Spring 2020
COLWRIT 150AC 001 - LEC 001
Researching Water in the West: Its Presence, Its Absence, and Its Consequences for the Peoples of Ca
Current Enrollment
Total Open Seats:
1
Enrolled: 10
Waitlisted: 0
Capacity: 11
Waitlist Max: 3
Open Reserved Seats:
11 reserved for Students with Enrollment Permission
Hours & Workload
6 hours of outside work hours per week, and 3 hours of instructor presentation of course materials per week.
Other classes by Patricia Steenland
Course Catalog Description
Examines the subject of water in California, drawing upon scholarly articles, essays, memoir, film, photographs, legislation. In collaboration with the Teaching Library, 50 explores techniques for conducting online archival research and using primary sources. Cosiders a variety of players in the story of water rights in California, including federal and state representatives, conservationists, Native Americans, and Japanese Americans.
Class Description
Water: its presence and its absence are central to an understanding of California history. In this three-unit class, we will explore the subject of water in California, drawing upon multiple genres, for example, film, photographs, memoir, essays, scholarly articles, and Congressional legislation. We will also immerse ourselves into the new world of online archival research, with the help of teaching librarian Corliss Lee, of Moffitt Library, and curator Theresa Salazar of Bancroft Library. Google may be fast, easy, and efficient. But more and more, primary sources---some of them treasures that have reposed quietly for years in research libraries—have become available online, beyond the reach of commercial search engines. The world of research is changing rapidly. In this class, we will equip ourselves with some of the new skills needed to access these sources.
In the course of this exploration, we will examine how the history of water leads us deeper into other aspects of California history. The story of California water is often a story about people and culture---Native Americans who were forcibly displaced and then erased from the site’s history, people who waged economic and land wars to control water rights, conservationists who fought to preserve these sites, and people who found themselves in the dry places left in the wake of the water’s diversion.
Book List:
“Born Free and Equal,” Ansel Adams (available free online, do not buy)
“Land of Little Rain,” Mary Austin
“My Summer in the Sierra, “ John Muir
“The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy,” Robert Righter
“Farewell To Manzanar,” Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
“Western Times and Water Wars,” John Walton
“Writing With Sources,” Gordon Harvey
In the course of this exploration, we will examine how the history of water leads us deeper into other aspects of California history. The story of California water is often a story about people and culture---Native Americans who were forcibly displaced and then erased from the site’s history, people who waged economic and land wars to control water rights, conservationists who fought to preserve these sites, and people who found themselves in the dry places left in the wake of the water’s diversion.
Book List:
“Born Free and Equal,” Ansel Adams (available free online, do not buy)
“Land of Little Rain,” Mary Austin
“My Summer in the Sierra, “ John Muir
“The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy,” Robert Righter
“Farewell To Manzanar,” Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
“Western Times and Water Wars,” John Walton
“Writing With Sources,” Gordon Harvey
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions
Students will receive no credit for 150AC after taking 50AC.
Repeat Rules
Course is not repeatable for credit.
Requirements class fulfills
Meets Historical Studies, L&S Breadth
Meets Social & Behavioral Sciences, L&S Breadth
American Cultures Requirement
Reserved Seats
Reserved Seating For This Term
Current Enrollment
Open Reserved Seats:
Textbooks & Materials
Associated Sections
None