Develop your initial historiographical response of your selected topic by describing what historians, artists, television producers, film producers, musicians, and/or others have argued about it and how, or if, that argument has shifted over the years.

Please read the course materials for week 8 and then participate in this discussion. Select one question to respond to for your initial posting.

1. What was life like for the Cowboy? What have you learned about their actual life, what is the myth, and what have historians said?

2. What was the attraction of the American western movie during the Cold War and what has contributed to its lasting box office power? What are the myths presented and what have historians said?

3. How were women and minorities depicted in western films during the 1950s and 1960s and why did the depiction begin to change in the 1970s? What are the myths presented and what have historians said?

4. Can we argue the American West in the 21st century still represents that sense of hope and new opportunities as it did for those crossing the Oregon Trail in the mid-nineteenth century? Why or why not? Where is the historiography at the beginning of the 21st century? What have historians written about this?

5. In week one, I asked you if western “culture” was different from other parts of America. Has your answer changed based on what you have learned throughout the course and why or why not? What have historians written about a unique western culture?

6. The Four Corners region of the United States has been labeled a national sacrifice zone. Do you agree with this statement and do you think we must have such a thing? What have historians said about this subject?

Requirements: 2 to 3 paragraphs