HIS 168 - America's Moving Frontier

Institution:

The College of New Jersey

Subject:

Description:

This course will introduce the student to the historical study of frontiers and of the North American West as a place that shifted over time. After all, in 1800, the West meant Ohio, which raises the question: Is the American West best understood as a fixed geographical place or as the frontier process itself? What effect has the frontier had on American culture and history more generally? And how can we make sense of the messy historical realities produced by different cultures coming into contact? We will read some classic works by historians, including Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis, and a number of primary sources, including the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville and Mark Twain and the works of American artists. We will look at the encounters of Native Americans and Euro-Americans, the expansion of slavery, women and men on the overland trails, the lives of Black Hawk and Daniel Boone, the role of water, and the lives of bandits, miners, and prostitutes. Along the way, you will be introduced not only to interesting slices of American history, but also to different ways of understanding the past, including the study of gender, space, social history, and cultural history.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.tcnj.edu

Phone Number:

(609) 771-1855

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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