the Latin American
history survey course. Further, making the class a 400 level course will be consistent with
our other Latin American upper division offering focusing on a single nation. (History 469History of Brazil).
D.
Description of any impact of this proposal on other departments, programs, majors, or
minors
Approval of this course will not change the number of credits required by any program. It
will offer an elective for History majors and minors.
E.
Description of any Impact that this proposal may have on the University Studies program
The course will have no effect on the University Studies programs. Although a “Different
Culture” course under the previous General Education system, the department never
requested that the History of Mexico become part of the new University Studies curriculum
for the reasons outlined above.
Department contact person for this proposal:
Peter Henderson
457-5414
phenderson@winona.edu