The Spanish and Mexican Influences on California, 1769-1884

FAIN: BH-50366-10

California State University, Northridge (Northridge, CA 91330-0001)
Josh Sides (Project Director: March 2010 to June 2012)

Two one-week Landmarks workshops for eighty school teachers on the Spanish and Mexican influence in California, using sites in the Los Angeles area.

The Spanish and Mexican influence on California was profound, and it shaped the evolution of what became the American West. "The Spanish and Mexican Influence" workshop seeks to enrich teachers' understanding of the period between the establishment of the first Spanish mission in California in 1769 and the publication of the Ramona in 1884, a book that provided a popular, though historically inaccurate, account of the era that informed American understandings of the period. The History Dept. at California State University, Northridge seeks to enhance the curriculum of social studies and history teachers (grades 6-12) throughout the US by helping them develop an understanding of the Spanish and Mexican influence on California by focusing on 5 key themes illustrated by historical landmarks: land use at Rancho Los Cerritos, religion at Mission San Fernando, architecture at the Los Angeles Plaza, ethnic conflict at the Yorba-Slaughter Adobe, and historical memory at Rancho Camulos.

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