James Bland is a PhD Candidate (ABD) in OU's History Department. His focus is on Colonial Latin American and Native American history. He received his BA in History and BS in Economics at the University of Wyoming. He earned a Masters in American History with a specialization in Public History at George Mason University. In addition to historical work, James has also worked in museum collections and interpretations, as well as teaching community college.
Bland’s thesis: “Enlightenment in the Shadows: Californians on the Borderlands of Experience,” studies the ethnogenesis in Alta and Baja California under the Spanish Empire. He argues that daily life and routine in the borderlands helped to create the Californio identity as a borderland’s community distinct- but related- to the colonial core of New Spain. By studying the local institutions of California’s (missions and presidios) as well as local functions (trials, business, provincial operations), Bland tracks the emergence of a borderland’s identity based on shared experiences.
