History of the US-Mexico Borderlands, HIST/LAS/MAS 361
Fall Semester 2018
7-Week I Online Course (August 20th – October 13th)
Office Hours: I will make time for Skype appointments any day of the week when given at least 48 hours of notice in advance. Any email will be answered within 24 hours. Please reach out if ever I can be of assistance. I am currently working and living in Guatemala, so please allow me to schedule time and Internet access.
Course Description:
This course examines continuities and changes in the history of the US-Mexico borderlands cultures, economies, societies, and politics. We will draw from pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial eras, through Mexican Independence, the US-Mexico War, Southwest US expansion alongside the Porfiriato. Most of the class will focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We will cover final US Statehood and the Mexican Revolution, Prohibition, the development of migration and border patrol in the region. We will conclude the course by looking at borderland art and culture, NAFTA, and post 9-11 security. Our primary goal will be to analyze the tensions and transformations of this transnational site. Special attention will be paid to gender, class, ethnic and race relations, colonialism and its legacies, the development of a capitalist economy, human rights, migration/immigration, and the role of US and Mexican political, economic, and cultural influences. Assignments and online class discussions will work to reinforce the understanding that history is more than a collection of facts; it is an analytical and interpretive practice grounded in evidence.
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes:
- Improve writing abilities for academic and other professional purposes.
- Interpret and analyze academic arguments within secondary sources
- Construct and utilize Historiography/Literature Review
- Redefine research skills locating and interpreting academic secondary sources through various means such as the UA library and databases, the Internet and online resources, historical atlases, monographs, and scholarly journals.
- Improve contextual understanding of US-Mexico borderlands history
D2L Course Website:
Course announcements, and assignment information will be posted regularly on the course’s D2L website. Students are required to check D2L, daily for any relevant updates and to access available course material. All written work must be submitted through the Turnitin application that is part of the “Dropbox” function found on the D2l course website. Once graded, assignments will be returned via email or through Dropbox, and will include the instructor’s comments and suggestions. All writing assignments turned in through Dropbox will be in .doc or .docx formats (word documents). If you write your assignments in another format, transfer them into a word document before submission.
Assignments:
Learning outcomes will be assessed though a variety of assignments including online class discussions, interpreting primary source materials, writing analytical reviews, and a final project.
Required Texts:
There will be no texts students will be required to purchase from the UA Bookstore. However, students will be required to search, locate, and access various scholarly articles within databases located through the US library website.
Assignments and Grading:
1) Participation in four separate online discussions (40% of final grade; 10% per discussion).
Online Discussion Forum: Due dates for all online discussions can be located below under the heading “Course Schedule.” Three times throughout the course a question/topic of debate will be posted to D2L’s “Discussions” application. All students are required to respond to this query, and once completed, to comment on the response of another person. Discussions are designed to encourage analytical engagement with ongoing topics of interest in the class and the assigned readings. Moreover, they will assist you in preparing for upcoming written assignments by highlighting the issues and subject matter of critical importance for success in fulfilling their main objectives and requirements.
Note on Grading Online Discussions: The responses and comments submitted for online discussions will be graded. Students are always welcome to exceed the assignment requirements in the length of your response, or to respond to multiple threads. Students are responsible for all content matter contained in discussions, including material presented by their peers, and must demonstrate they are directly engaging the course materials through their critical commentary.
2) On-time submission of Final Paper topic and 4-6 additional secondary academic sources. (5%).
Students will turn in a word document with the topic of their final paper and additional secondary sources to use for the paper.
3) Short Writing Assignments (30% of final grade; 10% per paper).
Students will complete 4 short writing assignments (20% per assignment). These exercises are to be used as the basis for furthering online discussions, and as a means to engage students directly with the research skills critical to conducting historical investigations. Short writing assignments will also serve to fulfill critical components of the Final Exam Essay, and must be completed in a timely fashion. Each SWA will utilize material from the assigned week and the week prior. All SWAs will be 3-5 pages in length. The due dates and specific instructions for each short writing assignment will be posted to D2L.
