ARTH 2101

Indigenous Ingenuities as Living Networks

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2020-2021.

This course explores Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) knowledge and its application across the disciplines and through time. In particular, it offers a glimpse into Cornell's local indigenous culture through Haudenosaunee understanding of themselves as a unique people, maintaining traditional teachings and fulfilling ancient responsibilities in the world. Students will engage multiple primary sources including: art, archives, material and expressive culture and interact with Haudenosaunee knowledge holders, intellectuals, and elders.

When Offered Spring.

Breadth Requirement (HB)
Distribution Category (CA-AS, ALC-AS)
Course Attribute (CU-UGR)

• Students will be able to define and analyze Indigenous knowledge systems and situate Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies as unique bodies of knowledge.
• Students will gain an understanding of Haudenosaunee peoples as a distinct cultural entity and as an Indigenous people, exercising their sovereign rights within the territory of the present day United States.
• Students will know how to identify the ways in which Haudenosaunee knowledge systems have adapted over time to meet outside challenges as well as the needs of its members.
• Students will be able to recognize the original territory of the Haudenosaunee and trace its shifting boundaries into the post-Revolutionary period.
• Students will gain awareness of Ithaca's and Cornell's connection to the history of Cayuga people and their homelands.
• Students will become familiar with Haudenosaunee gender roles, social organization, and political and economic systems.
• Students will become aware of Haudenosaunee agriculture practices and botanical and ecological knowledge.

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