Introduction to American Indian & Indigenous Studies II: Indigenous Issues in Global Perspectives
American Indian & Indigenous Studies (AIIS) 1110
American Studies (AMST) 1601
Course Description
This course attends to the contemporary issues, contexts and experiences of Indigenous peoples. Students will develop a substantive understanding of colonialism and engage in the parallels and differences of its histories, forms, and effects on Indigenous peoples globally. Contemporary Indigenous theorists, novelists, visual artists and historians have a prominent place in the course, highlighting sociocultural and environmental philosophies, critical responses to and forms of resistance toward neocolonial political and economic agendas and the fundamental concern for Indigenous self-determination, among other topics. We will not only examine the history of victimization of indigenous peoples through colonial oppression, but we will also study their response as agents of change in providing alternative paradigms and insights to humanity in the third millennium.
Course Themes and Topics
Using a thematic approach that is conducive to an interdisciplinary perspective, the course explores five major themes relevant to Indigenous Studies: (1) The political economy of imperialism where colonization extends beyond occupation of the land to ones individuality including both body and mind; (2) The nature of self-determination and sovereignty through case studies; (3) The nature-culture dichotomy as a means of natural resource exploitation, generation of dependency, resulting impacts of human induced climate change, and movements to re-orient to environmental stewardship approach and discussions of food production; (4) Multiple dimensions of sovereignty including economic development and cultural reclamation; and (5) Arts as a means of liberation, resilience, and self-determination. The thematically distributed course topics are elaborated by questions. This interrogative approach seeks to engender reflection supported by lectures and informed class discussion. After theme-based lectures, fifty minutes will be set aside each week for discussion sections. These discussions or seminars will contextualize, analyze, and examine implications of readings and case studies to our contemporary context.
Course Learning Outcomes
Based on diverse including Indigenous scholarship, the Learning Outcomes of this course are:
- To view contemporary issues in Indigenous Studies with a historical sense that not only conveys the “pastness of the past” but its presence and relevance for the future;
- To examine current issues in Indigenous Studies that are important to communities;
- To apply an interdisciplinary lens in understanding indigenous sociocultural and ecological issues;
- To appreciate the complex interconnectivity between the ecological and the sociocultural;
- To comprehend that policy actions informed by cultural systems manifest themselves in social structures that rely on ecological foundations;
- To situate Indigenous Studies within a humanistic framework of knowledge generation;
- To illustrate the relevance and contribution of Indigenous Studies to broader issues of humanity in the 21st Century; and
- To discern a methodology of hope based on indigenous experience.