Dr. Steven M. Fountain
Steven M. Fountain grew up in Oregon and has been teaching history since 1992, when he began teaching high school social studies in the Willamette Valley. After a lengthy circuit that included Illinois, Nebraska, California, and finally the Pacific Northwest again, he has resumed his habit of hiking and climbing whenever possible (which is not nearly often enough). He is also a board member of the Salmon Creek Watershed Council and is their stream clean-up coordinator.
Dr. Fountain is an affiliate of the Plateau Center for American Indian Studies in Pullman and received the John Topham and Susan Redd Butler Faculty Research Award from the Redd Center for Western Studies in 2009-2010. He is also the WSU liaison to the Center for Columbia River History. At WSU Vancouver, he teaches courses in American History (HIST 110, 111, 150, 413, 414, & 415), Environmental History (HIST 409, 491, & 494), Native American History (HIST 308), the American West (HIST 421), and Research and Writing in History (HIST 300).
Courses
| Course ID | Title | Meeting Time | Location | Semester | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIST 300 | Writing and Research in History [M] | Tuesdays 9:10-11:50am | VLIB 260 | Spring 2012 |
|
| HIST 308 | North American Indian History, Precontact to Present [K] | M,W 10:35-11:50am | VLIB 201 | Spring 2012 |
|
| HIST 415 | Jeffersonian-Jacksonian America | M,W 1:25-2:40pm | VUCB 107 | Spring 2012 |
|
Research
His research interests include Native-Newcomer contacts, colonial North America, and the role of animals in history. His first book, From Sky Dogs to Wild Ones: Nativing the Horse in North America, and a textbook, History of American Indians, are both in progress. Fountain is also working on projects exploring the introduction of exotic game species to North America, indigenous peoples in the fur trades, and the legal culture of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Alta California.
Education
- Ph. D., University of California, Davis
- M. A., University of Nebraska
- B. S., Western Oregon State College