GEOG 354. 01: Lands and Peoples of Mexico
Syllabus
Men are so
inclined to content themselves with what is commonest; the spirit and the
senses so easily grow dead to the
impressions
of the beautiful and perfect, that every one should study, by all methods, to
nourish in his mind the faculty of feeling
these
things. ...For this reason, one ought every day at least, to hear a little
song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it
were
possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
Goethe, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. Bk. v, ch. 1 (Carlyle, tr.) [source:
Stevenson]
Fall 2008
Dr. Scott Brady
MWF:
2-2:50
Office: 523 Butte Hall
Location:
Butte 103
Phone:898-5588
Office Hours:
MWF 10-11, R 2:30-3:30
mailto:sbrady@csuchico.edu
Geography
Computer Lab: Butte 501
Hours: MW 8-5
TR 8-9:30 & 12:15-5
Writing
Center http://online.csuchico.edu/public/Writing_Center/
General
Education:
Underlying
all the universityÕs programs is the conviction that an educated person is one
who knows that which is important for all people to know. Courses required for
your major may prepare you for your vocation; the General Education program
provides you the integrative intellectual experience common to all Chico
graduates.
General
Education (GE) will help you to see your majorÕs place in your total education
by showing you that knowledge is not isolated, that what you know of one
subject is related to what you know of another, that there is always more to
know, and that what you know affects the way you live. By suggesting the
essential unity and wholeness of knowledge, GE counteracts the sense of
fragmentation you may feel while studying bits and pieces of issues and information
through the various colleges, schools, and departments of the university.
You, like
many new students, may be uncertain about your choice of a major or career
field. Thus, in addition to the primary goal of broadening your awareness and
understanding, an early focus on GE may help you become better acquainted with
yourself and discover and deepen your interests and abilities in various
academic disciplines and programs. If you are undeclared or uncertain about
your major, carefully review programs you are considering, taking note of
required GE courses and modifications. The Evaluations or Advising and
Orientation Offices can help you plan your GE program in such a way that you
take full advantage of GE as a powerful career exploration tool.
THEME I: MEXICO AND
CENTRAL AMERICA
Theme Coordinator:
William Loker, THMA 213.
This theme is designed
to provide you with a well-integrated set of courses which will enrich your
understanding of our unique and complex southern neighbors in Mexico and
Central America. We will examine social and political institutions, as well as
development of the areaÕs natural resources to learn to understand the future
and how the United States, particularly California, can interrelate. The
history, politics, diverse social structure, and rich artistic traditions of
Mexico and Central America are all expressions of a region that the United
States, and particularly California, needs to understand and appreciate.
Students who select
this theme have the option of spending the last six weeks of the semester on an
"experiential-living" program in Mexico or Costa Rica. Please see the
Latin American Studies Coordinator for more information.
1 course selected
from:
LAST 351 Nat
Hist/Ecology Middle Amer 3.0 FS *NW
Prerequisites:
Completion of the lower-division GE Breadth Area B requirement or faculty
permission.
LAST 351M Nat
Hist/Ecology Middle Amer 2.0 FA *NW
1 course selected
from:
LAST 352 Mexico:
Art/Literature/Music 3.0 FS *NW
LAST 352M Mexico:
Art/Literature/Music 2.0 FA *NW
1 course selected
from:
GEOG 354 Mexico: Land
and People 3.0 FA *NW
This course is also
offered as LAST 354.
GEOG 355 Cent
Amer/Carib: Land/People 3.0 SP *NW
This course is also
offered as LAST 355.
HIST 382 Mexico:
History and Politics 3.0 FS *NW
This course is also
offered as LAST 350.
LAST 350 Mexico:
History and Politics 3.0 FS *NW
This course is also
offered as HIST 382.
LAST 350M Mexico:
History and Politics 2.0 FA *NW
LAST 354 Mexico: Land
and People 3.0 FA *NW
This course is also
offered as GEOG 354.
LAST 321 Central Amer:
History/Politics 3.0 SP *NW
This course is also
offered as POLS 321.
LAST 355 Cent
Amer/Carib: Land/People 3.0 SP *NW
This course is also
offered as GEOG 355.
POLS 321 Central Amer: History/Politics
3.0 SP *NW
This course is also
offered as LAST 321.
