Title: Course Syllabus
Course: The American West: Power, Place, and Memory > Section: Start Here: Fall 2026 Course Orientation

THE AMERICAN WEST

Course Syllabus

Course information

Field | Course detail
Course | 33-582 — The American West: Power, Place, and Memory
Instructor | Rob Voss · robvoss@nwmissouri.edu
Office | Valk 120; office hours Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8:30–11:00 a.m.
Term | Fall 2026; campus classes August 24 through December 4, 2026
Meeting | Tuesday/Thursday; in person; first meeting Tuesday, August 25; last regular meeting Thursday, December 3; exact time and room in Canvas
Prerequisites | [Confirm in the current Northwest catalog]

Description and central question

A problem-centered history of the North American West from the eighteenth century through the late twentieth century. The course begins with Indigenous worlds and competing empires, then follows borderlands, migration, state and corporate power, labor, race, gender, environment, sovereignty, and public memory. Northwest Missouri and the Platte Purchase serve as a recurring local lens.

How was the American West made—and who has had the power to define, inhabit, govern, remember, and remake it?

Learning outcomes

1. Define and contest “the West” using spatial, temporal, borderlands, environmental, and Indigenous frameworks.
2. Explain changing relationships among Native nations, empires, the United States, Mexico, corporations, migrants, and local communities.
3. Analyze primary sources through sourcing, contextualization, corroboration, and close reading.
4. Construct evidence-based historical arguments that engage recent scholarship and acknowledge uncertainty.
5. Interpret how race, gender, class, labor, environment, and sovereignty shaped western histories.
6. Conduct ethical local or public-history research using archives, digital collections, and responsible citation.
7. Communicate historical interpretations to academic and public audiences in written, visual, and oral forms.

Materials

The OER spine is The American Yawp. Primary sources are linked in weekly modules. Selected scholarship is assigned through lawful library access or course reserves; the instructor must verify access before publication. Bring a device when announced for archive and mapping labs; a shared or paper option will be available.

Grading

Category | Weight
Reading & Reasoning Checks | 10%
Source Reasoning Labs | 20%
Mapping the West | 10%
Historiographical Judgment Portfolio | 20%
Public History Capstone | 30%
Seminar Practice & Reflection | 10%

Attendance

Attendance is required. University-approved absences do not count against the attendance threshold. Students may have up to three counted absences without an automatic grade reduction; each counted absence beyond three lowers the final course grade by one-third of a letter grade.

Deadlines and grace period

Assignments are generally due Friday at 11:59 p.m. Central. A no-penalty, no-permission-needed grace period extends through Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Work is not accepted after Sunday unless the instructor approved an extension in advance or extenuating circumstances apply.

In-class work, conferences, presentations, and oral defenses follow the announced class schedule unless a university-approved absence or authorized alternative applies.

Course practices

- Preparation: arrive ready to use the assigned evidence, not merely summarize it.
- Discussion: disagree with claims by naming evidence and reasoning; do not demand that classmates represent identities or communities.
- Historical language: primary sources may contain racist, violent, or dehumanizing language. Quote only what analysis requires and provide context.
- Access: materials are provided in multiple formats when possible. Contact the instructor promptly if a format or activity creates a barrier.

University policy links

Official starting points: Academic Integrity policy and Accessibility and Accommodations.