4) Final Exam Essay (25%): The 5-7-page Final Essay is due by Saturday, October 10, 2018 at 10:00 pm. Specific instructions for this assignment will be explained in lecture.
Writing Format:
Students’ short writing assignments and final paper will be written in Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, one-inch margins, double-spaced, using Chicago Manual Style citations and bibliography. Chicago Manual Style citations for both foot/endnotes and bibliography can be found at: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/
Please note that students can use parenthetical documentation (MLA, APA) for online discussions. For written articles and books, use the author’s last name and page number in parenthesis right before the period at the end of the sentence that contains your citation. For other sources such as audio/video, use the title of the source. If you have any questions about discussion citation or Chicago (after looking at Purdue OWL), please ask. Citations are very important for the accountability of sources and academic integrity, and will be part of the grading rubric, along with format and grammar/punctuation.
Absence and Class Participation Policy:
The UA’s policy concerning Class Attendance, Participation, and Administrative Drops is available at: http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/class-attendance-participation-and-administrative-drop
The UA policy regarding absences for any sincerely held religious belief, observance or practice will be accommodated where reasonable, http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/religious-accommodation-policy.
Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean Designee) will be honored. See: https://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/absences
Late Work Policy:
An important aspect of any college career is learning to meet deadlines. All students are expected to adhere to the due dates listed in the daily schedule. Late assignments will be penalized one-half letter grade for each day tardy after the official due date has elapsed.
Grading Scale:
A grade: 90%-100%
B grade: 80%-89%
C grade: 70%-79%
D grade: 60%-69%
E grade: <60%
*No coursework will be accepted after Wednesday, October 13, 2018 at 10:00 pm.
Guidelines for Online Discussion:
Discussion is an important part of the learning process by providing an outlet for the clarification of complex constructs, as a means for absorbing information in an interactive setting, and for the development of one’s own opinions. By contributing in class debates you have the ability to play a key role, not only in your own education, but also in the education of your peers. I believe that everyone has something important to contribute and encourage each student to find her or his voice, and to share that voice with the rest of us. The following is a list of ground rules that will enhance the quality of our discussions and foster an atmosphere of openness, camaraderie, and critical intellectual inquiry.
- Please respect the opinions and thoughts of your peers. Belittling, jeering, sarcastic
remarks towards others, or personal attacks of any kind, will not be tolerated.
- Do your best to make your point in a succinct and intelligible fashion – namely, think before you comment and substantiate your point with relevant information/facts from the course materials or other related scholarly sources.
Accessibility and Accommodations:
At the University of Arizona, we strive to make learning experiences as accessible as possible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability or pregnancy, you are welcome to let me know so that we can discuss options. You are also encouraged to contact Disability Resources (520-621-3268) to explore reasonable accommodation.
Notification of Objectionable Materials:
Although course content may be deemed offensive by some students, such materials are deemed important to the learning process. Students are not excused from interacting with such material, but they are certainly encouraged to express well-informed opinions that express those objections and their reasons for them.
Threatening Behavior Policy:
The UA Threatening Behavior by Students Policy prohibits threats of physical harm to any member of the University community, including to oneself.
Non-discrimination and Harassment Policy:
The University is committed to creating and maintaining an environment free of discrimination;
Plagiarism and Cheating:
By definition, plagiarism is:
1) Using the ideas or words of someone else without acknowledging them as the
other person’s, or reproducing without citation any form of media (image, video,
audio, etc.) which you did not produce yourself.
And/or
2) Self-plagiarism: Using your own work, in whole, or in part more than once for
credit.
Any cases of plagiarism or cheating will be dealt with as mandated by the History Department’s Policy on Academic Dishonesty and the University’s Code of Academic Integrity.
Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated. All assignments performed for this course must be original, and must be completed individually, unless otherwise specified. Every incident of academic dishonesty will be strictly punished. The History Department mandates that academic dishonesty be punished with a failing grade for the course. Additional sanctions may include a permanent record on your academic transcript and suspension or expulsion from the university.
Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and applications of course materials. However, graded work/exercises must be the product of independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code of Academic Integrity as described in the UA General Catalog.
Selling class notes and/or other materials to other students or to a third party for resale is not permitted without the instructor’s expressed written consent. Violations to this and other course rules are subject to the Code of Academic Integrity and may result in course sanctions. Additionally, students who use D2L or UA email to sell or buy these copyrighted materials are subject to Code of Conduct Violations for misuse of student email addresses. This conduct may also constitute copyright infringement.
Additional Resources for Students:
Writing Assistance: The Writing Skills Improvement Program (WSIP) offers tutoring and writing workshops for undergraduate students seeking assistance with their prose.
Writing Center: The English Department offers individualized peer tutoring to assist UA students with their writing.
University Libraries: Students are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the UA libraries as soon as possible. Reference librarians are available for consultation for questions regarding US history. The reference librarian for Latin American History is Mary Feeney. She can be a great resource for help locating sources for your final paper.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS): Counseling and Psychological Services offers psychological counseling and psychiatric services to students to help them cope with personal problems so they can successfully achieve their educational goals.
Subject to Change Statement:
Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policy, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
Course Schedule:
Week 1 (August 20-26): Intro Week—Border Theory
and History until 1821
Readings:
Adelman, Jeremy, and Stephen Aron. “From Borderlands to Borders: Empires, Nation-States, and the Peoples in between in North American History.” The American Historical Review 104, no. 3 (1999): 814-841.
Baud, Michael, and Willem Van Schendel. “Toward a Comparative History of Borderlands.” Journal of World History 8, no. 2 (1997): 211-242.
Jacobs, Joren, and Kristof Van Assche. “Understanding Empirical Boundaries: A Systems-Theoretical Approach in Border Studies,” Geopolitics, 19 (2014): 182-205.
Johnson, Corey, Reece Jones, Anssi Paasi, and Louise Amoore. “Interventions on Rethinking the ‘Border’ in Border Studies”. Political Geography 30 (2011): 61-69.
Newman, David. “The Lines that Continue to Separate Us: Borders in our Borderless World”. Progress in Human Geography 30, no. 2 (2006): 133-161.
Paasi, Anssi. “Boundaries as Social Processes: Territoriality in the World of Flows.”Geopolitics 3, no. 1 (1998): 69-88.
Tatum, Charles. “On the Border: From the Abstract to the Specific.” Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies 4, no. 1 (2000): 93-103.
*Assignments Due – Online Discussion 1: Choose “Discussions.” Under the forum for the appropriate online discussion, click on the topic and read the debate prompt. Discussions are designed to encourage analytical engagement with ongoing topics of interest in the class, and the assigned readings. Moreover, they will assist you in preparing for upcoming written assignments by highlighting the issues and subject matter of critical importance for success in fulfilling our course main objectives and requirements.
Please complete your initial response by 10:00 p.m. (all times Arizona) on Saturday, August 25th at 10:00 and your peer comment by Sunday, August 26th at 10:00 p.m.
Initial Response
All students are required to respond to one of the two questions contained in the discussion prompt in their initial response. Take some time to contemplate the meaning and greater significance of the question at hand and return to the course readings to identify how the text responds to the discussion criteria. You must directly reference the assigned reading in your initial response. Provide a parenthetical citation (Washington, 5) noting the exact location of the information you are referencing and an explanation of its relevance. When you are prepared to respond, click, “Start a New Thread.” All initial responses (threads) must be at least 400 words (a minimum of 200 words per question).
Peer Response
Once completed, you will be able to see the responses of your peers. At this point, you must click “reply” to comment on a thread started by another student in no less than 250 words. Your peer response must focus on the question you did not answer in your initial response. You must directly reference the assigned reading being discussed and provide a parenthetical citation.
