History 258-A: Special Topic in U.S. History: History of the American West

The "American West" is both a physical and imagined space. This course will examine how its history impacted the development of the United States and the world beyond. The course begins with the conceptions of "west" according to British, French, and Spanish colonial formulations of "the New World." We then follow the political, revolutionary, and legislative developments that created a new space of "American West" in an imperial-national consciousness. At the same time, this course focuses on how indigenous histories and cultures impacted the development of the U.S., from Oklahoma to Oceania. Places like Hawai'i, Guam, and the Philippines - usually occluded in narratives of "American West" - were intricately entwined with developments on the continent. Thus, we will examine the impact of Native American, Native Hawaiian, and immigrant histories in the "opening" of the American West. While exploring larger trends and identifying common experiences, we will also turn our attention to gender and intersectionality. For example, we will illuminate the multiple ways in which women from diverse groups interacted and influenced destinies and the complicated impacts of dispossession, empire, and nation-building - all within a global perspective. Applies toward the North American/United States geographical area for the History (Global) major. May be taken for credit towards the Indigeneity, Race, & Ethnicity major or minor.