Historian's Muse

Readings for December 5th

2005-12-04T14:33:00.000-05:00

Hal K. Rothman's book Devil's Bargains is an intriguing look at tourism in the West. Rothman finds tourism in the West to rarely be the saving grace that many towns hope it to be. Tourist industries catering to "postmodern, postindustrial" travelers often lead to loss of local control, loss of local identity, and loss of the physical environment. Rothman finds the tourist who can pay for an "experience" to be the last bastion of cache for the upper classes. He also finds that an tourist destination to be "scripted" a caricature of the place the visitor came to see. The creation of a tourist industry in a place eventually destroys the uniqueness of a place. It becomes homogeneous. Rothman finds three evolutions of tourism - heritage, recreation, and entertainment. While these evolutions are linear in development, today the tourism trade has evolved to include aspects of all three.

I found Rothman's tourism evolutions and supporting examples to provide a useful framework for discussing the history of tourism. However, I think that the book could have been more comprehensive. His other supposition that tourism drives the life from the locals and a town I had a hard time swallowing. I can see how tourism can lead to the losses he spoke of but I wonder at benefits that he may have ignored such as increased town revenues. His cynicism towards the tourist industry makes the work unbalanced.

I was also struck by his hypocrisy, it is clear from personal examples in the book that he often participates as a tourist and supports an industry that he finds so destructive. As a tourist in Maui and Lake Tahoe Rothamn benefits and participates in these industries. Yet, as an academic he lambasts and laments the tourism industry. This gap between personal and academic is where Rothman could have addressed the "devil's bargains" further. That is the field upon which the benefits and losses of tourism are played upon.

Comment #1 on Rick's blog.

Comment #2 on Ray's blog.

Readings for November 28th

2005-11-28T14:03:00.000-05:00

The reading for this class was Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert. This work was about water resources and control of those resources in the west. While the book introduced a new subject to me I was disappointed in its analysis. His style of writing while interesting was not well oraganized across the book. I also found its sensational nature to cast shadows over his analysis. I think this is due mainly to Reisner being trained as a journalist and not a historian. I think the book would have been more concise and objective had it been written by a historian or if Reisner had collaborated with one.

Yet, it was a very popular book. It bothers me that this flawed work is what is informing the public. It seems that the books that are not based upon strong research are often the most popular with the public. How can historians address this issue? How can we access the public more with our works? Perhaps historians should address the way in which they write. Looking into popular history books and accessing their writing style would make scholarly based works more accessible. There must be a happy medium between the popular work and the scholarly work.

Paper re-do

2005-11-21T17:36:00.000-05:00

I am planning on looking further into the recreational activities of the men as a consequence of their inactivity at the fort. I have not had much time to delve into this just yet but plan to look at the newspapers, some secondary sources and delve a wee bit into peace-time armies. The last week or so I have mostly been concentrating on getting the blog up and running and posting information.

Readings for November 14th

2005-11-14T17:18:00.000-05:00

The readings for today struck me as examples of the agency of people to create thier own cultural identities. While governments and other outside forces have thier influence upon a cultural identity they do not control that identity. People have a will to control thier identities. David Lewis and George Sanchez seemed to especially hit upon this.

Sanchez's discussion of the creation of a chicano identity fascinated me. Especially interesting was how the opposing efforts of two governments, American and Mexican, to exert control over the identites of Mexican immigrants and their children failed. Neither government ever achived their desired results. Instead the people either ignored the aims of the government programs or altered them to suit the needs of the everyday lives of the immigrants.

David Lewis's article covered the Native Americans and their impact on the history of the contemporary West. The tribes are striving to balance traditions, economics, politics, and a pressing anglo world. Cultural identites are constantly dealing with evolution but Lewis illustrates the tribes trying to secure a cultural identity in a hostile world.

Both these readings were examples of a people's agency in creating cultural identities regardless of outside pressures. Sanchez's chicano cultural dealt with the pressures from two nations. Lewis's Native American cultures are dealing with thier tribal traditions, inter-ethnic pressures, and their position within the US.

