Assignment Paper

#1 ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Read: Bauer, William Jr. 2012. “The Giant and the Waterbaby: Paiute Oral Traditions and the Owens Valley Water Wars.” Boom: A Journal of California 2 (4): 104–117. (posted on the main class webpage).
– Write a critical analysis of the article as it relates to course material. You must incorporate at least 2 course readings in your analysis beside the Bauer article. In your analysis you might consider the following questions. Your paper must be 3 double-spaced pages.
• What are the Water Wars? How do Paiute oral histories challenge the narrative of the Water Wars?
• What is the relationship between identity and water for the Paiute people?
• Why does LA factor in? Is LA the real villain for the Paiute people?
• How did Paiute oral traditions reframe the timing of events?
• What does this article tell us about processes of settler colonialism?

#2 WHAT’S MISSING IN THIS CLASS ABOUT CA?
Doreen Massey argues that space is a product of interrleations, and that it has to be understood as “the sphere of the possibility of the existence of multiplicity in the sense of contemporaneous plurality; as the sphere in which distinct trajectories coexist; as the sphere therefore of coexisting heterogeneity” (Massey 2005, 8). Well, California is a space. The syllabus, and therefore this class, is a specific representation of that space. It tells a particular “story” or argument about CA based on Dr. Herrera’s own expertise and positionality. However, it does not pretend to represent all of that multiplicity that has historically shaped the state of CA. Nor represent that contemporaneous plurality of social relations and processes that are currently shaping the state. For this assignment, you will find a topic of your choice that relates to CA, but that we did not directly cover in the class. Maybe you want to focus on the biophysical geography of the state, the stories of another racial group we did not focus on, a region or city in the state we didn’t focus on, a historical event or period we didn’t focus on. Or a theme we didn’t focus on, such as education, food, music, or sports.

WRITE A 3-PAGE REFLECTION PAPER:
o Find an article, documentary, or primary source (such as a newspaper article, etc.) that reveals a topic that you want to showcase.
o Why did you choose the topic? What did you learn? How does it add to your understanding of CA?
o You are free to choose any topic as long as it relates to CA. HOWEVER, you have to be able to incorporate 2 concepts or themes from course discussions and readings into your essay. In other words, you must incorporate 2 course readings in your analysis.