Syllabus HIST 6320 Seminar in the Spanish Borderlands of North America Fall 2010 Dr. Jean Stuntz

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1 Syllabus HIST 6320 Seminar in the Spanish Borderlands of North America Fall 2010 Dr. Jean Stuntz COURSE OVERVIEW: This is a course on the interaction of the Spanish Empire with the Native Peoples of the American Southwest and other areas claimed by Spain in what is now the United States and Northern Mexico. You will also learn about the Spanish empire and its interaction with other European and American powers. The time period covered is 1492 to 1821, though we will focus mostly on the 1600s and 1700s. By the end of the course, students will have a written an article suitable for publication and a conference paper suitable for giving at an academic conference. In other words, students will be learning to be historians. Students will write summaries of book chapters. They will read and write critical, scholarly reviews on two books chosen by the instructor on a topic of their choice. They will exchange ideas and enter into the historical conversation of the field. Dr. Stuntz will be there to help you along the way. This class on the Spanish Borderlands will be one of the most intriguing, worthwhile, rewarding, and fun subjects you ever take. It is inherently interdisciplinary, so you can study just about anything that interests you. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: to acquaint the students the field of the Spanish Borderlands, to practice finding and citing sources, to improve students critical thinking skills, to develop their understanding of the historiography of the era, to polish their research and writing skills. BOOKS: The Spanish Frontier in North America by David Weber is required. Get the newer, brief edition. Spanish Texas, by Donald Chipman is required. Get the new edition coauthored with H. D. Joseph. (You may be able to buy these at used bookstores or online for less than what the bookstore charges.) Other books are on reserve in the Cornette Library or may be ordered through InterLibrary Loan so you do not have to buy them. You should have access to the latest version of Turabian or the Chicago Manual of Style. ASSESSMENTS: Each chapter of The Spanish Frontier in North America (SFNA) (Chapter 1 and Introduction count as one chapter) and in Spanish Texas (ST) at 10 points each = 240 points Class participation 10 points per week = 120 points Book reviews: two at 100 points each = 200 points Historiography paper = 50 points Research paper = 200 points Conference paper = 100 points

2 Recorded Presentation = 50 points Comments on presentation and papers = 40 points Total = 1000 points Grades are as follows: points = A, points = B, points = C, less than 700 = F. In graduate classes, a C grade is considered as failing. Class Schedule and Due Dates Written work is due before noon on Mondays and Thursdays as shown. Commentaries/class participation is due before midnight Wednesday each week. Chapter summaries and papers are due by noon on the day shown, commentaries on the papers and videos are due by midnight on the day shown. Any written work can be submitted early. Commentaries should not be written until the works commented on have been submitted. August 30 First Class Day Sept. 2 Chapter 1 SFNA due before noon Sept. 6 Chapter 1 ST due before noon Sept. 8 Chapter 1 Commentaries due before midnight Sept. 9 Chapter 2 SFNA due before noon Sept. 13 Chapter 2 ST due before noon; Practice book review due before noon Sept. 15 Chapter 2 Commentaries due before midnight Sept. 16 Chapter 3 SFNA due before noon Sept. 20 Chapter 3 ST; First Book Review due before noon Sept. 22 Chapter 3 Commentaries due before midnight Sept. 23 Chapter 4 SFNA due before noon Sept. 27 Chapter 4 ST: Second Book Review due before noon Sept. 29 Chapter 4 Commentaries due before midnight Sept. 30 Chapter 5 SFNA due before noon Oct. 4 Chapter 5 ST due before noon Oct. 6 Chapter 5 Commentaries due before midnight Oct. 7 Chapter 6 SFNA; Historiography due before noon Oct. 11 Chapter 6 ST due before noon Oct. 13 Chapter 6 Commentaries due before midnight Oct. 14 Chapter 7 SFNA due before noon Oct. 18 Chapter 7 ST due before noon; Revised Historiography due if necessary Oct. 20 Chapter 7 Commentaries due before midnight Oct. 21 Chapter 8 SFNA due before noon Oct. 24 Chapter 8 ST due before noon; Post outline of paper, with thesis Oct. 27 Chapter 8 Commentaries due before midnight Oct. 28 Chapter 9 SFNA due before noon Nov. 1 Chapter 9 ST due before noon; Post opening and closing paragraphs Nov. 3 Chapter 9 Commentaries due before midnight Nov. 4 Chapter 10 SFNA due before noon Nov. 8 Chapter 10 ST: Rough draft of research paper due before noon Nov. 10 Chapter 10 Commentaries due before midnight Nov. 11 Chapter 11 SFNA due before noon Nov. 15 Chapter 11 ST due before noon; Comments on rough drafts due, suggestions for conference paper included Nov. 17 Chapter 11 Commentaries due before midnight Nov. 18 Chapter 12 SFNA due before noon