Readings for November 7th

2005-11-07T13:50:00.000-05:00

The reading for this class was Martha Sandweiss's Print the Legend. I was most intrigued by her use of photographs as primary resources to show how ideas about the West were informed by the new media of photography. The study of these photographs, thier uses, subjects, advertising is a new way to examine historical sources.
Photographic resources can give us information that textual ones cant simply due to the differing nature of the media. I think that historians can use photographic soures as primary research as much as they use textual primary resources. Material culturists have done similar things with three-dimensional objects for a while now. Material cultural methods would probably be a good place to start if a historian wanted to use photographic evidence. Art history methods would also be useful in deciphering and critically examining photographs. The use of photographs as yet another resource for historians is a good one. It is just a matter of learning methods for critical examination just as we have learned for textual objects.

Readings for October 31st

2005-10-31T15:46:00.000-05:00

The reading for this class continues the theme of last weeks reading of overlooked areas of Western history. Here we take a look at the recent state of women and gender history within Western history. Our book for disucssion is Women and Gender in the American West and also a focus on one of the essays included in the book, Susan Johnson's "A Memory Sweet to Soldiers".

This book is an collection of essays brought together to show the changing debates and discussions in Western women's history. tthe editors and contributors are attempting to reframe how western women's history has been approached by scholars. these historians found that women in Western history were "...invisible, few in number, and not important in the process of taming a wilderness. Or conversly, thier role has been sentimentalized and given a rhetorical mystical importance approaching sainthood."(11) They see women's western history as mainly anlgo and generally fitting 4 main historical themes - "gentle tamers, sunbonneted helpmates, hell-raisers, or bad women." (12) These historians disavow these stereotypes. They look instead for real analysis of demography, first hand accounts and case analysis to debunks some of the myths of the west such as the West being overwhelmingly populated by men. These historians are calling for Western women's history to use a multicultural framework and also be tied to a larger historical timeframe. They find that the study of gender analysis can be a useful tool to examine more clearly the relations between men and women in the west and the relations of women and women. For instance Peggy Pascoe calls for examinations of interacial marriages not just in terms of racial relations but also in terms of gender relations. Susan Lee Johnson's article continues this idea of gender analysis. She says that gender must be "denaturalized" so that is can be studied. She finds that gender is what one does not how one was born, that gender gain mean apart from those practices, and gender cannot be seperated from other constructs such as race or class.

I agree with most of the historians here that women in western history has been disconnected from the larger historiography of Western history. I also agree that gender analysis can be a useful tool in re-examining cultural relations. I have a difficult time with Susan Johnson's disconnected genders. While gender is socially constructed I do not think that gender is merely what one does. I think her model for gender analysis too fluid and could lead to too much presentism.

Comment #1 is here at Rick's blog.

Comment #2 is here at Dan's blog.

Readings for October 24th

2005-10-24T17:10:00.000-04:00

While William G. Robbin's book Colony and Empire is a difficult read, one cannot deny his position that political economy is largely ignored by many historians of the American West. His book of essays is a starting point for rethinking the American West in terms of political economy.

There were several problems that I saw in his book. First, his reliance on secondary sources. I would have liked to have seen more numbers based on primary sources here. Case studies could have been used more effectively than they were here. Secondly, I disliked his comparison of the economies of the West and South. It is like comparing apples and oranges and does not advance his thesis. Finally, I find his single focus for analysis limiting. There is no doubt that political economy is a useful framework of study but it should not deny other influences upon the historical narrative.

I would be intrigued to see a Robbin's style analysis applied to a social history book such as "Roaring Camp' by Susan Johnson. It would provide useful tool to her social and gender analysis of the Gold Rush camps.

Readings for October 17th

2005-10-17T16:41:00.000-04:00

Elliott West's book, The Way West: Essays on the Central Plain has been, for me, one of the most interesting books that we have read this semester. The West has tied history and other social sciences such as anthropology, environmental studies, and sociology into clear arguments and entertaining read.

I was especially intrigued by his "Families" chapter. His use of a framework that fits both the anglo and Indian families was an intriguing and useful approach to these divergent groups in the Central Plains. West's five-point definition of a family created his framework. This definition of the family as a "procreative mechanism, a unit of economic production, a cultivator of cultural values, a relationship of power, and a means of social adaptation." These areas allowed West to discuss how Anglo and Indian families changed over time, how they operated in different places and how they related to one another. His framwork would be useful when examining family units in any time or place.