Seven
Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education
1.
Good practice encourages student-faculty contact.
Frequent
student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in
student motivation and involvement. Faculty concern helps students get
through rough times and keep on working. Knowing a few faculty members
well enhances students' intellectual commitment and encourages them to think
about their own values and future plans.
2.
Good practice encourages cooperation among students.
Learning is
enhanced when it is more like a team effort than a solo race. Good
learning, like good work, is collaborative and social, not competitive and
isolated. Working with others often increases involvement in
learning. Sharing one's own ideas and responding to others' reactions
improves thinking and deepens understanding.
3.
Good practice encourages active learning.
Learning is
not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just sitting in classes
listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out
answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it,
relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They
must make what they learn part of themselves.
4.
Good practice gives prompt feedback.
Knowing what
you know and don't know focuses learning. Students need appropriate
feedback on performance to benefit from courses. In getting started,
students need help in assessing existing knowledge and competence. In
classes, students need frequent opportunities to perform and receive
suggestions for improvement. At various points during college, and at the
end, students need chances to reflect on what they have learned, what they
still need to know, and how to assess themselves.
5.
Good practice emphasizes time on task.
Time plus
energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time on task.
Learning to use one's time well is critical for students and professionals
alike. Students need help in learning effective time management.
Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective learning for students and
effective teaching for faculty. How an institution defines time expectations
for students, faculty administrators, and other professional staff can
establish the basis for high performance for all.
6.
Good practice communicates high expectations.
Expect more
and you will get it. High expectations are important for everyone-for the
poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright
and well motivated. Expecting students to perform well becomes a
self-fulfilling prophecy when teachers and institutions hold high expectations
for themselves and make extra efforts.
7.
Good practice respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
There are
many roads to learning. People bring different talents and styles of
learning to college. Brilliant students in the seminar room may be all
thumbs in the lab or art studio. Students rich in hands-on experience may
not do so well with theory. Students need to the opportunity to show
their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be
pushed to learning in new ways that do not come so easily.
General
Education Course Requirements
All courses
accepted as components of CSU, ChicoÕs General Education (GE) program must also
help students use writing to engage in rigorous study of the body of knowledge
essential to the discipline represented by the course content. Each GE
course section must include the following:
¥
A writing requirement (at least 2500 words, total), or comparable problem or laboratory
set requirement, in the genres and forms appropriate to the discipline.
This requirement is intended to engage students in a rigorous study of the
bodies of knowledge represented in the course, including the ways in which
writing constructs and communicates knowledge.
¥
Multiple writing assignments, at least one of which is graded and returned to
students prior to the due date of the later assignments
¥
Some significant, written work within the first two weeks of the semester.
returned to students with informative feedback as soon as possible. This
requirement is intended to assess entry-level knowledge, attitudes, and skills,
and to provide feedback on coursework expectations.
Course
Description:
Study of the physical
environment, human settlement, development, and modern problems of Mexico. This
course is designed to be a component of the Upper-Division Theme on Mexico and
Central America. This is an approved General Education course. This is an
approved Non-Western course. This course is the same as LAST 102 which may be
substituted.
Course Objectives:
To increase
students understanding of the geographical context of Mexico.
To develop
students' knowledge of the region's connections to, and interdependencies with,
other people and places around the world.
To develop
students' skills in synthesizing and analyzing information, including
Internet-based information.
To develop
students' skills in writing and discussing their ideas.
To help students
read, listen, observe, and reason critically
Required Materials:
Online and Reserve
readings.
http://www.csuchico.edu/library/llo/
Course: GEOG
354
Password:
Academic Policies and Regulations
Final grades are
based on % of ~ total points, earned from the categories below.
A=92-100%; B= 80-91%; C=68-79%; D=50-67%; and F= less than 50%.
|
Exam 1 |
50 points |
|
Exam 2 |
50 points |
|
Final Exam |
100 points |
|
Quizzes 10 X 5 |
50 points |
|
Book Review
presentation |
15 points |
|
Book Review |
25 points |
|
Research
Paper |
50 points |
|
Total |
340 points |
Web-site: I will regularly update the course web-site.
Students must visit the site to be aware of changes and additions. Students are
responsible for information included in the Web Resources portion of the site.
