Common Course Outline

Catalog Description

Course Description

This course covers Minnesota’s history from the paleo cultures, the pre-European Amerindian cultures, the French and British exploration and fur trade and pre-statehood. It also includes a discussion of the Dakota Conflict, Minnesota’s climatic, geo-physical, socio-economic, political, and cultural development.

Date Last Revised (Month, year)

December, 2022

Outline of Major Content Areas

1. Climate, Geography, and Natural Resources
2. Minnesota’s First Nations
   1. Prehistoric Humans and Amerindian Nations
3. Europeans in Minnesota New France and the British Fur Empire
4. Under the US Flag
   1. Fur Trade and the search for the Mississippi River’s Source
5. Becoming a State
   1. Treaties and Minnesota’s Early Politics
   2. Territory and Statehood
   3. Immigration Patterns
   4. The Dakota War and Civil War
6. Minnesota’s Industries
   1. Railroads
   2. Agriculture and Lumber
   3. Milling
   4. Iron Ore
7. Minnesota in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
   1. Minnesota’s Politics: Republican Dominance and the DFL
   2. Post-War Economic Development

Learning Outcomes (General)

The student will be able to:

1. Assess the significance of political, cultural, and social developments within Minnesota history.
2. Identify key personalities, institutions, and concepts within Minnesota history.
3. Explain how Minnesota’s environment and resources have impacted the state’s history, culture, and residents.

Learning Outcomes (MnTC)

Goal 5/History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences

The student will be able to:

1. Employ the methods and data that historians and social and behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.
2. Examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures.
3. Develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues.

Goal 10/People and the Environment

The student will be able to:

1. Explain the basic structure and function of various natural ecosystems and of human adaptive strategies within those systems.
2. Discern patterns and interrelationships of biophysical and socio-cultural systems.
3. Describe the basic institutional arrangements (social, legal, political, economic, religious) that are evolving to deal with environmental and natural resource challenges.
4. Evaluate critically environmental and natural resource issues in light of understandings about interrelationships, ecosystems, and institutions.

Methods for Evaluation of Student Learning

Methods may include but are not limited to:

• Objective tests
• Essay tests and formal and informal written assignments
• Classroom discussion

RCTC Core Outcome(s)

This course contributes to meeting the following RCTC Core Outcome(s):

Critical Thinking

Students will think systematically and explore information thoroughly before accepting or formulating a position or conclusion.

Special Information (if any)

None