HIST 381 California, Texas and the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands
We will study the political, religious, cultural and economic history of Texas, California and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands from the Spanish conquest to the present. Among the themes that we will study are the exploration and settlement of northern Mexico and the lands that are now the southwestern and western U.S.; the California, Texas and Sonora missions, the work of Junipero Serra and other missionaries, and the role of the Catholic church in social and political movements in the U.S. and Mexico; key figures in the history of the region, from the conquistador Francisco Vàzquez de Coronado to President Lyndon Johnson; international migration; and the growing importance of Latino communities in U.S. politics and society.
Readings will include works of history and social science as well as a wide range of primary sources, including missionary reports, travel narratives, newspapers, letters, memoirs and novels.