This material will covered in examinations.
Attendance: It has been my experience as a student and
instructor that there is a strong correlation between attendance and
performance. Students who rarely miss a class and actively participate in
classroom discussions tend to perform well on tests, quizzes, and in class
discussions; students who lack the discipline required for regular attendance
tend to perform poorly. Hence, daily attendance is strongly encouraged.
However, attendance will not affect your final grade.
Make-up Exams: No make-up exams will be given. If a student misses
exam 1 or 2 with an appropriate excuse, then the make-up will be the
comprehensive final exam, which will then be counted as 150 points. Only one
exam can be made up in this fashion. If a student misses a second exam that
exam will be recorded as a 0.
Quizzes: Approximately 10 quizzes will be given throughout
the semester. They will always occur on Fridays and will be announced on the
preceding Monday. There will be no make-up quizzes. Quizzes will cover material
from lecture material.
Book Review: Students are required to read and review a book,
and present a 10-minute oral report on the book. This link provides the
details of the book review assignment. Book Review Assignment Evaluation
Form.
Research
Project: Students are required to
complete a research project in this course. Students will write a travelogue in
which they describe and explain the landscapes of Mexico as if they were
traveling through them by bus. Assignment instructions at this link.
Readings and
Participation: A fundamental
element of a liberal education is the development of the ability to read
critically. Hence, your success in this course largely depends on the amount of
time and effort you devote to the assigned readings. To encourage your progress
in this matter, I will grade students on the notes that they take on the
assigned readings. I will also assign particular students to lead
discussions on the required readings. Students will be graded on their
performance. In addition, test questions will not only be drawn from
lecture materials. Rather, a certain number of test questions will
pertain to information found in the assigned readings.
Online
Resources:
Language,
Vocabulary and Esoterica
The Engines of Our Ingenuity: Main
Page
Magazines and
Newspapers
MotherJones.com -- News and Resources for the Skeptical
Citizen
Utne Reader Online: A place in cyberspace where ideas and
community intersect
HCN.ORG: Environmental News in the West
The Christian Science Monitor | Daily Online Newspaper
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/americas/
Maps
Population
Welcome to Earth: Population 6
billion
Declining World Mortality Rates Map
Mexico
http://www.inegi.gob.mx/geo/default.asp
http://mexicochannel.net/maps_en.htm
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_mexico/
Tentative
Schedule:
Week
1 (8/25-8/29)
Introduction to course and Mexico
Readings
Castaneda,
J. 1995. Ferocious Differences. Atlantic Monthly. July.
More from
Castaneda: http://www.project-syndicate.org/contributor/640
Hamill, Pete. 2000. How do Mexico and the US
Perceive Each Other?
More about Hamill:
http://www.petehamill.com/
http://www.hemisphericinstitute.org/journal/1_1/sb.html
http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9707/19/mexico.superhero/
Web
Resources:
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/michoacan/michoacanindex.html
http://www.bluemexico.com/Resources/Maps/mexican-states.gif
8/27
Orientation paper due:
Students will turn in a typed,
double-spaced, 250-word essay in which they answer the following questions:
1)
Why did you enroll in this course?
2)
Why did you choose to complete this theme?
3)
What experience in Mexico do you have?
4)
What do you hope to learn in this course?
5)
Which regions of Mexico most interest you?
6)
Which issues related to Mexico most interest you?
7)
Who are you?
Map. Print out a bunch of these and bring them to
class on Wednesday, 9/3.
Week
2 (9/1-9/5) Physical Setting
Labor
Day, 9/1, no class
Readings:
No readings this week. Instead, IÕll lecture a lot about the physical
geography of Mexico. Be sure to
bring multiple copies of the Mexico map that I provided at the link in Week 1.
Web
Resources:
http://www.fiu.edu/orgs/caribgeol/Caribreconstr.html
http://www.seed.slb.com/fr/scictr/watch/living_planet/mountains.htm
http://www.inegi.gob.mx/geo/default.asp
http://mexicochannel.net/maps_en.htm
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_mexico/
Week
3 (9/8-9/12)
Physical Setting continued
Climate
Week
4 (9/15-9/19)
Pre-Columbian Geographies
Readings:
West, R C. 1998.