3 Nov. 22 Chapter 12 ST; Research paper due before noon Nov. 24 Chapter 12 Commentaries due before midnight Nov. 25 Thanksgiving, nothing due Nov. 29 Comments on research paper; conference paper due before noon Dec. 2 Comments on conference paper; video due before noon Dec. 7 Comments on videos due before midnight Dec. 9 Dead Day Dec Final Exam Week Final draft of research paper and conference paper due by noon Wednesday, Dec. 15. INSTRUCTIONS CHAPTER SUMMARIES Read the chapter. Write one paragraph. The first sentence will summarize the main points of the chapter. Then discuss the sources used and talk about the thesis of the chapter and how the author proved it. In other words, do more than summarize. Only the first sentence is summary. Analyze and evaluate the material. This practice will help you when writing your own papers. Submit by saving as.rtf or.doc and attaching. Do not paste into the box. The reason for limiting the assignment to one paragraph is to help you practice writing concisely. This is more complicated than os rambling. It will also help you learn how to differentiate the major points from the minor ones and help with your critical thinking process. When you are writing the Spanish Texas summaries, you may compare to the Spanish Frontier to show you understand both approaches. You will be evaluated on how well you understood the chapter and how well you communicated your ideas in other words, both content and writing skill count. You will be doing two chapters a week, so plan accordingly. Each person MUST do their own work. If you work with other people on work that you turn in as your own, that is plagiarism a form of cheating. If you turn in the same work as another student, you will both fail the class and this academic dishonesty will go in you permanent record. You could be expelled from the graduate program. Making a few minor changes does not remove the element of cheating. DO YOUR OWN WORK AT ALL TIMES! Example: The story of Goldilocks is about her going into the woods, trying out new things, and returning to civilization chastened. The author used the memoirs of all of the participants, Momma Bear, Poppa Bear, and Baby Bear, to construct the narrative. While each disagrees with the others in interpretation according to their biases, all agree on the main facts that Goldilocks entered their house, sat on their chairs, ate their food, and slept on their beds. This invasion shows the underlying theme of the interaction of civilization and the untamed beast. The author uses the diary of Goldilocks to give the overall narrative and to prove his thesis that people are right to fear the wilderness and that females, especially, should stay in their own homes. Notice that in the example, specific names and facts are used. In your summaries, do not just say primary sources, say who wrote it and what kind of writing it was. Say specifically how the different types of sources were used. Expose the possible biases of the writers and say whether the author took these possible biases into account. Be sure to give the thesis of each chapter and say how the author went about proving it. CHAPTER COMMENTARIES

