Week 1 Introduction to Historical Geography

Introduction | Learning Objectives | Required Reading | Instructor's Notes
Additional Resources | Assignments
 

When I was a high school student in Scottsdale, Arizona, my English teacher – Mrs. Smith – assigned a book that she thought would interest me: 1846: The Year of Decision; written by Bernard DeVoto. Turns out, she was right! It was this book that sparked my interest in the history of the American West and, although I didn’t realize it at the time, in the field of historical geography. Although the book was written nearly 60 years ago, I still pull it off the shelf on cold winter evenings when my internet connection is down and re-read sections. I would like you do that with me (see Required Reading, below), and I think it will give you a sense of the importance of geography in the study of history, in this case the study of the westward movement.

In this first week of the term, we make a good effort to understand the nature and the meaning of historical geography; it is an endeavor that may feel a little bit like academic self-indulgence. But, give it a go; and in the following weeks we will get into the real content of the course – the endlessly fascinating panorama of American history as seen from a geographic perspective.

Upon successful completion of this learning module, you will be able to:

• Understand the unique perspective that geography gives to the study of American History.
• Know the Enduring Themes of historical geography and be able to discuss an example of each.
• Understand why you are taking this course, and to explain that to your online discussion group.

• Textbook: Chapter 1 "The North American Past"
  • You may skip randomly over the first 15 pages of this chapter (unless you are planning to do graduate work in the theory of historical geography). I want you to concentrate on the Enduring Themes, pages 15 - 21.
• Instructor's Notes and all embedded internet links
• 1846: The Year of Decision
  • This link gives you the Amazon.com display of this book by Bernard DeVoto. It allows you to look at a few pieces of the book; in particular, click on "excerpt" and it will allow you to read the author's introduction. Unfortunately, the new (2000) introduction by Stephen Ambrose is not available to you.

As noted previously, the North American continent has been entirely transformed over the past 500 years, from the time of the first European contact. The task of the historical geographer is to explore and understand this process. It is impossible to be clear on the distinction between historical geography and history – the study of the past has traditionally been the domain of the historian. The geographer’s claim to this domain rests on describing the relationships that exist between people and place as they are reflected in locational, environmental, distributional and regional expressions. The primary concern of the historical geographer is to study how and why these expressions persist and change in place and over time. The hope is to create a more historically informed human geography.

The best known historical geographer in the United States is Donald Meinig at Syracuse University . Among his impressive body of work is a four-volume magnum opus, titled: The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History. These books cover it all; I would use them as the required texts for this class; except that would cost you about $200, and you would need to do about 100 hours of reading each week. As an alternative, we are using a text written by a team of American geographers; a collection that was recently updated. I hope that any time you get bogged down in your journey through the text, you will take a detour into some on the additional resources I provide for you each week.

OK, get on with your assignment. Concentrate on the Enduring Themes.

Oh, one more thing. Maps – maps – and more maps! A geographer’s world is a sad and empty one without maps. Your textbook provides maps that are important and informative, but they sure aren’t very colorful. If you see only in black and white, I guess it doesn’t matter; but for the rest of us, we like a lot of color in our maps. There is an abundance of historical maps on the internet, and I refer you to many of these throughout the term. However, I may be missing some good sources; so I encourage you to pass on to me and to the class any sources of maps that you find would be of particular interest for this course. Thanks.

(Note: This section is not required, but you are certainly encouraged to give these links some time and attention.)

Definitions of Geography
An historical compilation
(http://geography.about.com/library/misc/blquote.htm)

More Definitions of Geography
The 7th grade version; actually quite good.
(http://www2.una.edu/geography/statedepted/definitions.html)

Carl Sauer and Historical Geography
Danger! This is a seminal document in the academic discipline and should only be read only by students truly interested in graduate work in historical geography.
(http://www.colorado.edu/geography/giw/sauer-co/1941_fhg/1941_fhg_body.html)

Boundaries of the United States and the Several States
An entertaining historical animation courtesy of Western Washington State University.
(http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/48states.html)

Book Review
Meinig, Donald.W. The Shaping of America : A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History . New Haven and London : Yale University Press, Four Volumes: 1986 – 2004.
(http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/perspective/Spr05_Meinig.asp)

1. Review the materials.   Do the Required Readings (including a review of the Instructor's Notes) and look through the additional resources.
    
2. Informal Writing Assignment (20 points).   Go to the Discussion Board under the topic titled "Introduction - Group #" and introduce yourself to your group members and to me during the first week of the term - please complete this posting by Friday, October 3!     Be as informal as you like, but first answer the following:
   
   
   • Class standing and major.
   • Why you are taking GEOG 366: Geography major requirement?  American Studies cluster requirement?  Other reasons?
   • Why you are willing to take an online section.
   • One thoughtful example of the relationship between physical geography and the course of American History.
      
3. Quiz (10 points).   Complete the Week 1 Quiz - these are available from the "Assessments" link. . The weekly quizzes will be available from early Thursday morning through the following Monday at 11:55 PM.   DON'T MISS IT.