LECTURE OBJECTIVES
- Distinguish between history and historiography
- Identify primary, secondary, and tertiary historical sources and explain the similarities and differences among these
- Compare and contrast "shallower" and "deeper" versions of history
- Describe the sub-discipline of environmental history
Old and "New" Worlds
- Identify the date of first human settlement in America and the date of Columbus’ first voyage
- Explain 4 (out of at least 6) factors that contributed to the “rise of the West”
- Describe Columbus’ positive and negative contributions to history
- Identify 3 countries that established a presence in the New World
- Describe mercantilism
Native Americans & European Americans
- Define acculturation, syncretism, cultural imperialism, and hegemony
- Describe examples of acculturation and cultural imperialism in the context of Native American-Euro-American relations
- Identify the date of the Indian Removal Act
- Discuss similarities and differences between the Native American and Euro-American concepts of land tenure and property
- Critique the concept of the Ecological Indian and be able to support your argument with examples
Settlement, Revolution and Founding
- Identify the date and place of the first permanent English colonial settlement
- Relate the traditional story of the Revolution and Raphael’s (2002) thesis about the “first” revolution, including the date
- Describe what Appleby (1992) labels America’s “creation myth”
- Explain the ways in which America was a Great Experiment in government
Western Frontiers and Manifest Destiny
- Identify the date of the Northwest Ordinance and describe two of its tenets
- Describe the Great Experiment in land use and its implications
- Explain the meaning of “manifest destiny” and identify the date this term was coined
- Identify the date of the “closing” of the frontier
- Explain and critique Turner’s frontier thesis
Race: The Power of an Illusion DVD
- Discuss the reality and implications of race in terms of biology and sociology (genetics vs. social constructs)
- Identify the origin of the theory of race in American history
- Describe how science influenced the concept of race in the 19th century, and then in the 20th century
Constitutional Foundations of Environmental and Natural resources Law
(Dr. Malmsheimer, guest lecture fall 08)
- Describe the two basic features of government defined by the Constitution
- Identify the date the Constitution was adopted
- Identify the clause of the Constitution that provides the basis for most environmental laws.
- Explain the concept of preemption with respect to state and federal laws
The Civil War and Reconstruction
- Identify the dates of the Civil War
- Compare and contrast the ideological differences that led to the Civil War
- Describe the “magnolia myth” and the “racial nadir”
Identify the environmental circumstances of the Civil War
Nature's Metropolis: Preface, Prologue, Ch 1
- State Cronon’s thesis in Nature’s Metropolis
- Distinguish between first and second nature
- Explain the city/country dichotomy
- Identify the date of the completion of the Erie Canal
- Locate the city of Chicago & the Erie Canal on a US map
- Compare and contrast the city/country/frontier theories of Turner, the Boosters, and Von Thünen
Nature's Metropolis: Ch 2, Rails and Water
- Describe the natural advantages and disadvantages of Chicago
- Describe the ways in which second nature was created to overcome the natural disadvantages of Chicago
- Discuss the ways in which railroads liberated people from first nature
- Explain two factors that contributed to Chicago’s railroad hegemony
Nature's Metropolis: Ch 3, Pricing the Future: Grain
- Describe the transformation of grain from a physical object to “golden stream” and state the implications of this change
- Identify two inventions that aided this transformation of grain
- Describe the evolution of the futures market
- Identify the date and significance of Munn vs. Illinois
Nature's Metropolis: Ch 4, The Wealth of Nature: Lumber,
and Ch 5, Annihilating Space: Meat
- Explain why Chicago and its hinterland comprised a "landscape of mutual advantage" in terms of ecology and economy
- Describe the vicious circle of lumber production and its consequences
- Explain how the Chicago packing industry evolved and how it dominated the American meat supply
- Compare and contrast the “nature to market” transformations of grain, lumber and meat
Nature's Metropolis: Ch 6, Gateway City, and Ch 7, The Busy Hive
- Define "geography of capital"
- Explain the ways in which Cronon uses the geography of capital to support his thesis
- Contrast Chicago's “gateway city” market geography with Von Thünen’s model
- Describe the new culture of buying and selling and its implications (including its paradox)
- Compare the 19th century revolution in buying and selling to present trends
Nature's Metropolis: Ch 8, The White City; Epilogue
- Explain the Phoenix metaphor and its significance to Chicago’s history.
- Draw and label the intersecting city-country dichotomies of the late 19th century
and discuss their legacy
- Describe the origin, allure, and signifacance of the suburb.
- Explain the concept of a 'recreational hinterland' and its relevance to contemporary natural resources management.
Industrialization and Progressivism
- Describe laissez-faire political economy
- Identify two Progressive movements other than conservation
- Describe the key tenets of Progressive Conservation
- Explain the implications of Progressive Conservation
- Identify the dates of the Progressive Movement and the date of the Forest Reserve Act
Reclamation
- Explain the reality of first nature in the West and how the dogma of manifest destiny overcame that reality
- Distinguish between western (prior appropriation) and eastern (riparian) water rights
- Identify the date of the Reclamation (Newlands) Act
- Describe the urban imperialism of Los Angeles
Compare and contrast the historical development of Los Angeles and Chicago
Dust Bowl and New Deal
- Describe the factors that led to the Dust Bowl
- Identify the date of the worst year of the Dust Bowl
- Explain the fundamental difference between Progressive and New Deal conservation policy
- Describe the Constitutional revolution
Oil and War: A Brief History of US Involvement in the Middle
- Identify the date of the creation of OPEC and the five founding countries
- Describe the role of OPEC in determining oil prices
- Explain one way that the US supported Saddam Hussein prior to Operation Desert Storm
Environmental Movement and Backlash
- Explain the differences between the modern (3rd) environmental movement and previous conservation movements (Progressive (1st) and New Deal (2nd))
- Describe the modern environmental movement
- Describe the backlash Wise Use / Property Rights movement
- Identify the dates of the Environmental Movement (Earth Day 1970) and the backlash Wise Use Movement (1988)
Progress and Technology: Into the 21st Century
- Explain the traditional paradigm of progress and it’s treatment in American history texts
- Compare and contrast the frontier mentality and spaceship mentality
- Describe the “tragedy of the commons”