HIST251
Roads to Power: The Transformation of Space in 19th Century North America

19th Century North American History revolves around the radical, and often violent transformation of space. It is, in other words, the story of infrastructures—roads, canals, and railroads--imagined and built; of borders, between and within nations, mapped and brutally maintained; of urban and rural spaces, conceived and constructed; and, of indigenous lands expropriated and altered into a species of property through violence and the law. This course examines that transformation of space, closely interrogating: the various means by which governments and individuals asserted differential claims to territory; the evolving technologies of property, cartography, construction, and transportation that were deployed to assert and maintain claims to space; and, the various ways that seemingly marginalized peoples participated in, and challenged these spatial claims. The course covers the era between the American Revolution and World War I.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 25

Prerequisites: None

Instructor: Quintana

Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered

Notes: