The Geography and History of Wisconsin

GEO 342 and HIS 290

University of Wisconsin – Manitowoc

Fall 2001

Instructors

Faculty Member: Kerry Trask Cathy Helgeland

Office: 2146 3204

Phones: 683-4739 (office) 683-4729 (office)

682-1710 (home) 684-7590 (home)

Office Hours:

Mondays: 11:00 – 12:00; 1:00 - 2:00; 5:30 – 6:30

3:30 – 4:30; 5:30 – 6:30

Tuesdays: 11:00 – 12:00 10:40 – 12:00; 2:30 – 3:30

Wednesdays: 11:00 – 12:00; 1:00 – 2:00;

3:30 – 4:30

Thursdays: 11:00 – 12:00 10:40 – 12:00

Fridays 11:00 - 12:00

And by appointment Any other time by appointment, by chance, and for as long after class as necessary.

E-mail: ktrask@uwc.edu chelgela@uwc.edu

Course Objectives and Policies

Description of Course: Geography 342 (The Geography of Wisconsin) and HIS 290 (The History of Wisconsin) is a three credit social science Interdisciplinary Studies course. As such, it will partially fulfill your general education requirements for social sciences and interdisciplinary studies. In addition, a major aim of the course is to have you become knowledgeable about the physical and cultural environment and the rich history of the state in which we all live. Another primary aim is to have fun – we both love teaching, learning, history, and geography, so we are doing exactly what we want to do. We want to share that joy and enthusiasm with you. Furthermore, the teaching and learning will all be happening in a state that is geographically and historically rich as well as in a small university ideally suited for personalized teaching and learning. We expect this course to be a highly enjoyable adventure in learning for both of us as well as for all of you.

The organization of the course will be roughly historical, starting with the geologic history of the state as illustrated by its rock structure, but we do not intend to develop the class through a strict historical timeline. Rather, topics of geographic and historical importance will be discussed in class sessions. These topics will include the interaction of humans with the natural environment of the state. In conjunction with the study of this content, certain of your skills will be developed and enhanced, including:

· the ability to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and interpret information and ideas;

· the ability to interpret graphs, tables, diagrams, maps, historical texts, and actual environments;

· the ability to gather information from printed sources (texts and reading assignments), visual presentations, and field trip experiences.

Course Assignments and Grading: Each evening we will have a short (ten points, ten minutes maximum) quiz that will cover the previous week’s class and associated reading. No make-up quizzes will be allowed, but we will automatically drop your lowest two quiz grades. Therefore, if you miss class, you will receive a 0 for that night’s quiz, but the grade will be dropped, assuming that you have no more than two 0’s.

There will also be two take-home essay exams, each worth 100 points. One will be due about mid-way through the course and the other toward the end of the semester. A week or two before each exam is due, questions pertaining to the history and geography of Wisconsin will be distributed. You will select one question from the list and using information from lectures, discussions, readings, and videos, write a well-organized coherent answer in response. All essays must be typed, all pages must be numbered and stapled together, and the exam must be submitted at the beginning of class on the due date.

A final examination will be written during the scheduled final period on Monday, December 17, from 6:30 – 8:30. It will be worth 50 points and will require a well-informed overview of what has been learned in the course.

Unexplained or unexcused failures to take or submit examinations at the scheduled times will result in your not being permitted to hand them in later or to take a makeup test. If you need any special consideration in this regard, you MUST talk with BOTH of us in person or by phone BEFORE the deadlines.

Field Trip: Because this class is based in part on student observation and interaction, you will be required to participate in a substantial two-day field trip on September 27-28. Field trip attendance is mandatory! We will notify other instructors that you will be on a required field trip, but it is your responsibility to complete any required work in those courses prior to the field trip. Therefore, please make arrangements immediately with other instructors to free your schedule as necessary. Also, if you have not already made arrangements to free your work schedule on the field trip days, please do so immediately.

Course Materials: Course materials include Wisconsin Land and Life, edited by Robert Ostergren and Thomas R. Vale; Wisconsin: The Story of the Badger State by Norman K. Risjord; The Fire Within: Civil War Narrative from Wisconsin by Kerry A. Trask; and a packet of readings available at the bookstore. You will also be provided with a selection of maps that we will refer to throughout the semester. Please bring these maps with you to each class session. Recommended videos will be on reserve in the campus library in the East Building. We highly recommend that you view these videos in preparation for writing exams.

Note: If you have a physical or learning situation or a religious obligation for which you need an accommodation, please notify us so that we can make provisions in a timely manner.

SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Note: “L & L” refers to the assigned text, Wisconsin Land and Life, by Ostergren and Vale; “Risjord” refers to the assigned text, Wisconsin: The Story of the Badger State by Norman Risjord; The Fire Within refers to the assigned text by Trask. Works by all other authors are found in the reading packet.

Date: Topic: Assignment:

9/10 The Creation: Fire, Rocks, and Myths

9/17 Ice, Land, and Water: Glaciers, Landforms L & L Ch. 1:

and Hydrology of Wisconsin L & L Ch. 2:

Maps in map packet (be certain to read both

sides of the maps)

9/24 Ancient Wisconsin: Early Migrations Robert E. Bieder, “The Land That Winter

Made” and “How They Lived in the Old

Time.” (Reading packet)

Risjord: Pp. 8-16

Recommended Video: “This Place We Call

Wisconsin”

9/27&28 REQUIRED FIELD TRIP

10/1 French Fur Trade and the Natives L&L: Ch. 3

Risjord: Ch. 2

Pierre Esprit Radisson, “Caesars in

the Wilderness” and “Famine”

R. David Edmunds, “Shells that Ring

for Shadows on Her Face”

Kerry A. Trask, “Settlement in a Half-

Savage Land”

10/8 Lead and Lumber Risjord: Pp. 57 - 59

L & L: Ch. 9

Risjord: Ch. 5

L & L: Ch. 11

Carl Krog, “Lumberjacks and Lumber

Camps in the Menominee Pinery”

10/15 Newcomers & Agriculture: Immigration L & L: Ch. 8

and Framing in Early Wisconsin John Muir, “The Ploughboy”

Anderson, “Immigrant Voices”

Frederick Trautmann, ed., “Wisconsin

Through a German’s Eyes”