Common Ground: Latin American History in the First-Year Experience
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| Title: | Common Ground: Latin American History in the First-Year Experience |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Julia C. O'Hara |
| Source: | History Teacher. 2026 59(2):139-164. |
| Availability: | Society for History Education. California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90840-1601. Tel: 562-985-2573; Fax: 562-985-5431; Web site: http://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 26 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Latin American History, Undergraduate Study, International Relations, First Year Seminars, History Instruction, Stereotypes, Perspective Taking, Food, Art, Political Divisions (Geographic), Instructional Effectiveness, Mexicans |
| Geographic Terms: | Ohio (Cincinnati) |
| ISSN: | 0018-2745 1945-2292 |
| Abstract: | The field of Latin American history has gained prominence in American higher education over the past several decades, yet its integration into undergraduate curricula remains uneven and the absence of sustained engagement with Latin American perspectives reinforces flawed assumptions about whose knowledge matters and which people and places deserve serious scholarly attention. This article explores a pedagogical response to these challenges through the author's teaching of an interdisciplinary first-year seminar (FYS) at Xavier University called "Common Ground: Mexico and the United States." The course addresses the shared FYS theme of "the greater good" by studying the long arc of U.S.-Mexico relations. The course was designed to use anchored instruction, an approach that structures learning around sustained engagement with full-length texts that serve as "anchors" for extended inquiry. This study demonstrates that this approach achieved its goals, as students acquired substantial historical knowledge, sharpened their analytical skills, and persisted in college at rates exceeding their peers. These outcomes suggest that the counterintuitive strategy of assigning more reading rather than less, when paired with appropriate scaffolding, can be precisely what students need to develop intellectual depth and academic confidence. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Access URL: | https://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/F26Preview.html |
| Accession Number: | EJ1505650 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | The field of Latin American history has gained prominence in American higher education over the past several decades, yet its integration into undergraduate curricula remains uneven and the absence of sustained engagement with Latin American perspectives reinforces flawed assumptions about whose knowledge matters and which people and places deserve serious scholarly attention. This article explores a pedagogical response to these challenges through the author's teaching of an interdisciplinary first-year seminar (FYS) at Xavier University called "Common Ground: Mexico and the United States." The course addresses the shared FYS theme of "the greater good" by studying the long arc of U.S.-Mexico relations. The course was designed to use anchored instruction, an approach that structures learning around sustained engagement with full-length texts that serve as "anchors" for extended inquiry. This study demonstrates that this approach achieved its goals, as students acquired substantial historical knowledge, sharpened their analytical skills, and persisted in college at rates exceeding their peers. These outcomes suggest that the counterintuitive strategy of assigning more reading rather than less, when paired with appropriate scaffolding, can be precisely what students need to develop intellectual depth and academic confidence. |
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| ISSN: | 0018-2745 1945-2292 |
