Course Description:
This course will survey the evolving geography of North America
during the past five centuries, viewing the continent as a dynamic and
growing geographic formation, a continually changing set of places and
regions. We will consider the nature of the physical environment
and its influence on the development of the nation, and will also examine
changing social and cultural patterns. The course will be
taught primarily in a lecture format, although students will be expected
to stay current with assigned reading, to write a series of reflective
essays and to participate in class discussions.
Textbook:
McIlwraith, Thomas F. and Muller, Edward K.,
2001 (2nd edition).
North
America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
Prerequisites:
Upper-division standing. It is assumed that students have
an understanding of the persons, issues and events that are generally
accepted as basic to American history.
Learning
Objectives (among others):
To recognize and explain the significance of a geographic perspective
in the interpretation of American history.
To understand and present examples
of the influence of the physical environment on geographic change in
North America.
To understand the historic and geographic background of the cultural
and ethnic diversity found in North America today.
Topical Outline
and Additional Resources
The course will take a chronological approach, closely following
the sequence of topics in the text. Additional resources will
be listed here as the term progresses; as follows.........note, the
list below is evolving continuously.
Introduction (pages
15-21)
Enduring
Themes of Physical Geography
Introduction
- Powerpoint
Discovery and Exploration of North America (Chapter 2)
Exploration
and Discovery - lecture outline
Exploration
and Discovery (Powerpoint)
"The
Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America" by James Wilson
"Collapse
of the Viking Colonies" from Jared Diamond's new book
New Lead in
the Columbus' Bones Controversy
Spanish and French America (Chapters
3 & 4)
Spanish
Borderlands - Powerpoint
New
France - Powerpoint
Fortress America
British Colonies (Chapters 5 &
6)
Instructor's
Notes
Part
1 - Powerpoint
Part 2 - Powerpoint
New Nation (Read pages 143-154)
Instructor's
Notes
New
Nation - Powerpoint
Trans-Appalachian West (Read pages
155 through Chapter 8)
Instructor's
Notes
Growth
of the Nation - animation
Louisiana Purchase and the Corps
of Discovery (text is useless on this)
Instructor's
Notes
Lecture
Outline - Louisiana and the West
The Great Plains (read Chapter
11)
Instructor's
notes
Native American Policy - see Writing Assignment
Lands Managed
by the BLM
American West (read Chapter 12)
Instructor's
Notes
The
New West - Powerpoint
Writing
Assignment
Your "research and writing" role in this
class consists of a series of SIX reflective essays - of approximately
500 words each (double-spaced, 12 point Times Roman, or equivalent font). Essays
will be assigned every Tuesday, and will be due on the following Tuesday.
These essays will permit you to reflect on the course content; they
may include extra reading, web browsing, or simply reflection on the
content as experienced from the lecture and the text.
Quizzes
- There will be two mid-term quizzes:
February
1
March
1 (from the New Nation through the Great Plains)
Final
Exam
Take-home final which will be due in class during Final exam
week, whenever that is.
Course Requirements
and Grading