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Studies in American Literature (471-0-20)

Topic

Indigenous Archives and Public Humanities

Instructors

Kelly E Wisecup

Meeting Info

University Hall 418: Thurs 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

This interdisciplinary, co-taught course introduces students to the texts, theories, and methods of Indigenous archives, while considering and practicing what it means to do interdisciplinary, publicly- and community-engaged humanities scholarship. We begin with these questions: how do writers, communities, scholars, and others use Indigenous archival materials? What are the genres, practices, and ethics necessary to work in and create scholarship from archives that contain Indigenous materials?

We are especially excited to model collaboration in the classroom and the archives and to introduce students to collaborative public humanities research. We welcome students working in a range of disciplines and with broad interests in archival theory and practice and in the public humanities (prior knowledge of Indigenous studies is helpful but not required; we will provide that training). Students will obtain hands-on experience with archival methods and have the opportunity to design their own archival final projects, and we welcome students interested in integrating archival research and practice into performance, fiction/nonfiction/poetry, historical research, and more.

The course readings and conversations foreground Native American & Indigenous Studies methods for archival research in literary studies, American studies, and history (among other fields). We will pair readings of NAIS scholarship with Indigenous texts, material culture objects, and archives created across several centuries, in order to understand the history of Indigenous archival creation, their critiques, uses, and representations in a range of media. We will also investigate the various public humanities pathways and projects possible for scholars trained in archival methods, with opportunities for students to gain skills in archivally-based projects. These may include digital projects, museums, film, walking tours, workshops, podcasts, and community programming.

The course will include regular hands-on work in archives and with archival materials located in Chicago, designed to help students develop their own archival practice. By the end of the course, students should be able to apply NAIS methods and perspectives to a primary text and its contexts; should be able to utilize public humanities best practices and critical perspectives in a range of contexts; and should be able to identify and implement core elements of community engaged research.

Teaching Method

Discussion; collaborative project; public humanities scholarship with local archives.

Evaluation Method

Discussion; collaborative project; public humanities scholarship with local archives.

Class Materials (Required)

Readings in NAIS methods; Indigenous archival theory; and public humanities to include:
Sources and Methods in Indigenous Studies, ed. Chris Andersen and Jean M. O'Brien (New York: Routledge, 2017)
Dian Million, "Felt Theory: An Indigenous Feminist Approach to Affect and History"
Jennifer O'Neal, "The Right to Know: Decolonizing Native American Archives"
Tiya Miles, House on Diamond Hill: A Cherokee Plantation Story
Deborah Miranda, Bad Indians

All additional texts will be available on Canvas.


Texts will be available at: The University bookstore. If you'd like to purchase the book from a Native-owned or independent bookstore, see Louise Erdrich's store Birchbark Books, which will ship books (be sure to order well in advance): https://birchbarkbooks.com/ or for Evanston/Chicago independent bookstores, check out Bookends & Beginnings (Evanston); Women and Children First (Andersonville); and Unabridged (Lakeview).

Class Notes

Co-taught by Kelly Wisecup (English/CNAIR) and Rose Miron (Director, D'Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies, Newberry Library and CNAIR)