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HISTORY 423/523 IDAHO AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
University of Idaho Fall 2005 Tuesday and Thursday @ 12:30 – 1:45 p.m. TLC 146
Dr. Adam M. Sowards Office: Administration 315 Phone: 885-7704 E-Mail: asowards@uidaho.edu Web: http://www.class.uidaho.edu/asowards/ Office Hours: Thursdays, 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., and by appointment (Immediately before and after class is usually also a good time to have some questions answered.) Note to Students: It is my pleasure to do what I can to help you meet your goals in this class. If you find yourself having trouble, please send me e-mail, use my office hours, or set up an appointment to see me.
Teaching Assistant: Robert Bobier (bobi1680@uidaho.edu)
COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will survey major developments in Pacific Northwest history, including the territory from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains, from northern California to southern Alaska, including British Columbia. We will generally discuss cultural, economic, environmental, ethnic, political, and social topics. We will examine tensions between various groups and individuals, conflict between economic and environmental imperatives, the changing nature of the Pacific Northwest’s political and social climate, the development of a unique Pacific Northwest culture and identity, and the relationship between the Pacific Northwest and the larger nation and world. In the process, we will learn much about the development of the regional past, and we will hone our skills of critical thinking.
REQUIRED BOOKS The following list constitutes the required books for this course. They are available for purchase at the University of Idaho Bookstore. It is possible, even likely, that you could find some of the books cheaper through online booksellers or local merchants.
Graduate students should also purchase:
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADINGPreparedness Grade (i.e., participation, quizzes, etc.) (25%): For this class to work well, students need to come to class prepared. To encourage this, you will be graded on your willing participation, your preparedness, and your presence. This grade will be calculated by contributions to discussions, by attendance, by in-class assignments, and by my general observations. Students in this class represent a variety of perspectives—personal and academic—, and all students will benefit by the participation of others with their expert knowledge and diverse experiences. On a regular basis, you will have short unannounced quizzes. These likely will be short essays in class, but they may also include “objective” questions (i.e., multiple choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, etc.). They are designed to make sure you are keeping up with and comprehending the reading, discussion, and lecture materials. I will drop your lowest score; if there are more than eight quizzes, I will drop your lowest two scores. You may not make up a missed quiz unless you have made arrangements with me prior to missing class; no exceptions.
Comparative Paper on Mourning Dove and Nisei Daughter (20%): You will write a six-page paper comparing the experiences of Mourning Dove and Monica Sone.
Book Review of Irrigated Eden (10%): You will write a four-page book review of Mark Fiege’s study of irrigated agriculture in southern Idaho.
Exams (Two midterms for 12.5% each and Final for 20% = 45%): You will take two midterms and a final exam. All exams will be based on the themes identified at the end of this syllabus; all will be essay questions; and all will be completed in class. None of the exams will be comprehensive. Your final exam will contain a specific question on A Death Feast in Dimlahamid, as well as a more general question(s).
Graduate Student Assignments: Students enrolled in History 523 will be accountable for the same assignments as above. Part of their preparedness grade will be based on presentations to the class based on their readings of the three books assigned only to graduate students. As a group, the graduate students will present, in lecture or other format, the basic ideas and information contained in those three books.
In addition, graduate students will write a historiographic essay based on their reading of four monographs or eight scholarly articles (or a combination) on a closely defined theme in Northwest history. This topic should be chosen early in the semester, in consultation with me. The list of secondary sources also should be created in consultation with me. I encourage graduate students to develop a theme that relates to their own research interests. This paper will be due at the time of your final exam.
The distribution of these assignments will be slightly different for graduate students.
POLICIESLate Work Policy: Your grade drops one full grade for each day your work is late. You must be in class the day it is due to turn in work. If you do not come to class, your work will be counted as one day late unless you have made prior arrangements. With legitimate, documented excuses or for absences arranged ahead of time, exceptions can be made.
Grade Challenges: I am willing to entertain grade challenges provided they are submitted in writing and that you wait 48 hours after the assignment is returned before you hand in your objection. You will then need to set up an appointment with me to discuss the assignment and grade. Also, you must initiate this process within one week of the time the assignment was returned to the class. After re-evaluating a grade and meeting with you to discuss the assignment and evaluation, I may change it.
Plagiarism: To plagiarize is to present someone else’s work as your own. To present someone else’s work as your own means to use someone else’s information, ideas, or writing without explicitly acknowledging with quotation marks and/or citations that the ideas and/or writing are not your own. You may be plagiarizing even if you are not directly quoting. Plagiarism is a serious offense and I will give zero points to the first assignment in which a student plagiarizes. If a student plagiarizes again, I will fail that student in the course and report the student to the Dean of Students. If you have ANY questions or confusions about plagiarism, please let me know before you turn in your work. It is essential to be using others’ ideas and information; however, you just must provide credit where credit is due. You may find additional information about Academic Honesty (and dishonesty) as part of the Student Code of Conduct.