A Note of Advice for Peer Responses
There are always positive things to say about what others contribute to the discussion at hand. If you want to write in support of someone’s post, please do so by supplementing the discussion with additional evidence from the sources consulted. Nevertheless, personal progress and the advancement of academic literature on any one subject, require that we take a critical stance vis-à-vis the potential issues with the sources, their interpretation, or missing links in existing arguments. Please focus your attention on assisting your colleagues in this regard by addressing these components in your peer responses. Be kind, but be honest, in your critique.
Part I: How to Make a Border
Week 2 (August 27th-September 2nd): From Frontier
to Boundary (1821-1854)
Readings:
DeLay, Brian. “Independent Indians and the US-Mexican War.” The American Historical Review 112, no. 1 (2007): 35-68.
Klein, Christine A. “Treaties of Conquest: Property Rights, Indian Treaties, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.” NML rev. 26 (1996): 201-255.
Pinheiro, John C. “‘Religion without Restriction’: Anti-Catholicism, All Mexico, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo” Journal of the Early Republic 23, no. 1 (2003): 69-96.
Salvucci, Richard J. “The Origins and Progress of US-Mexican Trade, 1825-1884: ‘Hoc opus, hic labor est’” The Hispanic American Historical Review 71, no. 4 (1991): 697-735.
*Assignments Due – Online Discussion 2: Go to D2l. arizona.edu. Choose “Discussions.” Under the forum for the appropriate online discussion, click on the topic and respond to the debate prompt. As with the first discussion, answer one of the two questions for your initial response, and then respond to a student who answered the other question prompt. The requirements for the second discussion are the same as for the first discussion.
Please complete your initial response by 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 1st, and your peer comment by Sunday, September 2nd at 10:00 p.m.
Week 3 (September 3rd-9th): From Boundary to Border (1855-1924)
Readings:
Griswold de la Castillo, Richard. “Manifest Destiny: The Mexican-American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo” Sw. JL & Trade Am. 5 (1998): 31-45.
Lee, Erika. “Enforcing the Borders: Chinese Exclusion along the US Borders with Canada and Mexico, 1882–1924.” The Journal of American History 89, no. 1 (2002): 54-86.
Parra, Carlos Francisco. “Valientes Nogalenses: The 1918 Battle between the US and Mexico that Transformed Ambos Nogales.” The Journal of Arizona History 51, no. 1 (2010): 1-32.
Raat, William Dirk. “The Diplomacy of Suppression: Los Revoltosos, México, and the United States, 1906-1911.” The Hispanic American Historical Review 56, no. 4 (1976): 529-550.
Richmond, Douglas W. “Mexican Immigration and Border Strategy during the Revolution, 1910-1920.” New Mexico Historical Review 57, no. 3 (1982): 269-288.
Young, Elliott. “Remembering Catarino Garza’s 1891 Revolution: An Aborted Border Insurrection.” Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos 12, no. 2 (1996): 231-272.
*Assignments Due – Short Writing Assignment 1: Specific instructions will be posted to the D2L course website. Please submit your response by 10:00 pm on Sunday, September 9th at 10:00 p.m., through the “Turnitin” application that is part of the “Dropbox” function found on the D2l course website.
Part II: How to Make Borderlands
Week 4 (September 10th-September 16th):
From Border to Borderlands (1925-1975)
Readings:
Girven, Tim. “Hollywood’s Heterotopia: US Cinema, the Mexican Border and the Making of Tijuana.” Travesia 3, no. 1-2 (1994): 93-133.
Guglielmo, Thomas A. “Fighting for Caucasian Rights: Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and the Transnational Struggle for Civil Rights in World War II Texas.” The Journal of American History 92, no. 4 (2006): 1212-1237.
