Active Outline

General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
HISTD054X
Course Title (CB02)
Special Topics: Significant Californians
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
Works and achievements of specific Californians will be studied in relation to how they affected the trends, social climate, history, and development of California.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

It is a CSU-transferable and stand-alone course that teaches students how to apply critical thinking skills to effectively interpret historical theory. The course provides students with the opportunity to develop analytical skills using primary and secondary historical sources. Its audience is any student wishing to enhance academic skills in support of GE classes, in the context of studying significant individuals in California history.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to CSU only

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
2.0
Maximum Credit Units
2.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours2.04.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
24.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
24.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
48.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

ESL D261. and ESL D265., or ESL D461. and ESL D465., or eligibility for EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Field observation and field trips

Guest speakers

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Discussion of assigned reading

In-class essays

Assignments

  1. Critical essay on readings or field trips.
  2. Participation in class discussions and field trips.
  3. Reading assigned from selected topical references.
  4. Journal entries on field observations.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Critical essay to evaluate students' analytical skills.
  2. Small group interaction and one-to-one dialog to evaluate class participation.
  3. Quiz to evaluate comprehension of assigned readings.
  4. Written field trip reports to evaluate students' observation skills.
  5. Final exam, project or paper

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
*Leider, Emily Wortis. "California's Daughter: Gertrude Atherton." Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991.
*Rice, Richard B. and Bullough, William A. "The Elusive Eden: A New History Of California." New York: McGraw - Hill, 4th edition, 2011.
Ignoffo, Mary Jo. "Captive of the Labyrinth Sarah L. Winchester Heiress to the Rifle Fortune," 3rd edition, 2010.
Babcock, Barbara. "Woman Lawyer The Trials of Clara Foltz," 2011

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Atherton, Gertrude. "Adventures of a Novelist." New York: Arno Press, 1980, c1932.
Atherton, Gertrude. "California: An Intimate History." Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1971, c1927.
Atherton, Gertrude. "My San Francisco: A Wayward Biography." New York: The Bobbs - Merrill Company, 1946.
Bean, Walton, and Rawls, James J. "California: An Interpretive History." New York: Mc Graw - Hill, 2012.
Geary, Gerald J. "The Secularization of the California Missions." New York: AMS Press: 1974, c1934.
Goodwin, Cardinal L. "The Establishment of State Government in California," 1846-1850, New York: Macmillan Co., 1914.
McKittrick, Myrtle Mason. "Vallejo: Son of California." Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort, 1944.
Older, Mrs. Fremont. "San Francisco: Magic City." New York: Longmans, Green and Co., Inc., 1961.
Richey, Elinor. "Eminent Women of the West." Berkeley: Howell - North Books, 1975.
Roske, Ralph J. "Everyman's Eden: A History of California." New York: Macmillan, 1968.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Discuss important events in the lives of significant individuals focused on in this course.
  • Analyze how individuals studied used their own peculiar skills and talents to the advantage of others.
  • Assess the impact of these individuals on the society of California

CSLOs

  • Comprehend and demonstrate knowledge of one or more significant Californians and evaluate their importance in California history.

  • Identify, evaluate, and interpret primary sources, including historic sites or stuctures.

Outline

(This expanded description will detail the course for two sample/ representative topics - Topic One: Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and; Topic Two: Gertrude Atherton.)
  1. Discuss important events in the lives of significant individuals focused on in this course.
    1. A native Californio, General Mariano Vallejo was a distinguished military officer who became one of the leading citizens of the Mexican province of Alta California and who, for a time, advocated annexation by the United States. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    2. Schooled in republican principles, he later served as a delegate to the California State Constitutional Convention in Monterey in 1849. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    3. He was also author of a Spanish language history of California. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    4. Born Gertrude Horn in San Francisco, 1857, she was a descendent of Benjamin Franklin. (Gertrude Atherton)
    5. Widowed at thirty, she became ensconced in literary and society circles and a celebrity in the literary world. (Gertrude Atherton)
    6. Her prime venue for writing became historical novels. One of her most famous and popular novels was The Conqueror on Alexander Hamilton, her major hero. She wrote fifty-six novels and spent her last years in San Francisco. (Gertrude Atherton)
  2. Analyze how individuals studied used their own peculiar skills and talents to the advantage of others.
    1. As a young officer, he was involved in Mexican conflicts with native peoples in California. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    2. As a commander in Sonoma and commissionado of the Mission there, he subjugated Native Americans of the region. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    3. As a political leader, his skills and personal character earned him prominence under both Mexico and the United States. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    4. More than any person in Hispanic California, Vallejo combined prominence in military, political and commercial fields of activity. He demonstrated both resilience and magnanimity during the American takeover. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    5. Her flexibility as a writer enabled her to write short stories for magazines and become a newspaper columnist and correspondent (Gertrude Atherton)
    6. She participated in several Presidential campaigns. (Gertrude Atherton)
  3. Assess the impact of these individuals on the society of California
    1. Under Spain, Vallejo's early military career revealed exceptional ability and leadership. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    2. Under Mexico, he became highly successful in all fields of endeavor. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    3. Under the United States, he again became a valued public servant, as well as a highly regarded elder statesman. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    4. Always Vallejo exerted significant, at times pivotal influence. (Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo)
    5. Her importance lies in her accuracy as a social historian whose life spanned ninety-one years. (Gertrude Atherton)
    6. She was the early Twentieth Century's most popular novelist, the most read woman writer of her time. She started Pen Women's clubs in several major cities including San Francisco. (Gertrude Atherton)
    7. Through her stories of original Spanish settlers, she had succeeded in exploring a topic never before utilized in American literature in books such as Rezanov and The Splendid Idle Forties. (Gertrude Atherton)
    8. The impact of her feminist message was not approached by any other fiction writer. Her critics agreed in according her a major role in changing women's thinking and attitudes. She subtly released her readers from their Victorian fetters and molded them into modern women. (Gertrude Atherton)
    9. She was a recipient of many honors including being named the first of California's Most Distinguished Women and receiving a gold medal from the City of San Francisco. She was decorated with the French Legion d'Honneur and received honorary degrees from Mills College and UC Berkeley. (Gertrude Atherton)
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