Right now, we've got four courses on the books for this summer, with a fifth to be added soon. Take a look at the time schedule for more information.
AIS 270: Pacific Northwest Natives
I&S; A-term, MTuWTh 11:30 - 1:30; Professor Charlotte Cote
Examines indigenous societies on the Pacific Northwest's western slope, from southeast Alaska to California, including social structures and relations, subsistence strategies, belief systems, and changes over time, both before and after non-Natives' arrival.
AIS 340: Indian Child and Family
I&S; A-term, MTuWTh 1:10 - 3:20; Professor Dian Million
In this class we seek insight into the experiences of North American Indian families from several different perspectives, and foremost, those of American Indian families themselves. The instructor takes a socio-historical approach in presenting the traditional and future strengths of tribal families to protect and nourish their children. The class focuses on their challenges but is also focused on the solutions that American Indian peoples have sought. Topics include: 20th-21st century American Indian family demographics, studies of traditional family structures, western nation-state interventions such as boarding school and social science and social welfare management. It also discusses in particular Indian Child Welfare practices in the United States and some comparison of programs and issues in Canada. This class is by its nature interdisciplinary and will lend itself to an opportunity for readings across a gamut of history, anthropology, sociology, women’s studies, social issues, health, political and economic concerns. Class texts, films, and music will be supplemented with speakers.
AIS 377: American Indian Memoir and Autobiography
VLPA; Full-term, MTuWTh 9:40 - 10:40; Elissa Washuta
This course will focus on Native autobiography, storytelling and memoir produced during the time before European contact through the present. The act of writing about oneself arrived in the Americas with the European colonizers, and at that time, changes occurred in the mode of Native autobiographical storytelling. Anthropologists began to collect, shape and publish Native stories, using European languages and the written form rather than oral storytelling. During the twentieth century, Native writers who have been considered “authors” who generate “literature” have worked with the traditional storytelling mode to varying degrees. We will examine the role of contemporary Native autobiography, memoir and essay within the larger body of writing being produced.
AIS 466: Producing Documentary Shorts
VLPA; A-term, MTuWTh 9:10 - 11:50; Professor Daniel Hart
Explores documentary theory, methods, and aesthetics. From humanities, social science, and Indigenous studies perspectives, students critique a self-produced documentary, looking at methodology, perspective, and ethics. Students also explore pre-production, production, and post-production documentary techniques.