AJ57012 Topics in Culture: Native American Studies

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2014
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 7 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each odd Friday 10:50–12:25 G24
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The goal of this seminar is to give the student a broad understanding of the situation of Native Americans in the United States and Canada today, while stripping away many of the stereotypes which are held about this group of peoples, both in North America and in Europe. The student should come away with an understanding of the vibrant and continuing nature of the societies and cultures of this once so-called “disappearing race.”
Syllabus
  • This seminar will be divided into three modules. The first will look at historical relations between Native Americans and the various European/American entities with whom they had to deal, i.e. the U.S. and Canadian governments as well as organizations such as the Hudson's Bay Company and missionary societies. In the second module, we will look at contemporary Native American society through the short stories of the Spokane/Couer d’Alene author Sherman Alexie (The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven) and the particular issues which are of relevance to this unique community. These will include cultural issues (e.g., education, freedom of religion, language preservation), economic (reservation economic development, the impact of gambling, unemployment), legal issues (tribal self-government, land claims) and social issues (alcoholism, drug abuse, etc.). The third module will examine these same issues in scholarly texts, the popular media, etc.
Literature
  • Olson, James S. and Raymond Wilson. Native Americans in the Twentieth Century. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.1986.
  • ALEXIE, Sherman. The toughest Indian in the world. 1st ed. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000, 238 s. ISBN 0-87113-801-8. info
  • TAKAKI, Ronald. A different mirror :a history of multicultural America. 1st ed. Boston: Back Bay Books, 1993, ix, 508 s. ISBN 0-316-83111-5. info
Assessment methods
For each module, students will submit a 500-1500 word comment paper on the readings for that module. This is to be uploaded into ELF. The comment paper is not a summary but should reflect that the student has read the texts and thought about their relation to contemporary Native American studies. These papers will account for 30% of the final mark (10% each). These comment papers are to bu submitted within five days of the class meeting. At the end of the semester each student is to write a 2500-4000 word essay on a topic of their own choosing. This will account for 60% of the final mark. Class participation will count for 10% of the final mark.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
General note: This course is NOT designated for Erasmus students! List of courses offerd by the Department of English and American studies for Erasmsus students is available at http://www.phil.muni.cz/wkaa/ under "Information for Erasmus students".
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: This course is NOT designated for Erasmus students! List of courses offerd by the Department of English and American studies for Erasmsus students is available at http://www.phil.muni.cz/wkaa/ under "Information for Erasmus students".
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2008, Spring 2010, Spring 2012, Spring 2016.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2014, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2014/AJ57012