History of the US West

3-0-9 units. HASS-H · Undergraduate

Explores the US West as a place and a process. Reflects on the enduring political, economic, cultural, and environmental significance of a region constantly changing shape. Anchored in the period between the Gold Rush and the founding of Google, subject moves through the imaginaries (e.g., manifest destiny, frontier myth, global outposts), infrastructures (e.g., railroads, dams, and highways), and industries (e.g., mining, agriculture, tourism, and tech) most closely associated with western history. Asks how myriad peoples shaped and were shaped by processes of westward expansion, migration, industrialization, urbanization, suburbanization, and globalization.