Saint Mary’s College of California Digital Commons/ Competing Visions: A History of California

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

California History - Hist 445
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: The open textbook is being used in a history course for undergraduate students by George Gastil at San Diego State University. The open textbook provides an overview of California history from the earliest human settlements to the early twentieth century. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to provide the best quality book in this subject area. Most students access the book in the Digital Commons, using a link provided at the course home page on Canvas.

Course Title & Number: History 445 - California History
Brief Description of course highlights:  California history from pre-colonial societies to present. Emphasis on early colonial societies, economy, environment, politics, race, gender, and California’s place in popular culture. The course satisfies the American Institutions requirement in American history and California government.  Saint Mary’s College of California Digital Commons/ Competing Visions: A History of California   History 445-California History 

Student population:  Upper Division students; open to all majors.

Learning or student outcomes:  

1. Students will understand and analyze the major themes and issues in California history and the historical forces that have shaped them.
2. Students will investigate the racial and cultural diversity of California and the struggles over power and freedom and how these have shaped the region.
3. Students will explore and critically analyze both primary and secondary source material.
4. Students will probe the nature of historical interpretation.
5. Students undertake historical research using primary source material and improve writing skills.

Key Challenges  Many of us regard Competing Visions: A History of California as the best textbook in the field for undergraduates. The book went out of print a few years ago. We are thankful to St. Mary’s College for bringing it back as a free digital book.

Syllabus and Sample assignment from the course: Attached are a syllabus and reading handouts I prepared on two of the chapters.
Syllabud - Gastil. Hist 445. Fall 2022. Wed.pdf
Gastil. Calif Hist. Cherny Chapter 1 with picts. 2021 edition.pdf
Gastil. Calif Hist. Cherny Chapter 5. 2022.pdf
Gastil. Calif Hist. Cherny Chapter 12. 2022.pdf

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: Competing Visions: A History of California. Second Edition

Brief Description:  The authors provide an engaging survey of political, economic, social and cultural dynamics in California. They also consider how geographic and environmental factors relate to human developments. One strength of the book is its global and multicultural perspective. Events in California are presented in relation to events happening in other places. Each chapter begins with a story involving an individual or a family and their unique perspectives. The specific experiences are tied together with broad themes.

Please provide a link to the resource: https://digitalcommons.stmarys-ca.edu/book-gallery/1/

Authors:  Robert W. Cherny (San Francisco State); Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo (St. Mary’s College of California); Richard Griswold de Castillo (San Diego State).

Student access:  The book is available at the Digital Commons link for anyone who wants to read it. (Readers do not need to be enrolled in the course.) I present the link to students on my course home page on Canvas. The Digital Commons site allows people to download the book. Some students download it, while others simply read it online.

Supplemental resources: Each book chapter has helpful timelines and maps. The authors also provide an annotated list of suggested readings at the end of each chapter.

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  This particular book is no longer available in print. A comparable book, that I used in recent years, is currently advertised at $40-50 for a used version or around $120 for a new book.

License: “This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License. This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Scholarship, Research, Creative Activities, and Community Engagement at Saint Mary's Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in SMC Book Gallery by an authorized administrator of Saint Mary's Digital Commons. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@stmarys-ca.edu.” 

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. I had used Competing Visions (First and Second Editions) when it was a regular print book. I was delighted when it appeared as a free book on Digital Commons. I use it because it is the best overall survey of California History. The chapters are concise and remarkably well-written, with a format that is easy to use.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course?

Sharing Best Practices: I believe the book works best as a guide for class discussions. I give students relatively open-ended questions that relate to various points in each chapter. Students find it helpful to discuss key concepts, events, and people that come up in the reading. Maps are also essential, especially for the many students who are not familiar with our large and geographically complicated state. I have used the book for online classes as well as in-person classes. The same questions tend to be adaptable to both settings.

Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved  and lessons learned. For teaching in-person we do have challenges when it comes to small group discussions where I want students to access the book during class. I would say this challenge is relatively minor. Most students do have a way of accessing it during class, and students help each other out.

Instructor Name: George Gastil 
I am a Lecturer in the History Department at San Diego State University. 
Please provide a link to your university page.  https://history.sdsu.edu/people

Please describe the courses you teach.  
I teach Hist 445 (California History), Hist 413 (US History for Teachers—Liberal Studies), Hist 410 (US History for Teachers-Social Studies), Hist 100 (World History to 1500), History 109 (US To Reconstruction), and Hist 110 (US Since Civil War).

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  
In teaching I tend to draw upon broad concepts, such as those presented as History’s Habits of Mind by the National Council for History Education (NCHE). My classes emphasize the development of skills such as reading, writing, discussion, and critical thinking. I encourage students to develop their own perspectives on historical concepts and events, and think about how the history relates to our world today and the values we might share.