4 You will be commenting on other people s chapter summaries. This is to give you practice in evaluating written work and also to show you what other people thought was important. These commentaries take the place of a classroom discussion that is so important in graduate education. You need to practice hearing other people s ideas and responding to them in a professional manner. Comments can be short but must be substantive. Just saying Good Work does not earn points. I liked how you showed which primary sources were used and how those sources are biased. You were right that Momma Bear was so outraged by criticisms of her housekeeping that her version of the story is suspect. BOOK REVIEWS Students will write reviews on two books on a topic of their choice chosen by Dr. Stuntz. These may be on reserve in the Cornette Library or may need to be ordered through InterLibrary Loan (ILL). Choose your topic early so you have time to get and read the books. The first paragraph of the review will summarize the book giving the author s thesis and how well he/she supported it. ONLY the first paragraph will be a summary. The next paragraphs will analyze the chapters, evaluating the sources used and how well each chapter supports the author s thesis. The last paragraph will assess the effectiveness of the book in reaching its declared goals. (If you have never written a book review, it may help to read published reviews first. However, be sure to use your own words when writing your review. Dr. Stuntz has copies of all reviews on these books. Plagiarists will fail the class and may experience further disciplinary action according to the Code of Student Life.) Each review will be at least 2000 words but not more than 2500 words. There will be no title pages. The student's name will appear in the top right corner of the first page only. There will be a full and correct bibliographic citation before the review. (See your texts or the Chicago Style link in course resources to find the correct format.) Students will use their own words at all times. Quotations are not allowed. These reviews should be saved as an.rtf file and submitted as an attachment in the appropriate drop box. Students who have not written reviews for Dr. Stuntz should write a practice review on Hers, His, and Theirs. Copies are on reserve in the Cornette Library. This will be evaluated with comments so you will know better how to write the real reviews. HISTORIOGRAPHY You will write a historiography of your topic. This will be about five pages long (doublespaced) and will form the first part of your research paper. You should include the books you are reviewing plus as many other books and articles as you can find on your topic. You do not have to read all the books and articles you use for this historiography but they can also form the basis of your research paper. For this historiography, read reviews of the books and the abstracts of articles. A historiography is the history of how historians have written about your topic, not the actual history. Use a chronological structure: put the earliest historians first. Do not include primary sources, just what historians and other scholars have written. For this part of your paper, it does not matter when the material was published or who published it. Be as inclusive as possible. A sample historiography will be posted on the Lessons page. You will be graded on the completeness of your research and the way in which you interpret your findings, as well as the skill with which you transmit your thoughts. RESEARCH PAPER You will be writing a research paper on Spanish era (1519 to 1821) Texas. You will focus on a topic of your choice within that state. For example, missions, cultural or gender role

5 clashes, warfare, Native Americans, or family life in Spanish Texas would be suitable topics. You will need to have a thesis for your paper. That is, you must make an argument and prove something using your sources. For this reason, biographies are not allowed as topics. Consult often with Dr. Stuntz so you stay on track. Also consult the links on the Resources Page under Course Resources. These pages will help you research and write your paper. Research Requirements You must have at least the following twenty sources to make an 85 percent grade. Said another way, using only these twenty sources will earn you a B at best. To earn more points, use more sources. Each source must be used at least once in the paper or it will not count. Primary Source requirements ten sources: this must be material created at the time: diaries, government documents, etc. See your texts for examples. Dr. Stuntz will put the microfilm of the Béxar Archives Translations on Reserve. This counts as ONE source. If you read Spanish, you may use Spanish language sources. Secondary Source Journal Sources requirements five academic: must be from a historical journal, published by a university or historical association, must be first published after See your text for examples. See the link in Course Resources to figure out if a publication is a scholarly journal. You can find these most easily in the library databases like JSTOR and ArticleFirst. Secondary Source Books requirements five academic monographs: must be published by a university press, must be first published after See your texts for examples. Any of these sources may be found in print form in the Cornette Library, ordered through InterLibrary Loan, or found online. If you need help finding sources, ask the reference librarians for help. See the Course Resources page from the WTAMU library. Begin your research early so you will have time to find your sources! Note: Encyclopedias are not academic sources, though they may be used as a starting point for research. Book reviews are also not academic sources, though the book being reviewed usually is. Do not cite any encyclopedia, book review, textbook, or anything not published by an academic press or which does not have footnotes. You must have at least ten primary sources and ten secondary works including at least five books and at least five articles. The more sources you have, and the more types of sources you have, the better your grade will be for the depth of research presented. If you do not use these minimum requirements of sources, your paper will not be accepted and you will receive a zero for your paper grade. Your primary sources should account for at least 50 percent of your citations. Using the minimum number of sources only will earn 85 percent at best. Using thirty sources will earn up to a 90, and using more than thirty reputable sources can earn up to 100 percent. The point of a research paper is to do research, so the more research you do, the better a grade you can make. Writing Instructions: You may structure the paper in regular historical format: opening paragraph(s), introduction and statement of thesis, historiography, point 1, point 2, point 3, and conclusion, or you may be more creative. You can work on structure after you get comments on the rough draft. Your citations should be more than half from primary sources. Use the historians work only to place your argument into historical context. Never quote another historian. You should

