AIIS 2600

Introduction to Native American Literature

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2016-2017.

The production of North American Indigenous literatures began long before European colonization, and persists in a variety of printed, sung, carved, painted, written, spoken, and digital media. From oral traditions transmitted through memory and mnemonics to contemporary innovations, Native North American authorial techniques layer Indigenous perspectives on social, political, and environmental experience, through deft artistry and place-specific aesthetics. Our attention will focus on the relationships and contexts from which particular Native American literatures emerge, and ethical considerations associated with entering Indigenous territory, both figuratively and literally. In response to a selection of traditional stories, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and a graphic novel or two, we will examine how Native literatures voice scathing critiques of settler-colonial values and practices, and yet challenge, delight, and intrigue their readers.

When Offered Fall.

Distribution Category (CA-AG, D-AG, LA-AG)

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