Schedule, US-Mexico Border Issues
HIST 416/516 @ WNMU
Module 1: Course Introduction, Definitions, and Approaches
Module 1.1: Introduction to the course: procedures and activities
1/8–1/14
Intro to the class on the discussion board; thoughts on borders; create Mastodon and other necessary accounts. All assignments outlined in Module 1.1 in Canvas, all due Sunday 1/14.
Module 1.2: Surveying “the field”
[MLK, Jr. Day: 1/15]
1/15–1/21
To Read:
Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera: Preface and Chapter 1
Paul Ganster and David Lorey, US-Mexican Border Today: Preface and Chapter 1
Jared Orsi, “Construction and Contestation”
Tim Marshall, The Age of Walls: Introduction
Optional: Hämäläinen and Truett, “On Borderlands.” (Podcast link)
Truett and Young, Continental Crossroads: “Introduction”
Baud and Von Schendel, “Toward a Comparative History of Borderlands”
Adelman and Aaron, “From Borderlands to Borders”
To Do:
Reading Comments and Discussion Questions due, Thursday, 1/18; Discussion Responses due Sunday, 1/21
Module 2: Alice Baumgartner, South to Freedom–shared mid-nineteenth century U.S. and Mexican histories
Module 2.1: Reading and Methodological Considerations
1/22–1/28
To Read:
Baumgartner, South to Freedom
To Do:
Reading Comments and Discussion Questions due, Thursday, 1/25; Discussion Responses due Sunday, 1/28.
Module 2.2: War and the context of the border’s creation
1/29–2/4
To Read:
Baumgartner, South to Freedom
Optional: Brian DeLay, “Independent Indians and the U.S.-Mexican War,” American Historical Review (February 2007): 35–68.
“A Continent Divided,” Interactive Digital Exhibit, UT Arlington online.
Brandon Morgan, The History of New Mexico digital text: Chapter 7, “The Mexican Period” (particularly “War of a Thousand Deserts” and “Colonization, Conflicts, and Rebellion”) and Chapter 8 “US Conquests of New Mexico”
To Do:
Blog Post #1 due Sunday, 2/4.
Module 3: Rachel St. John, Line in the Sand — delineating and staking out the border
**Grad Students (516) will also read Julian Lim, Porous Borders, and write a comparative question for the 3.1 Discussion and a comparative blog post for 3.2**
Module 3.1: Reading and Methodological Considerations
2/5–2/11
To Read:
St. John, Line in the Sand
Grad Students (516) ONLY: Lim, Porous Borders
To Do:
Reading Comments and Discussion Questions due, Thursday, 2/8; Discussion Responses due Sunday, 2/11.
Module 3.2: Drawing the “Line in the Sand”
2/12–2/18
To Read:
St. John, Line in the Sand
Grad Students (516) ONLY: Lim, Porous Borders
To Do:
Blog Post #2 due Sunday, 2/18. **Grad Students (516): Remember to write a comparative post that addresses elements of both books.**
Module 4: Jennifer Seman, Borderlands Curanderos–faith and lived experiences at the turn of the twentieth century
Module 4.1: Methodologies and Story
2/19–2/25
To Read:
Seman, Borderlands Curanderos
To Do:
Reading Comments and Discussion Questions due, Thursday, 2/22; Discussion Responses due Sunday, 2/25.
Module 4.2: Curanderismo, Modernity, and Nation Formation
2/26–3/3
To Read:
Seman, Borderlands Curanderos
To Do:
Blog Post #3 due Sunday, 3/3
Module 5: Topic, Question, and Working Bibliography for Capstone Project
3/4–3/10
Work on identifying your topic and drafting a proposal for the course project.
To Do:
Submit proposal for the Timeline/Story Map project by Sunday, 3/10
Spring Break: March 11-March 17
Module 6: Kelly Lytle-Hernández, ¡Migra! — history of border policing
Module 6.1: Reading and Methodology
3/18–3/24
To Read:
Lytle-Hernández, ¡Migra!
To Do:
Reading Comments and Discussion Questions due, Thursday, 3/21; Discussion Responses due Sunday, 3/24.
Module 6.2: Roots and Legacies of the Border Patrol
3/25–3/31
To Read:
Lytle-Hernández, ¡Migra!
To Do:
Blog Post #4 due Sunday, 3/31
Module 7: Francisco Cantú, The Line Becomes a River — Border Patrol lived experience
Module 7.1: Memoir as history and cultural commentary
4/1–4/7
To Read:
Cantú, The Line Becomes a River
To Do:
Reading Comments and Blog Post #5 due Sunday, 4/7.
Module 8: Oscar Enrique Martínez, The Beast — Migration flows beyond the U.S.-Mexico borderlands
**Grad Students (516) will also read Rebecca Berke Galemba, Contraband Corridor, and write a comparative blog post**
Module 8.1: Reading and journalistic methodologies
4/8–4/14
To Read:
Martínez, The Beast
To Do:
Reading Comments and Discussion Questions due, Thursday, 4/11; Discussion Responses due Sunday, 4/14.
Module 8.2: Journalistic, participant scholarship
4/15–4/21
To Read:
Martínez, The Beast
To Do:
Blog Post #6 due Sunday, 4/21. **Grad Students (516): Remember to write a comparative post that addresses elements of both books.**
Module 9: Capstone: Completing Timeline/Story Map Projects
4/22–5/2
Remember that I’m willing to provide feedback on rough drafts if you get them to me no later than April 30.