6 have no more than two block quotes in the whole paper. You should not have many quotes at all. Your paper needs to be an argument for your thesis, not a collection of research notes strung together. To help you get organized, there are due dates for your outline with thesis statement, your opening and closing paragraphs, and your rough draft. These will not be graded but Dr. Stuntz and other students will comment on them to help you write a better paper. The paper is due on November 22. This should be as polished as you can make it. The other students will write comments on it and Dr. Stuntz will grade it. If you need to rewrite to improve your grade, that rewrite is due during final exam week. You are expected to send this paper out for publication so that you become familiar with that process. You may even get published. CONFERENCE PAPER The conference paper is taken from your research paper. It will be ten to twelve pages long, so that it can be read in eighteen to twenty minutes. Open the paper with an anecdote, then show how that anecdote relates to your thesis. Throughout the paper, refer back to the anecdote. Writing for conference papers can be more informal than is writing for publication. You may use humor where appropriate, for example. Have only an abbreviated literature review instead of a full historiography. Have only one main point and use the most colorful and interesting data to prove it. The conference paper is due on November 28. This should be as polished as you can make it. The other students will write comments on it and Dr. Stuntz will grade it. If you need to rewrite to improve your grade, that rewrite is due during final exam week. You are expected to present this paper at a conference. Dr. Stuntz will help you find appropriate conferences and show you how to send in your prospectus. Once you have been accepted, she will work with you on presentation skills. PRESENTATION: You will have twenty minutes to read your conference paper as if you were at a history conference. Record this presentation and post it to YouTube. (The library has digital cameras you can check out. Dr. Stuntz will be happy to tape your presentation.) Put the URL on the Discussion Forum. Each person will watch the presentations, and give comments. COMMENTS ON PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS Each student will read each long research paper and the shorter conference paper as well as watching the videos of the presentations. You will write succinct comments intended to help the person improve their performance. As in the chapter commentaries, be specific and analytical. This is practice for your own papers and performances. Be professional at all times. You suck! is not appropriate for this setting. Suggest changes to structure, ask about sources, and in general use your critical thinking skills. Pretend that you are the instructor or journal editor when giving your comments. ACCEPTABLE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR Classroom behavior should not interfere with the instructor s ability to conduct the class or the ability of other students to learn from the instructional program (Code of Student Life). Unacceptable or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Students engaging in unacceptable behavior may be instructed to leave the classroom. Inappropriate behavior may result in disciplinary action or referral to the University s Behavioral Intervention Team. This prohibition

7 applies to all instructional forums, including electronic, classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. ADA STATEMENT West Texas A&M University seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for all qualified persons with disabilities. This University will adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student's responsibility to register with Student Disability Services (SDS) and to contact faculty members in a timely fashion to arrange for suitable accommodations. Contact Information: Student Success Center, CC 106; phone COPYRIGHT Copyright Jean Stuntz. As to this syllabus and all instructional material; materials may not be reproduced without the written consent of Jean Stuntz. Students are prohibited from selling (or being paid for taking) notes during this course to or by any person or commercial firm without the express written permission of Jean Stuntz, and you won t get it. SCHOLASTIC INTEGRITY It is the responsibility of students and instructors to help maintain scholastic integrity at the University by refusing to participate in or tolerate scholastic dishonesty. Commission of any of the following acts shall constitute scholastic dishonesty. This listing is not exclusive of any other acts that may reasonably be said to constitute scholastic dishonesty: acquiring or providing information for any assigned work or examination from any unauthorized source; informing any person or persons of the contents of any examination prior to the time the examination is given in subsequent sections of the course or as a makeup; plagiarism; submission of a paper or project that is substantially the same for two courses unless expressly authorized by the instructor to do so. ( , CODE OF STUDENT LIFE, Rules and Procedures for Students, West Texas A&M University). A complete statement regarding scholastic dishonesty can be found in the Student Code of Life at Any violation of the rules above will result in a failing grade for this class and possible further disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from WTAMU. Students should be aware that Dr. Stuntz is highly trained in detecting cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic misconduct. DO NOT CHEAT! PROFESSOR INFORMATION Dr. Jean A. Stuntz, Old Main 405 B, Office hours: MW 8:00-11:30, TT 8:00-8:30 Research hours MTWT 1: Please use course mail for all contact about the course. will answered by 5:00 pm each weekday, usually sooner. will not be answered again until 8:00 am the next weekday. may or may not be answered on the weekends.