Apr 19, 2024  
ARCHIVED 2019-20 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
ARCHIVED 2019-20 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

HIS 351 - Western Heritage: The Outlaw As Hero (3)


This course analyzes the influence of the western frontier on the American heroic ideal and the significance of such an ideal in American culture and society. In a short time (the frontier receded rapidly and closed officially in 1890), American social prototypes were quite deliberately created which continue to define the American character throughout the world. Students will acquire an understanding of the crucial historic backgrounds and major individuals of the Kansas-Missouri “Border War” and the Kansas “cow towns” along the Chisholm Trail. Through investigation of primary and secondary sources, students will learn how to discern the accuracy of depictions of the western outlaw/hero in narrative, legend, and film.