Sandra Mathews, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History
Office: Old Main 318
Email: smathews@nebrwesleyan.edu
Phone: 402.465.2442

Sandra K. Mathews completed her PhD in US West and Latin American History (1998) and her MA in Latin American History from the University of New Mexico (1986).  Her dissertation focused on Pueblo Indian land rights in New Mexico during the Spanish, Mexican and early US Territorial periods.

Before coming to NWU, she taught at UNM-Valencia Campus and UNM's Main Campus (Latin America, New Mexico history), and she taught Pueblo Indians who were returning to the classroom to serve as bilingual instructors through a Bureau of Indian Affairs grant.

Sandra's publications include:
"'Designing and Mischievous Individuals': The Cruzate Grants and the Office of the Surveyor  General" in the New Mexico Historical Review, Volume 71, Number 4 (October 1996)

Everything You Need to Know About Your History Course

(Longman Publishers, 2000).

"'Between This River and That': Establishing Water Rights in the Chama Basin of New Mexico" in CharMiller, ed., Five Centuries of Western Water Conflict

(Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2001)

Between Breaths: A Teacher in the Alaskan Bush

(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006)

American Indians in the Early West (ABC-CLIO, 2008)

Edited with Renee Laegreid, Women's Experiences in the North American Plains (Texas Tech University Press,2008). Sandra also wrote the first chapter in this book.

"'We had a Fandango!' Pike Encounters Women in the Borderlands" in Matthew Harris, ed., A Clash of Empires: Thomas Jefferson, Zebulon Pike and the Opening of the American West (forthcoming)

New Mexico! 

(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, forthcoming)

During her free time (!), she enjoys softball, kayaking, bicycling, jogging, walking her dog Dulcinea, camping, hiking, traveling, contemplating my place in the world, swimming, golfing, reading, research and writing, and many other things!

History 1 – United States History to 1877
A survey of United States history beginning with precontact cultures, examining the varied colonial and native cultures, and tracing the political, economic, social, and cultural development of the United States, and concluding with Reconstruction. (Normally offered each fall semester.)

History 110 – Introduction to Latin America
An examination of the Latin American experience from precontact and the earliest Spanish exploration and colonization.The course will examine the progress of Indian/Spanish, Church/State, Spanish/Portuguese/English/French and Spanish/English/United States relations from the mid-1400s into the 20th century. The dynamics of political, religious, and agrarian movements throughout the many Latin American nations will also be discussed, as will the historic trends behind current events in Latin America.

History 150 – U.S. West
An exploration of the “real” U.S. West, in contrast to the Hollywood version. The course will focus on Native Americans from the days when precontact Native American societies flourished, to subsequent European and Russian domination, and finally their loss of sovereignty under the U.S. government. The course will also emphasize the nineteenth century when the West became a mecca for many people to whom the West represented different visions: to the Chinese, it was the “Golden Mountain;” to Spaniards and Mexicans, it was “El Norte;” to the newly-emancipated Africans, the West represented freedom; to many other newly arrived immigrants, it was a land of opportunity; to the Native Americans, it was their sacred home. Special emphasis will be placed on the above images which have often clashed and erupted into conflict beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing throughout the twentieth century.

History 156 – American Indian History
This course will serve as an overview of American Indian history from precontact to the present. It will explore numerous themes including cultural diversity, initial contact with Europeans, the different styles of interactions (Spanish/English/French), accommodation and dispossession, the American treaty process, concentration, wardship, education, land allotment, termination and relocation, and modern American Indian issues. Utilizing assigned readings, discussion, and some short films, this class will eradicate misconceptions about American Indians and therefore eliminate the roots of discrimination and prejudice against the original Americans. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing. (Normally offered each spring semester.)

History 161 – Environmental History
A study of environmental history focusing primarily on the United States and including Canada and Mexico as they involve border environmental conflicts. Emphasis will be placed on environmental philosophy, ethnic minorities, power and politics, regionalism, industrialism, gender, and literature. Course format will be lecture, class discussions based on assigned readings from assigned texts, as well as supplemental sources, reports, videos and field trips.
Prerequisite(s): History 1 or 2, or permission of the instructor.

History 203 – The Founding of the Americas
Colonial powers invaded previously occupied America as early as the fifteenth century. The colonial powers dictated the colonists’ encounters with indigenous peoples, just as indigenous cultural traditions dictated responses to the colonial regimes. The course will necessarily investigate and compare the colonial experiences of Spain, France, Holland, Russia, and Great Britain in the Americas, as well as indigenous traditions and responses to the colonial invaders. Prerequisite(s): History 1.

History 214 – Biography in History
An examination of an historical topic through the study of biography, emphasizing historical background, comparison and contrast of leading figures, and an analysis of motivations and character.

History 216 – Myth in United States History
A study of the role that myths have played in United States history. The course covers U.S. history from colonization to the present, and emphasizes both the positive and negative aspects of stereotyping, images, and assumptions written into U.S. history. Prerequisite(s): History 1 and 2.

History 218 – The Indian Wars Era
The course will investigate American Indian history from the 1790s until the first decades of the early twentieth century, often called the Reservation Era. The course is designed to provide an in-depth analysis of the Reservation experience for American Indians. This is the most popularized period in American Indian history, yet also the most misunderstood an misrepresented in popular culture.
Prerequisite(s): History 1 or 156, or the permission of the instructor.

History 255 – Women of the American West
This course highlights women’s experiences in the American West from precontact to present, and explores topics of myth and stereotypes; women’s roles in the home, family and community; and racial, class and ethnic differences in women’s experiences. Prerequisite(s): History 1 and 2 or permission of the instructor.

History 272 – History of Mexico
This course will focus on the history of Mexico through the study of many sub-themes including cultural identity, conquest, stereotypes, economic and political development, the role of the Catholic Church, gender, and political upheaval and reform. This course will rely upon lecture, class discussions based on assigned readings from our text and supplemental sources, reports, and videos to enhance student learning.
Prerequisite(s): History 110 or permission of the instructor.

History 273 – History of Cuba
An exploration of the history of Cuba from precontact to the present day focusing primarily on social, cultural and
political history with economic history serving as a backdrop for the major upheavals that occurred in the Cuban
experience. While the class will be introduced to precontact cultures, emphasis will be placed on the Spanish
colonial period, early attempts at Cuban independence, the subsequent U.S. takeover, and Fidel Castro’s revolution.
Inter-American relations will play an increasing role in classroom discussions as the semester progresses.
Prerequisite(s): History 110 or permission of the instructor.

History 503 – Conquest, Resistance, and Resilience: Comparing Colonial Frontier Experiences

An examination of the interaction between native cultures and the interlopers, or colonial powers, from Spain, France, and Russia. Students will examine precontact tribal societies in the Americas, precontact colonial powers and motivations for expansion, legal issues, contact and reactions, developing relations and power structures, issues of sovereignty and dominance, religion and religious conversion, shifting or resilience of social structures, economic development of the colonial powers, miscegenation, and long-term interaction. Prerequisite(s): History 501.