Hernández, Kelly Lytle. “The Crimes and Consequences of Illegal Immigration: A Cross-Border Examination of Operation Wetback, 1943 to 1954.” Western Historical Quarterly 37, no. 4 (2006): 421-444.
Lopez, Ian F. Haney. “Protest, Repression, and Race: Legal Violence and the Chicano Movement.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2001): 205-244.
Martínez Oscar J. “Chicanos and the Border Cities: An Interpretive Essay” Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 46, no. 1 (Feb., 1977) University of California Press: 86-105.
*Assignment Due—Online Discussion 3 Go to D2l. arizona.edu. Choose “Discussions.” Under the forum for the appropriate online discussion, click on the topic and respond to the debate prompt.
Your initial response is due by Saturday, September 15th at 10:00 p.m., and your peer response is due by Sunday, September 16th at 10:00 p.m.
Initial Response
All students are required to respond to the discussion criteria in their initial response. Provide Chicago Style citations for the two primary sources you consult noting the exact location of the information you are referencing. When you are prepared to respond, click “Start a New Thread.” All initial responses (threads) must be at least 500 words (a minimum of 250 words per primary source).
Peer Response
Once completed, you will be able to see the responses of your peers. At this point, you must click “reply” to comment on a thread started by another student in no less than 250 words. Your peer response must focus on a primary source that you did not consult for your initial thread. Please respond to one of your colleagues that have not received a peer comment.
Week 5 (September 17th-23rd): Borderland Societies (1976-1994)
Readings:
Alarcón, Daniel Cooper. “The Aztec Palimpsest: Toward a New Understanding of Aztlan, Cultural Identity and History.” Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies 19, no. 2
(1990): 33-68.
Barnard, Ian. “Gloria Anzaldua’s Queer Mestisaje.” Melus 22, no. 1 (1997): 35-53.
Falcón, Sylvanna. “Rape as a Weapon of War: Advancing Human Rights for Women at the U.S.- Mexico Border.” Social Justice 28, no. 2 (84), Gatekeeper’s State: Immigration and Boundary Policing in an Era of Globalization (Summer 2001): 31-50.
Heyman, Josiah. “Putting Power in the Anthropology of Bureaucracy: The Immigration and Naturalization Service at the Mexico-United States Border.” Current Anthropology (1995): 261-287.
Martínez, Oscar J. “Border Conflict, Border Fences, and the ‘Tortilla Curtain’ Incident of 1978- 1979” Journal of the Southwest, Vol. 50, no. 3, Fences (Autumn, 2008): 263-278.
Zavella, Patricia. “Reflections on Diversity among Chicanas.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 12, no. 2 (1991): 73-85.
Wright, Melissa. “Maquiladora Mestizos and a Feminist Border Politics: Revisiting Anzaldúa.” Hypatia 13, no. 3 (1998): 114-131.
*Assignments Due – Short Writing Assignment 2: Specific instructions will be posted to the D2L course website. Please submit your response by 10:00 pm on September 23rd at 10:00 p.m., through the “Turnitin” application that is part of the “Dropbox” function found on the D2l course website.
Part III: The 21st-Century Border
Week 6 (September 24th-30th):
From NAFTA to 9/11 (1995-2001)
Readings:
Ackerman, Edwin. “NAFTA and Gatekeeper: A Theoretical Assessment of Border Enforcement in the Era of the Neoliberal State.” Berkeley Journal of Society, Vol. 55, Borders and Belonging (2011): 40-56.
Ackleson, Jason. “Constructing Security on the US–Mexico Border.” Political Geography 24, no. 2 (2005): 165-184.
Andreas, Peter. “Redrawing the Line: Borders and Security in the Twenty-First Century.” International Security 28, no. 2 (2003): 78-111.
Brownell, Peter B. “Border Militarization and the Reproduction of Mexican Migrant Labor.” Social Justice, Vol. 28, No. 2 (84), Gatekeeper’s State: Immigration and Boundary Policing in an Era of Globalization (Summer 2001): 69-92.