West's focus on the Central plains was useful in helping narrow the focus of his framework. It allows him to delve more deeply into his topic. I think this approach also worked to his advantange with the other essays as well. All the main areas of West's essays were inter-related. The environment, the animals, the families, and the stories of the West are all threads of the same narrative.

Readings for October 11th

2005-10-11T11:39:00.000-04:00

Well I still dont know who killed Roy Baker but have several suspicions. I am intrigued by the stolen guns and desertion issue. I think this issue is central to the issue of Baker being killed. I am still working on how that ties into the story as a whole. Dr. Petrik mentioned to keep the improtance of time in mind while reading. These people want to be clear on what time things happened. It leaves me with a few questions - were people as concerned with time in their daily live or merely was this because of the inquest? Was time important because of the military influence or a more general western industrial influence? I am looking forward to this nights class to hear the discussion and theories of everyone else.

Comment #1 is here at Dave's blog.

Comment #2 is Here at Stephen's blog.

Readings for October 3rd

2005-10-08T14:02:00.000-04:00

The first reading of the week was Susan Johnson's Roaring Camp. This book sets out to re-examine the myth of the Anglo Gold Rush. Susan's use of the southern gold mines as an example of a mutli-racial, multi-ethnic place is a good one. She definately suceeded in debunking the myth of an all Anglo Godl Rush. I think her examples of the interplay between Anglos and non-anglos were good with the exception of Joaquin and Rosa Murrieta. Joshnon placed a lot of weight on this tale in her introduction and I was not satisfied with her follow through in the rest of the book. I found her "reading" Rosa back into the story to be too much conjecture to be a good evidence for her thesis. Johnson also used gender theory in much of her analysis of the camps. While I think it was an intersting exercise on a historical event I do not think it played in well with her original thesis. Another question brought to my mind is how she defined the creation of a society by an Anglo female influence. Given that Johnson was debinking an anglo myth, why define society by anglo women influence? Isnt it possible to have a society without women? I thought a society was the daily interaction of people within a time and place, regardless of gender.

The other book for this week was Murder in Tombstone by Steven Lubet. Lubet examines the event of the murder at the OK Corral and Wyatt Earps subsequest trial. Lubet's text is an excellent example of how western law and justice proceedings worked. He tried to show the available historical material objectively to let the reader decide for themselves what happened at the OK Corral and the Earps involvement in it. However, Lubet appeared to be an advocate for the Earps. While he was not blind to thier follys, he appears to believe that they acted within thier rights as lawmen. What I found most intriguing about this text was the complex interactions between the Cowboys, ranchers, miners, businessmen, lawmen and politicians. The sheer number of lawmen in the area creates a confusing web of jurisdiction and influence. To be a lawman in there must have been like trying to walk a tightrope and it is easy to see why the Earps were pulled into a such a difficult and deadly situation.

Comment #1 can be found here at Dan Giffords blog.

Comment #2 can be found here at Rick Gault's blog.

Readings for September 26th

2005-09-26T17:25:00.000-04:00

There was a point where Calloway's One Vast Winter Count and DeVoto's The Journals of Lewis and Clark converged for me. It was the discussion of maps and how those were very different things for Indians and white men. As Calloway noted the Indians had eternal maps in their heads. They were part of Indian oral history. these maps were of landmarks, culturally and literal. These landmarks could lead and an Indian across vast territory without so much as a compass. Calloway points out that white men tried to use the maps gained from Indians but often could not decipher them. White mens concepts of maps were so different from the Indians that they were almost unusable. In many cases a mere map wouldnt do, white men needed an Indian guide to read for them the landscape, Lewis and Clark were no exception. The white mens concepts of geography were such a different concept than what was found as they crossed the land. They maps or information they had regarding rivers and especially mountains were wrong because these areas had been so little traversed or only partially so.

