Gender, Race, and the Construction of the American West

Calendar

WEEK #	TOPICS	KEY DATES
1	Introduction and Overview of the Course Film: Nobody’s Girls: Five Women of the American West. PBS. Produced by Mirra Bank. May 12, 1995.
2	Theoretical Overview: Construction Gender, Race-Ethnicity and “The West”
3	The Great Plains and the Farm Frontier
4	The Farm Frontier—Literary Perspectives
5	The Borderlands
6	Challenges to Gender and Sexuality Film: Ballad of Little Jo. DVD. Directed by Maggie Greenwald. 1993. Polygram Filmed Entertainment.	Prospectus and short bibliography for final paper due
7	Immigration, Migration, and Farm Labor on the West Coast
8	Women, Politics, and The Radical West Film: Salt of the Earth. DVD and streaming. Directed by Herbert J. Biberman. 1954. Independent Production Company.
9	Cultural Brokers and Moral Reform	First 7–9 pages of final paper due
10	Cultural Brokers via the “Empire of the Lens.”
11	The Great Depression and WWII Film: Wartime Richmond. National Park Service. 2013
12	Representations of the West: Writers, Artists, and Mythmakers
13	Student presentations on Term Projects Prof. Rudnick’s slideshow on Georgia O’Keefe	Final Paper due at end of semester