Course Description
Exploration of the history of North America between 1500 and
1800, paying particular attention to the West, Native
Americans, and the settlement and development of Spanish,
French, and Russian colonies.
Athena Title
Early America 1500-1800 Honors
Prerequisite
Permission of Honors
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about pre-modern Native American history by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of early encounters between native peoples and settler's colonialists has shaped social and cultural identities, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
- Week 1: What is the subject matter of early American history?
- Week 2: Early Encounters in North America: The Documentary Record, I
- Week 3: Early Encounters in North America: The Documentary Record, II
- Week 4: Early Encounters: What Does Archaeology Tell Us?
- Week 5: The First Spanish Colonies
- Week 6: The First French Colonies
- Week 7: The First British Colonies
- Week 8: Mapping the Continent by Land and Sea
- Week 9: The Great Plains before Lewis and Clark
- Week 10: Russia and the Aleutians
- Week 11: The Colonization of Alta California
- Week 12: Slavery from the Southwest to the Great Lakes
- Week 13: Smallpox: A Continental Pestilence
- Week 14: Looking West: Trans-Pacific Trade
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
