Communities Making North Amer

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Much history has been written focusing on how powerful people, institutions, and the visions they promote have “made history,” leading diverse people to adapt. This seminar turns to explore how communities of everyday interaction have worked to shape their own lives—and in the process made history in ways that impacted empires, nations, and the world. The first section will focus on comparing communities in New Spain, New England, and regions between before 1800. The second will turn to the complex interactions of communities in the same lands as they became Mexico and the United States between 1790 and 1870. The third section will explore how diverse Mexicans migrated to make new communities in the United States after 1900—remaking their own lives and both nations in important ways. The seminar will emphasize shared readings and historical comparisons, culminating in comparative analytical essays at the end of each section. Each student will choose an additional 3-4 studies (in consultation with the instructor) to build a deeper focus on one time period or a chosen region over a longer term, making one or more of the essays deeper and more complex.