WEEK 13 · INQUIRY MODULE
Week 13: The Postwar West: Suburbs, Water, Nuclear Landscapes, and Red Power
Who benefited from postwar western growth, and who bore its environmental and political costs?
Dates: November 16–20, 2026
Focus
- Suburbanization and Sunbelt growth
- Dams, water, energy, and nuclear sites
- Relocation, termination, tribal sovereignty, and Red Power
- Latino and Asian American civil rights
Before class
- Read: American Yawp, chapters 25–28 selected sections.
- Open and inspect the linked primary-source collection(s). Record one source, one context question, and one limitation.
- Scholarship lens: Megan Black, The Global Interior (2018), selected excerpt; recent Western Historical Quarterly article chosen for local relevance.
Primary-source portals
Tuesday/Thursday meeting plan
| Date | Status | Plan |
|---|
| Tuesday, November 17 | Class | Suburbanization, Sunbelt growth, federal investment, and unequal benefits. |
| Thursday, November 19 | Class | Dams, water, nuclear landscapes, termination, Red Power, and capstone consultation. |
Capstone Interpretive Artifact due Friday, November 20.
After class
Deliverable: Capstone Interpretive Artifact and Decision Log due Friday, November 20.
- I can answer the weekly inquiry with a contestable claim.
- I can name at least two pieces of evidence and explain their limits.
- I can identify an interpretation that my evidence supports, complicates, or challenges.