History 482-09

Senior Research Seminar

The History of the Desert

Gary Reger  

Office: 405 Seabury                                                                                    Meeting time: W 6.30-9.30

Phone: 297-2393                                                                                        Meeting place: Seabury 23A

Email: Gary Reger

From Mesopotamia, home of the earliest civilizations, to Arizona, where suburbs flourish among cacti, deserts have played important and varied roles in human history. In this course students will engage in a major research project related to human settlement in, or interaction with, deserts. We will consider various ways to think about deserts in human history and examine different types of primary source material related to the topic. Students will produce a 50-60 pp. paper of original research.

Readings

We will do three common readings that show different approaches to the desert as an historical space:

Marc Reisner, Cadillac Desert

James E. Goehring, Ascetics, Society, and the Desert. Studies in Early Egyptian Monasticism

James L.A., Jr. Webb, Desert Frontier. Ecological and Economic Change Along the Western Sahel, 1600-1850

Course Requirements

This course has only one main objective: the research and writing of a lengthy, original paper (c. 40-50 pp.) in several chapters, based on primary source material and secondary literature, on a topic to be worked out in consultation with me. The meetings as outlined below are designed to keep you moving along in the composition of this magnum opus. I will provide more details in the first two or three weeks of class.

In addition, we will discuss the three common readings listed above on January 31. You must participate fully and frequently in discussion in this and other sessions of the course.

Academic honesty. Please read carefully and be sure you understand fully the definitions of plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty as outlined in section on "Intellectual Honesty" in the Student Handbook (2000-2001 edition), pp. 44-46.

Schedule of Classes

January 17. First Class: Introduction.

January 24. Library orientation.

January 31. Discussion of common reading.

February 7. Presentations of thesis and preliminary bibliography. Thesis and bibliography due.

February 14. Source presentations. Five pages due.

February 21. Article presentations. Five pages due.

February 28. No class: work on your first chapter.

March 7. Presentations of first chapter. Ten-fifteen pages due.

March 14. Movie: Lawrence of Arabia or another film (venue TBA).

March 21: No class, Spring Vacation

March 28. Presentations of second chapter. Ten-fifteen pages due.

April 4. Free class for work on final paper.

April 11. Final Presentations I.

April 18. Final Presentations II (last class).

Final paper due Monday, April 23, at noon.