Cornelius, Wayne A. “Death at the Border: Efficacy and Unintended Consequences of US Immigration Control Policy 1993-2000.” Population and Development Review 27, no. 4 (2001): 661-685.
Dunn, Timothy J. “Border Militarization via Drug and Immigration Enforcement: Human Rights Implications.” Social Justice (2001): 7-30.
Heyman, Josiah McC. “Class and Classification at the US-Mexico Border.”Human Organization 60, no. 2 (2001): 128-140.
*Assignments Due – Online Discussion 4: Go to D2l. arizona.edu. Choose “Discussions.” Under the forum for the appropriate online discussion, click on the topic and respond to the debate prompt.
Please complete your initial response by 10:00 pm on Saturday, October 29th and peer comment by 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 30th at 10:00 pm.
Initial Response
Take some time to contemplate the meaning and greater significance of the question at hand, and return to the course readings to identify how the text responds to the discussion criteria. You must directly reference the assigned reading in your initial response. Provide a parenthetical citation (Washington, 5) noting the exact location of the information you are referencing, and an explanation of its relevance. When you are prepared to respond, click “Start a New Thread.” All initial responses (threads) must be at least 300 words.
Peer Response
Once completed, you will be able to see the responses of your peers. At this point, you must click “reply” to comment on a thread started by another student in no less than 200 words. You must directly reference the assigned reading and provide a parenthetical citation. Please respond to one of your colleagues that has not received a peer comment.
Week 7 (October 1st-7th): The Borderlands, Today
Readings:
Brunet-Jailly, Emmanuel. “Special Section: Borders, Borderlands and Theory: An Introduction.” Geopolitics 16, no. 1 (2011): 1-6.
Doty, Roxanne Lynn. “States of Exception on the Mexico–US Border: Security, “Decisions,” and Civilian Border Patrols.” International Political Sociology 1, no. 2 (2007): 113-137.
Green, Linda. “A Wink and a Nod: Notes from the Arizona Borderlands.” Dialectical Anthropology 32, no. 1/2 (March-June 2008): 161-167.
Michalowski, Raymond. “Border Militarization and Migrant Suffering: A Case of Transnational Social Injury.” Social Justice 34, no. 2 (108), Beyond Transnational Crime (2007): 62-76.
Rytz, Henriette. “Responding to the ‘Threat’ of Unauthorized Immigration? Current U.S. Border Control Strategy at the Border with Mexico and Its Consequences.” Humbolt Journal of Social Relations 31, no. 1/2 (2008): 83-110.
Sabo, Samantha, Susan Shaw, Maia Ingram, Nicolette Teufel-Shone, Scott Carvajal, Jill Guernsey de Zapien, Cecilia Rosales, Flor Redondo, Gina Garcia, and Raquel Rubio- Goldsmith. “Everyday Violence, Structural Racism and Mistreatment at the US–Mexico Border.” Social Science & Medicine 109 (2014): 66-74.
Slack, Jeremy, and Scott Whiteford. “Violence and Migration on the Arizona-Sonora Border.” Human Organization 70, no. 1 (2011): 11-21.
Wilder, Margaret, Christopher A. Scott, Nicolás Pineda Pablos, Robert G. Varady, Gregg M. Garfin, and Jamie McEvoy. “Adapting across Boundaries: Climate Change, Social Learning, and Resilience in the US–Mexico Border Region.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 100, no. 4 (2010): 917-928.
Wright, Melissa W. “Necropolitics, Narcopolitics, and Femicide: Gendered Violence on the Mexico-US Border.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 36, no. 3 (2011): 707-731.
*Assignments Due – Short Writing Assignment 3: Specific instructions will be posted to the D2L course website. Please submit your response by Sunday October 7th, at 10:00 pm through the “Turnitin” function that is part of the “Dropbox” application found on the D2l course website.
*The remainder of class (October 8th-13th) is for completion of the final paper.