Another thing that came to mind during the reading of the journals. Sacajawea is usually mentioned in passing and with a seeming dismissal by Lewis and Clark. It makes me wonder two things. During the the history revolution in the 70's was she given more importance than the role she really played? Did DeVoto only give us small passages relating to her, were there more relavant ones in the parts left out by him? I am not familiar with the current scholarship regarding Sacajawea so I cannot answer these questions just yet.

The last thing that struck me was DeVoto's introduction to The Journals of Lewis and Clark. He seemed to be the high priest at the altar of Lewis and Clark. I do not doubt thier contribution to history nor thier amazing accomplishment but DeVoto's exceeding enthusiasm for the men was off putting. Devoto states that "they were masters of every situation..."(lii) and in their dealing with the Indians they "In personal dealings with them they made no mistakes at all." (lv) Apparently these men could do no wrong - which plays false with me. Adverse things must have happened especially in the dealings with the Indians. Not to say that tense situations werent fixed but they must have happened. This also makes me wonder what things DeVoto left out or also Lewis and Clark. Especially knowing that it was the intention of having the journals published when back home.

Comment # 1 is here at Marty's blog.

Comment #2 is here at Audrey's blog.

Readings for September 20th

2005-09-19T15:40:00.000-04:00

These readings seemed to me to be a continuation for last weeks. How do we define the West? What does the West mean to historians? As I read, it became clear to me that the West is different for each historian.

It is like a pair of glasses, the world only becomes clear with the right focus of lenses designed just for you. Frederick Jackson Turner's lens was one of a patriotic, civilizing force. However, David Emmons lens was focused on capitalist, Republican constructions of the west in areas settled after 1843 and even went so far as to define eight subregions. Maria Montoya uses her lens to see the west as an extension of american colonialism.

As Virginia Scharff notes that historians agree that "the West if a geographically shifting set of locales, transformed by the remarkably variable and flexible resources and processes of empire-building." The "West" will always defy a single definaition - simply because it is as varied as the places and people claiming that title.

Comment #1 is here at Jim Johnson's blog.

Readings for September 12th

2005-09-11T01:15:00.000-04:00

Both of the readings were an eye-opening look at the "new" history of the American West. Each book re-evaluates many of the lessons taught in media and classrooms.

The American West by Robert V. Hine and John Faragher was particularly intrugiung. I enjoyed their concept of the "West" as not really exisiting since there was movement of people and cultures from all directions since the first nomads crossed into North America. I was particularly interested in their reclamation of the idea of the frontier, the old f-word that western historians have been trying to move away from since reexamining Fredrick Jackson Turner's use of the word in his theory of westward movement. Hine and Faragher propose that there isnt really western history but frontier history. Their definition uses Sara Deutsch's notion that "frontiers are 'what happens when cultures meet.'" The authors also approached these meeting of cultures with a view against moralizing the groups. They merely examine the relationships of the groups and leave judgement of actions aside. Given that there was movement of cultures from all directions of the contient then frontier history is also trans-continental history.

Hine and Faragher dispell the notion that american western (or frontier) history has any ending timeline or specific geographical boundaries. However, for all its lack of an ending timeline their have done little to examine the frontiers in America during the late 20th century. Perhaps the authors will deem to make this work a two volume edition and pick up that loose thread.

While Hine and Faragher examine the West through cultures relations, Patricia Nelson Limerick examines the West through an economic filter in her book The Legacy of Conquest.
She also tackles Fredrick Jackson Turner's position that the West was closed in 1890. Rather the West is not a place in time nor a process but a place with diffuse boundaries. Limerick also takes issue with the many Western myths. She proposes that the west was about conquest and its aftermaths, the Westernerss continual strival for profit and thier lack of percieved independence by thier continual dependence on federal support. Similar to Hine and Faragher, Limerick examines western history with a neutral eye, recognizing its moral complexity. However, I thought that Limericks concentration on more recent Western history was good but I would have liked to see a clearer connection with the economic past such as the fur trades.

I enjoyed both of the readings and find them an excellent introduction to the current state of American Western historical thought. I am disappointed that I will miss the class discussion.

Comment #1 is here at Rick Gault's blog.

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2005-08-30T13:37:00.000-04:00

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