Mesoamerican Subsistence Techniques. Pp. 77-102 in Latin American Geography: Historical-Geographical
Essays, 1941-1998, Miles E. Richardson (editor). Geoscience and Man, Baton
Rouge.
Web
Resources:
http://www.wsu.edu/%7Edee/CIVAMRCA/TIMELINE.HTM
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060914-oldest-writing.html
http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/730226
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/aztec-society.htm
http://vivasancarlos.com/ind_day.html
http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-04/mexico-city/
http://www.ancientmexico.com/content/map/index.html
Week
5 (9/22-9/26) Discovery and Conquest
Readings:
Foote, T. 1991.
Where Columbus Was Coming From. Smithsonian, December 1991: 28-41.
Mee, Charles L. Jr.
1992. That Fateful Moment When Two Civilizations came Face to Face. Smithsonian
23: 56-69.
http://www.mindfully.org/Heritage/2003/Civilization-Collapse-EndJun03.htm
Web
Resources:
http://www.ancientmexico.com/content/timeline/index.html
http://faculty.fullerton.edu/nfitch/nehaha/index.htm
http://www.ancientmexico.com/content/map/tenochtitlan.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/petersen/alfonso/13thcent.jpg
Video:
Week
6 (9/29-10/3 Maya Collapse
Wednesday Exam
review
Friday,
October 3
Week
7 (10/6-10/10) Colonial Patterns
Looking at colonial landscapes
Readings: These are all found on JSTOR. Just
click on the link.
Sauer, C. O. 1941. The
Personality of Mexico. Geographical Review 31:353-364. http://www.jstor.org/
Sluyter, A. 1996. The
Ecological Origins and Consequences of Cattle Ranching in Sixteenth-Century New
Spain. Geographical Review 86:
161-178. http://www.jstor.org/
Stanislawski, D. 1947.
Early Spanish Town Planning in the New World .Geographical Review 37: 94-105 . http://www.jstor.org/
Web
Resources:
http://www.tlucretius.net/ArsMagica/MapOfAndalucia.jpg
http://mexicochannel.net/maps/mexico_maps_veracruz_roads_carreteras_sct.jpg
http://mexicochannel.net/maps/mexico_maps_vegetation.gif
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/history.html
Week
8 (10/13-10/17)
Regions of Mexico
It is time
for you learn all of the states of Mexico. This site might be helpful. http://www.bluemexico.com/Resources/Maps/mexican-states.gif
Or
this site: http://mexico-herps.com/Habitats/Mexico_Political_Map.jpg
Readings:
Casagrande, L. 1987.
The Five Nations of Mexico. FOCUS on Geography: 2-9.
Learn Casagrande's 5 regions. Where are they? What are their defining
characteristics?
Online reseve: http://www.csuchico.edu/library/llo/
Course: GEOG
354 Password:
Kaplan, R. 1997. History Moving
North. Atlantic Monthly, February.
Learn Kaplan's
3 regions. Where are they? What are their defining
characteristics? How are they similar and dfferent from
Casagrande's?
Web
Resources:
http://www.tourism-information.net/mexico.htm
Big
Paper Announcement
Week
9 (10/20-10/24)
The Core
Readings:
Malmstrom, V. 1995.
Geographical Origins of the Tarascans. Geographical Review: 31-39. http://www.jstor.org/
Harner, J. 2002. Muebles
Rusticos in Mexico and the United
States. Geographical Review
92: 354-371. You will find this article at our
library's online reserve.
Course: GEOG
354 Password:
Web
Resources:
http://www.voznet.com.mx/index.html
http://polaris.ccu.umich.mx/mich/volcan-paricutin/volcan-galeria.html
"The peasant
from Central Mexico faces less risk and uncertainty from U.S. migration than
from any other possible income-generating activity. He risks more with
the status quo - relying on an unreliable resource base, a rigid local social
structure, undependable government programs, and uncertain job opportunities in
other Mexican cities - than in seeking work in the United States." Ambivalent
Journey, Jones, 1995.
