Today in class we took a field trip. However, this journey was not miles away but rather just to the next building over: the Tutt Library. After a quick lecture about the Spanish colonization northward out of Mexico to the American Southwest, where Santiago talked to us about Missions, [churches used mainly to convert Natives to Christianity] in the New World as a means of political control and economic gain, Santiago led us over to the library where we would get a orientation tour and start to look at primary source documents for our big research paper due at the end of the course. Almost immediately upon entering we were introduced to one of the librarians, Laura. As the Southwest studies liaison and a skilled researcher, Laura will definitely prove to be a valuable resource as we start our papers!
Laura lead us on a whirlwind tour of the library, showing us everything from the moving bookshelves [which slide together and apart to conserve space] to a guided tour of some of the online resources available to us. I know that I was amazed by the vast quantity of databases, online journals and magazines that CC subscribed to.
Laura then helped us find primary source documents to help us with our research papers due at the end next block. However, before we embark on these great academic quests, Santiago assigned us a smaller paper to help prepare us. The assignment is to analyze a primary source paper that pertains to the topic our future research paper will be about. After much searching and shifting through hundreds of years of diaries, journals, records and other kinds of information we all found primary source documents to analyze.
Tomorrow, once the primary source paper is over and done with, we are watching the 2004 remake of the classic film The Alamo…
