Worldviews of American Indians
AIST, RELS 325
Spring 2008
TUESDAY 7-9:50 PM (Langdon 303)
Instructor:
Sarah Pike
Trinity 231
x-6341
e-mail: spike@csuchico.edu (please use Vista e-mail for everything but emergencies)
Office hours: W 2-4 TH 1-3 and by appointment
• Course Description •
This course will introduce students to the rich diversity of philosophies and religions of North American Indians from European contact through the present. Lectures, readings, films, discussions, and other in-class activities will explore myths, symbols, rituals, literatures and oral traditions. We will pay particular attention to contemporary challenges facing American Indians, such as questions of religious freedom. This course is intended to develop your critical thinking skills, to help you understand the forces and conditions shaping American Indian worldviews and to help you make informed analyses of the contemporary lives and cultures of American Indians.
• Course Texts •
Joel Martin, The Land Looks After Us
Malcolm Margolin, The Ohlone Way
N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain
Greg Sarris, Grand Avenue
(Texts are available at Lyons books, 121 W. 5th, 891-3338. Other readings are on electronic reserve and available through the library website.)
• Course Requirements and Grading •
PARTICIPATION and ATTENDANCE (20%)
Your participation and attendance are essential to the success of this course. You should read assignments carefully and at the beginning of every class, you must turn in a 3x5 index card with questions and comments about the readings written on both sides. Consider the following: 1) what did you learn from the readings, such as the author's thesis, issues at stake, main points, and supporting evidence? 2) What was your reaction to the readings, what did you agree or disagree with? and 3) what questions and further issues did the readings raise for you
Absences will only be excused in the case of medical or other emergencies. If you miss class for reasons other than emergencies, YOU are responsible for finding out from other students, not from me, what we did that day. If you missed class because of an emergency or illness I will be happy to help you catch up. Quizzes and other in-class assignments can only be made up in the case of emergency or illness.
In-class assignments like film worksheets will also count towards participation.
POP QUIZZES (5% each, 15% total)
There will be three unannounced quizzes on the reading during the semester
READING RESPONSES (10% each, 30% total):
Two-page responses to 3 of the books are due as noted in the syllabus.
Do not summarize the readings, but react to them by developing one or two ideas in this brief response. What issue(s) does the reading raise for you? Do you agree or disagree with the author's perspective? Why or why not? Your response must have a thesis and should focus on one or two central issues. You must also make specific references to the text (with page numbers in parentheses) and incorporate brief quotes from throughout the book in your response. You should make it clear, beyond a doubt, that you have done the reading carefully and have completed the book.
FINAL PAPER/PRESENTATION:
Proposal (due 2/26) (5%)
Rough draft (due 4/15) (5%)
Final paper of 10-12 pages (due 5/6) (15%)
Presentation of your research topic/paper will take place during the last half of the semester (10%).
Course Calendar: Topics, Readings and Films
I. Introduction to issues
January 28 Introduction and colonial encounters with American Indians
FILM: "Black Robe"
February 5, Tradition and crisis
Readings: Gaustad, “Colonial Documents,” LaDuke, “All Our Relations,” Martin, “Native American Religions” (all on electronic reserve)
Readings: Martin, Chapter 1 and excerpt from Deloria, Waterlily
FILM: “Lakota Woman”
February 19, The Wounded Knee massacre
Readings: Excerpt from Black Elk Speaks
FILM: "Lakota Woman" (Part Two)
February 26 Native California
Readings: Margolin, Ohlone Way (Part One,1-58)
PAPER/PRESENTATION TOPIC due by Tuesday, February 26
Readings: Margolin, Ohlone Way (Part Three, 115-170)
Reading Response due
March 11, Continuity and Conflict
Readings: Knudtson, “The Wintu” and “Flora, Shaman of the Wintu,” Jewell, “Indians of the Feather River,” “Mechoopda Maidu Indians: History and Culture”
GUEST SPEAKER on the Mechoopda
FILM: “Pomo Basket Weavers”
Readings: Beck, “World Out of Balance”
FILM: "Ishi: Last of the Yahi"
GUEST SPEAKER on current Wintu issues
April 1, Oral traditions and the extinction of Indian langauges
Readings: Momaday, The Way To Rainy Mountain
FILM: “Smoke Signals”
Reading Response due
April 8, Sacred land and animals
Readings: Martin, pp. 32-37, LaDuke, “Buffalo Nations, Buffalo People”
ROUGH DRAFT OF PAPER DUE by Tuesday 4/15
April 15, New religious movements: the Ghost Dance and Peyote
Readings: Martin Chs. 3-4
FILM: “Peyote Road”
Readings: Martin, Ch. 5, Sarris, 1-49
FILM: “In the Light of Reverence”
April 29, Identity and heritage
Readings: Sarris, 51-117
FILM: "Grand Avenue”
May 6, Tradition and change
No Readings due
FILM: “Grand Avenue’ (Part Two)
Readings: Sarris, 119-end
May 20 (finals week) Reading Response due by midnight if e-mailed, 5 p.m. if turned in as a hard copy
• Other Information•
-- If you have a documented disability that may require reasonable accommodations, please contact Disability Support Services (DSS) for coordination of your academic accommodations. DSS is located in Building E. Building E is adjacent to Meriam Library and Bell Memorial Union (BMU). The DSS phone number is 898-5959 V/TTY or FAX 898-4411. Visit the DSS website at <http://www.csuchico.edu/dss/>
--Lateness: In fairness to all, I will penalize late papers 1/3 letter grade per business day.
--It is recommended that students make and keep a copy of all assignments and papers submitted to the instructor, especially anything submitted over e-mail.
--Students are expected to turn off all pagers, cell phones and other electronic devices during class time.
--Students are expected to pay attention and participate in class meetings.
--Students may not read other materials (newspapers, magazines) or work on assignments from other classes during this class.
-- Plagiarism and cheating are grave violations of the academic integrity policy of the California State University, Chico. This policy (EM 04-36) is posted at http://www.csuchico.edu/prs/EMs/EM04/em04_36.htm. Every student enrolled in a Religious Studies course is required to read through the policy and complete the RS tutorial and self test on plagiarism and cheating at http://www.csuchico.edu/rs/resources.html (scroll down to bottom of page). The policy of the Department of Religious Studies is that anyone found to have blatantly cheated or plagiarized on an assignment will automatically fail the course and be referred to student judicial affairs for further disciplinary action.
Some possible paper topics: Lakota sundance, California Indian dances, Ghost Dance movement, basketmaking, origin myths, Catholic Indian boarding schools, birth, death, or initiation rites, repatriation of bones and artifacts, sacred sites disputes, Mt. Shasta as a sacred site, peyote religion, role of the shaman, sweatlodges, New Age appropriation of Native religions, sacred animals, religion in the novels of Linda Hogan, Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, etc.