Friday
Book Review Presentations
Week
10 (10/27-11/1)
Mexico City
Readings:
Read all of the
sections of the book chapter that you will find at the link below.
http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu14re/uu14re0s.htm#the%20socio%20economic%20background
Web
Resources:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_mexico/mexico_city_1972.jpg
http://books.nap.edu/books/0309052459/xhtml/images/p2000cd6dg128001.jpg
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_mexico/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060901-sewer-video.html
http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PhotoAlbum31.html
http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect6/Sect6_11.html
http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa060997.htm
http://www.geohive.com/global/poplink.php?xml=idb&xsl=idb&par1=am
http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa092099.htm
http://www.geohive.com/cy/linkcy.php?xml=c_mx&xsl=cy
http://www.macalester.edu/geography/courses/geog261/jtanzman/Urbanproblems.htm
http://www.macalester.edu/geography/courses/geog261/jtanzman/sitesituation.htm
http://www.cdnn.info/industry/i040710/i040710.html
http://books.nap.edu/books/0309052459/html/29.html#p2000640b9960029001
Wednesday
Book Review Presentation
Friday
Book Review Presentation
Week
11 (11/3-11/7)
Mexico City
Required Online
Reading:
"Letter From
Mexico "
"When the Air was Clear"
You will find these
readings at our library's online reserve: http://www.csuchico.edu/library.
Course: GEOG
354 Password:
Exam 2
on
Week
12 (11/10-11/14) Southern Highlands
Wednesday
Book Review Presentations
Friday
Book Review Presentations
Friday
11/16 First leg of travelogue due.
Readings:
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/latin_american_research_review/v040/40.1vanwey.pdf
Web
Resources:
http://www.ianchadwick.com/tequila/mezcal.html
http://www.jasonarcherpaulbeck.com/frijolero.html
Week
13 (11/17-11/21) Oaxaca and Chiapas
Friday
Book Review Presentations
Readings:
Vachon, M. 1993.
Onchocerciasis in Chiapas, Mexico. Geographical Review 83: 141-149. http://www.jstor.org/
Web
Resources:
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/index.php?one=azt&two=ask&tab=ans&id=21
http://www.cpt.org/mexico/mexicomap.gif
http://www.cartercenter.org/countries/mexico.html
Week 14 (11/24-11/28)Thanksgiving Break
Week
15 (12/1-12/5) Chiapas and Northwest
Readings
Froehling, O. 1997. The Cyberspace "War of Ink and Internet"
in Chiapas, Mexico. Geographical Review 87: 291-307. http://www.jstor.org/
Dozier, C. 1963
MexicoÕs Transformed Northwest. Geographical Review 53: 548-571. http://www.jstor.org/
Web
Resources:
http://www.americas.org/item_22922
Monday
Book Review Presentations
Wednesday
Book Review Presentations
Friday
Book Review Presentations
Week
16 (12/8-12/12) Northwest
http://thedesertspeaks.org/index.cfm
http://www.grupobatiz.com.mx/gbeng.htm
http://www.grupobatiz.com.mx/grinicial.htm
http://www.cris-p.com/index.html
Monday
Book Review Presentations
Wednesday
Book Review Presentations
Friday
Book Review Presentations
Week 17
(12/15-12/19)
Final
Exam: Friday, December 19
Week 16 (Dec. 11-15) Borderlands
Readings:
Symanski, R. 2001. When the Lights Go Out. Geographical
Review 91:57-65.
Arreola, D. 1996. Border-City IdŽe Fixe. Geographical
Review 86: 356-369.
Arreola, D. and J. Curtis. 199? Zonas de Tolerancia on the
Northern Mexican Border. Geographical Review ??: 333-345.
Curtis, J. 1993. Central Business District of the Two Laredos. Geographical
Review 83: 54-65.
Griffin, E. and L. Ford. 1976. Tijuana: Landscape of a Culture
Hybrid. Geographical Review 66: 435-447.
Web Resources:
http://www.fep.paho.org/bgmap.asp?esp=off
http://www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/history/
Week 16 (Dec. 5-9)
Immigration and
Mexamerica
Readings:
Go North,
Young Man
http://www.basis.wisc.edu/rfc/documents/slides/cs_15a_slides.pdf
Bowe, J. ÒNobodiesÓ The
New Yorker,
April 21-28, 2003: 106-133.
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/Mexico_Perceptions_new.pdf
