SHUM 6645

Indigeneity and Energy in Native America

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2019-2020.

This seminar explores the sociocultural dimensions of various flows of energy as these have shaped contemporary Indigenous experience. From nuclear power to fossil fuels, and from ethnobotanicals to gaming enterprises, energy is a sociotechnical force impacting Native American landscapes, bodies, and communities. A critical understanding of settler colonialism today requires an understanding of these material-semiotic flows of energy as they profoundly constitute places and politics, for many Native Nations. Using ethnographic and historical texts, as well as fiction, visual artwork, and poetry, we will consider how energy is never solely a technical or scientific process, but is fundamentally a social practice, always embedded in complex, uneven relations of power. For longer description and instructor bio, visit societyhumanities.as.cornell.edu/courses

When Offered Spring.

Permission Note Enrollment limited to: 15 students. Not open to: undergraduates.

Course Attribute (CU-SBY)

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