MATTHEW BABCOCK

Willliam P. Clements Department of History

PO Box 750176  Dallas, TX  75275-0176

(214) 768-3684

mbabcock@mail.smu.edu

 

Education

Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX

· Ph.D., History, May 2008.
· Dissertation: “Turning Apaches into Spaniards: North America’s Forgotten Indian Reservations, 1786-1831.”  Examines patterns of accommodation and conflict along Mexico’s northern frontier between Apaches residing on Spanish-run reservations near presidios and soldiers, settlers, and Native peoples."

· Advisor: David Weber, Dedman Professor of History.

· Oral Exams in Southwestern, American Indian, U.S., and Global and Comparative History, Spring 2004.

 

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM           

· M.A., History, August 2001.
· Thesis: “Transnational Trade Routes and Diplomacy: Comanche Expansion, 1786-1846.”  Examines Comanche raiding, trading and diplomacy in New Mexico, Texas, Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Durango."

· Advisor: Samuel Truett, Associate Professor of History.

· Comprehensive Exams in History of the American West, Fall 2000.

 

Dartmouth College,Hanover, NH

· B.A., cum laude, History and Spanish, June 1995.

· Foreign Study Program: Studied Mexican history and literature in Puebla, Mexico, Winter 1995.

Awards and Fellowships

Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University, 2007 – 2008

· Bill Clements Dissertation Fellowship

 

Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University, Summer 2006
· Jonsson Fellowship for archival research in Spain.
 

Clements Department of History, Southern Methodist University,2001 – 2006
· Fellowship for tuition and living expenses.

 

Center for Regional Studies, University of New Mexico, 2000 2001
· Fray Angélico Chávez Fellowship for work with Spanish documents at the Center for Southwest Research.

 

Department of History, University of New Mexico, May 2000

· Frederick G. Bohme Memorial Prize for best seminar paper on Southwestern history.

Papers and Publications

“Mutual Adaptation: Assessing Spanish-run Reservations for Apaches in Practice, 1786-1831,” paper to be presented at the American Society for Ethnohistory Conference, Tulsa, Oklahoma, November 8, 2007.

 

“Rethinking the establecimientos: Why Apaches Settled on Spanish-run Reservations, 1786-1793.” In peer review, New Mexico Historical Review and forthcoming in Españoles y indígenas en el Gran Norte: conflictos y acercamientos, eds. Salvador Bernabeu and David J. Weber (Madrid: Doce Calles, 2008).

                                                                                                           

“José Francisco Ruiz” and “Juan Bautista de Anza.”  Encyclopedia of U.S./Latino(a) History , eds. Jorge Iber and Ana Luisa Martinez (NY: Facts on File).  Forthcoming, 2007.                                                                                               

 

Review of Jackson, Jack. Indian Agent: Peter Ellis Bean in Mexican Texas. Western Historical Quarterly

37:4 (Winter 2006).                                                                                                                                           

 

Review of Anderson, Gary Clayton. The Conquest of Texas: Ethnic Cleansing in the Promised Land, 1820-1875.

American Indian Culture and Research Journal 30:4 (Winter 2006).                                                                                   

 

“Turning Apaches into Spaniards: The Forgotten Indian Reservations of North America, 1786-1821,”

paper presented at the Congreso de Americanistas, Seville, Spain, July 18, 2006.

 

“The Forgotten Reservations: Apache Adaptation to State Incorporation in the Southwest, 1786-1831,” paper presented at the American Historical Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA, January 8, 2006.

 

Roundtable:  "Working 'On the Margins'?  Reflections on the State of Borderlands/Frontier Studies," Conference on Latin American History, Philadelphia, PA, January 6, 2006.

 

“Turning Apaches into Spaniards: The Forgotten Indian Reservations of the West Texas Frontier,” paper presented at the Texas State Historical Association Conference, Fort Worth, TX, March 3, 2005.

 

“Peace by Deceit: Rethinking Apache Motivations for Settling on Spanish-run Reservations, 1786-1791,” paper presented at the Western History Association Conference, Las Vegas, NV, October 16, 2004.

 

“Transnational Raid and Trade Routes: Comanche Expansion from the Rio Grande to Durango, 1821-1846”

paper presented at the Western History Association Conference, San Diego, CA, October 7, 2001.

 

“Raid to Trade: Ecueracapa and the Spanish-Comanche Peace of 1786,” paper presented at the Phi Alpha Theta Southwest Regional Conference, University of New Mexico, April 16, 2000.

Teaching Experience

Austin College, Sherman, TX                                                                                                                                          
History Instructor,  2006

· Taught U.S History to 1877 and two sections of Texas History.

 

Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX

History Instructor, Summer 2005

· Taught U.S History, 1877 to the Present.

 

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Teaching Assistant, August 1999 – May 2000                                                                                                     

· Graded and administered exams, co-led review sessions, and tutored students during office hours for Professor Richard Berthold’s Western Civilization course.

 

The Knox School, St. James, NY

Spanish and History Teacher, September 1996 – June 1998, September 1996 – June 1998

· Taught second through fifth year Spanish and three sections of U.S. History.

· Advised Spanish Club and served on Academic Review and Disciplinary Committees.

 

St. John’s High School, Shrewsbury, MA

Spanish Teacher, February 1996 – June 1996 
· Taught three first year Spanish classes and A.P. Spanish Literature.

Related Professional Experience

 

The Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Fray Angélico Chávez Fellow, August 2000 – May 2001

· Summarized Spanish archival documents from the France V. Scholes Collection.

· Helped develop an electronic finding aid in Spanish for the Collection.

 

The Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Administrative Assistant, August 1999 – August 2000           

· Maintained Chicano Culture and Literature Exchange email listserve, which required corresponding in Spanish.

· Helped develop Chicano Mystery Writers database for website.
 

Volunteer Service

Department of History, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX

Student Representative to the Graduate Committee, August 2004 – May 2005

· Served as a liaison between graduate students and faculty by voicing students’ questions and concerns.

 

Graduate and Professional Student Association, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Student Research Allocations Committee Reader, Fall 2000

· Read and evaluated graduate student applications for research and travel grants.

Last updated April 2008.