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American Frontiers: The West in U.S. History and Mythology

Module description

This module explores the history and mythology of the American West from the nineteenth century to the present. While broadly chronological, our focus is thematic, taking into account key factors in the development and meanings of the West. We will look at a diverse range of scholarship and primary sources, from Native American testimonies to frontier shows, mining letters to newspaper editorials on ‘cowboy presidents’. Throughout we will explore how and why the American West became such a significant yet contested space in U.S. history; how it represents both a place and a place in the mind; and ultimately how it has shaped U.S. society, politics, and culture in myriad ways.

Module aims - intentions of the module

Studying the West from the early republic and U.S. continental expansion to modern-day struggles over Native American sovereignty and Western historiography, this module will enable you to interpret and analyse the West as a critical space and mythology in American history and national identity. This module aims to help you develop your skills in researching, interpreting, and analysing both primary and secondary material. It provides you with an opportunity to explore broadly the rich and fascinating history of the American West from multiple perspectives, and it helps you to develop the depth of understanding you will require to study more specialised areas of history.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Critically evaluate the key trends in the cultural, social, and political histories of the American West
• 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the key developments in the history of American West
• 3. Summarise and evaluate different historiographical approaches to the history and mythology of the American West

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Demonstrate an ability to analyse the key developments in a defined historical subject.
• 5. Demonstrate an ability to understand and deploy complex historical terminology correctly.
• 6. Demonstrate an ability to handle different approaches to history in a contested area of historical study

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Select, organise and analyse material for written work and oral presentations of different prescribed lengths and formats.
• 8. Present complex arguments orally.
• 9. Present an argument in a written form in a clear and organised manner, with appropriate use of correct English
• 10. Through essay development process, demonstrate ability to reflect critically on your own work, to respond constructively to feedback, and to implement suggestions and improve work on this basis

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Westward Expansion and the American “Frontier”
• Euro-Native American Interactions and Conflicts
• Mining Booms and Frontiers
• Agricultural Colonization
• Violence and Vigilantism
• Frontier Shows and Tourism
• Westerns in Literature and Film
• Native American Sovereignty
• the U.S.-Mexico borderlands

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

The re-assessment consists of a 3000-word written assignment, as in the original assessment, but replaces participation in the group presentation with an individual presentation equivalent to an individual’s contribution, to be recorded and submitted with all supporting materials as for the original assessment; failing this, students should submit a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation (750 words) along with all supporting materials as for the original assessment.

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• William Deverell (ed.), A Companion to the American West (Blackwell, 2007).
• Robert Hine & John Mack Faragher, The American West: A New Interpretive History (Yale University Press, 2017).
• Karen Jones & John Wills, American West: Competing Visions (Edinburgh, 2009).
• Clyde Milner et al (eds.), Oxford History of the American West (Oxford UP, 1994).
• Clyde Milner et al (eds.), Major Problems in the History of the American West (Cengage, 1997).
• Nicolas Witschi (ed.), A Companion to the Literature and Culture of the American West (Chichester, 2011).
• Western Historical Quarterly
• Pacific Historical Review

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11603 

Key words search

American West; frontier; U.S. history