Accommodations: Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify me during the first week of class of an accommodation(s) needed for the course. Late notification may mean that requested accommodations might not be available. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Support Services located in the Idaho Commons Building, Rm. 333, 885-7200, or dss@uidaho.edu.
EXPECTATIONS Students will:
The instructor will:
READING AND ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE Please note that this is an approximation of what we will be doing and changes may be necessary. If so, they will be announced to the class. Also, the reading assignments are to be complete before you come to class on the day they are assigned.
FALL RECESS; NO CLASSES
FINAL EXAM: Friday, December 16, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
COURSE THEMES AND QUESTIONS
As I have been teaching and researching in Pacific Northwest History, I have come to concentrate on a handful of themes and shape my courses around them. When encountering new material in Northwest history, I often ask myself questions about how this new information relates to these themes. These areas provide constant reference points that allow us to watch change over time. Besides forming the basis of your exam questions, these themes and questions ought to provide you with a strong sense of how to organize your reading notes and prepare for class discussion. It should be clear, as well, that these themes are interrelated very closely.
· Racial/Ethnic Diversity: From the earliest human occupation, the Pacific Northwest has been a region brimming with different cultures. The earliest Native populations represented several cultural traditions and as Europeans and later Asians, African Americans (and Africans), and Latin Americans migrated to the region, cultural interaction and, often, conflict characterized the social relationships here. Throughout the region's history and to this day, diverse human populations help make the PNW a rich place. Racial/Ethnic Diversity: How has racial or ethnic diversity shaped interaction among people and institutions? How do developments in the region affect racial and ethnic groups differently? What conflicts have resulted because of racial and ethnic difference? What instances of cooperation exist? How did groups interact within their own cultural group and cross-culturally?
· Economy: Of course, humans always participate in economic arrangements and relationships. Understanding how American Indians and European, Asian, African, Canadian, and American residents made a living reveals much about the nature of PNW history. It is important to recognize the extra-regional links of the PNW economy. A significant sub-category of the economy is that of socioeconomic classes that formed by the economic arrangements in the Northwest Economy: What economic relationships and arrangements are present here? What have been the causes and consequences (e.g., economic, social, political, and environmental consequences) of the economy? How has capitalism shaped economic relationships between individuals and institutions? What have been the consequences of those relationships? How did various socioeconomic classes develop? How did those in the subordinate classes resist their subordination? How did those in the dominant classes dominate? How do rural and urban (or rural and industrial) economies interact? What has been the basis of the Northwest's economy over time? To what extent has been the Pacific Northwest’s economy colonial in relationship to the East and/or to the federal government? If the Northwest has emerged (even partially) from that relationship, when and how did that occur?
· Environment: For most of PNW history, the natural environment furnished the materials necessary to fuel economic growth. Nature also has provided the basis of many residents' identity. Today, a close association with the natural world is one of our region's hallmarks. Predictably, conflict among various viewpoints has animated the region for well over a century. Environment: How have factors related to the environment (e.g., climate, geography, politics) shaped the economy, politics, and culture of the Pacific Northwest? How have Northwesterners forged a regional identity with the natural environment? What opportunities and limits has the environment offered the region? How have Northwesterners shaped the environment? What have been the consequences? How have Northwesterners handled the inherent conflict between the environment as a source of economic survival to be used and the environment as a source of inspiration and identity to be used sparingly, if at all? How have the diverse environments within the Pacific Northwest shaped Northwest history?
· Gender: Just as diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups faced different experiences in the West, so did men and women. For a long time it was assumed in historical scholarship that men’s experiences spoke for all people, or alternately that women’s experiences were not important. We have moved beyond those perspectives somewhat, though much remains to be discovered. Two new areas of importance to Northwest historians have been the examining sexuality and investigating men as gendered individuals. Gender: How and why did women and men enjoy separate experiences in the PNW? What experiences did they share? What ideals did society hold up to women and to men to guide their behavior in public and in private? How well did individual women and men meet those ideals? How have those ideals changed over time? How does sexuality shape Northwestern experience? How have ethnicity and gender interacted?
· Region, Nation, World: It is important to see the Pacific Northwest in its many contexts. First, we need to recognize what makes the region unique compared to other places. This uniqueness changes over time. Next, we must recognize the Northwest's relationship to the rest of the nation (or nations, including Canada). Finally, it is useful to locate the region within global history. Region, Nation, World: What is unique to the region? How does the region relate to the nation? How does the region relate to the rest of the world? How do national and international developments affect the Pacific Northwest? In particular, what is the relationship between the American and Canadian Pacific Northwests?
· Politics: The Northwest has often had quirky political developments. We have tended to be independent, voting on the basis of personality and issue—not tradition. Of course, politics has been the realm through which many push their agendas related to the other themes of diversity, economy, and environment. Politics: What political system and arrangements of political power are present here? Who exercises political power and to what end? Who gains and who loses in this particular political system? What common threads characterize Pacific Northwestern politics? How have political reforms been enacted? What have been their consequences?
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