HIS 130 - History and Cultures of the Southwest Borderlands

1. Identify the main social, economic, political, cultural and intellectual patterns of the Spanish colonial period in the southwest borderlands.
2. Discuss borderland population movements and interactions in the 19^th century.
3. Discuss how World War I and World War II changed the experience of the southwest border populations.
4. Describe the influence of economic trends, globalization and the communication revolution on the modern southwest border populations. 

1. Intensive Writing and Critical Inquiry.
   1. Producing written discourse in more than one assignment through papers, reports, quizzes, tests, etc., which includes a minimum word standard of 3000 words.
   2. Written assignments emphasize critical inquiry, which includes the gathering, interpreting, and evaluating of evidence.
   3. Includes a formal out of class paper of at least 1,500 words which requires critical inquiry and where the writer develops and supports a main idea.  
   4. Explicit writing instruction with timely feedback to help students improve their writing and critical inquiry skills is part of the course’s content.
   5. The evaluation of written assignments must include the overall quality of written work and critical inquiry, as measured by a rubric.
   6. At least 50% of the student’s grade must be based on the written work and critical inquiry assignments.
2. 15^th Century to 18th Century.
   1. Native cultures in the southwest borderlands at the time of European Contact.
   2. Explorations, conquests and settlement patterns in northern New Spain.
   3. Society and politics of the southwest borderlands frontier in Bourbon New Spain.
   4. Earliest contacts of New Spain/Mexico and the United States.
   5. Mexico and the War of Independence in the Northern Territories.
3. 19^th Century.
   1. Texas.
   2. United Sates and its “Manifest Destiny”: War with Mexico, 1846-48
   3. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
   4. Statehood for southwest territories.
4. 20th Century.
   1. World War I.
   2. Great Depression.
   3. World War II.
   4. Cold War – Korea and Vietnam.
   5. Civil Rights Movement.
   6. Activism.
   7. Population Movements.
5. 21^st Century.
   1. War generations demand equal rights: voting, jobs, unions, education.
   2. Chicano(a) movement.
   3. Economic Globalization.
   4. Communications Revolution.
   5. Population Movements.