Studies in 18th-Century Literature (441-0-20)
Topic
Early Indigenous Lit & Keywords in Native American
Instructors
Kelly E Wisecup
Meeting Info
University Hall 418: Tues 2:00PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
This seminar will offer an introduction and survey of two fields: the literary historical field of early Indigenous literatures and the interdisciplinary field of Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS). Reading texts created by Indigenous writers and printers between 1661 and around 1900, we will ground ourselves in the genres, modes of production, and politics of early Indigenous literatures, while also critically examining what terms like "early" and "literature" mean in this context and with attention to the reading, archival, and collaborative practices necessary to study this literary history. We will read this literary archive alongside NAIS scholarship, with a focus on keywords significant to the field, including but not limited to sovereignty, settler colonialism, land, recognition, refusal, and resurgence, transIndigenous, and decolonial. Readings include works by Samson Occom, Joseph Johnson, Hendrick Aupaumut, Katharine Garret, William Apess, Black Hawk, Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, E. Pauline Johnson, Simon Pokagon, Gertrude Bonnin and others; scholarly work by Robert Warrior, Audra Simpson, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, David Chang, Mishuana Goeman, Jean Dennison, and Joanne Barker, among others. This course will meet both the 1680-1800 and the 1800-1900 period requirements.
Teaching Method
Seminar discussion.
Evaluation Method
Presentations; short response/reflection papers; final conference paper and presentation.
Class Materials (Required)
Texts include: Please purchase the following texts. Additional readings will be available on Canvas.
Bross and Wyss, eds., Early Native Literacies in New England: A Documentary and Critical Anthology, 9781558496484
William Apess, On Our Own Ground: The Complete Writings of William Apess, a Pequot, ed. Barry O'Connell (9780870237706)
Black Hawk, Autobiography, 9780143105398
S. Alice Callahan, Wynema: A Child of the Forest (9780803263789)
Gertrude Bonnin, American Indian Stories (U Nebraska Press second edition), 9780803299177
Texts will be available at: Norris Bookstore. Many used editions of these books are available for purchase online; any of these are great. Bookshop.org supports local bookstores and is a good alternative to Amazon, if you prefer to order online. Native-owned and local bookstores also carry these books; please support them if you can. See Louise Erdrich's store Birchbark Books, which will ship books (be sure to order well in advance): https://birchbarkbooks.com/ or for independent Evanston/Chicago bookstores, check out Bookends & Beginnings (Evanston); Women and Children First (Andersonville); and Unabridged (Lakeview).