Studies in Native American and Indigenous Literatures (374-0-20)

Topic

Hemispheric Indigeneities

Instructors

Mariajose Rodriguez Pliego

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 213: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

The hemisphere we sometimes call the Americas has Indigenous names that supersede this title, namely Abiayala and Turtle Island. This course learns from literature by Indigenous authors who remap the lands we inhabit, whether by tracing hemispheric Indigenous connections, interrogating borders, or blurring boundaries between human and non-human worlds. We will consider José Martí's late nineteenth-century articulation of "Our America" alongside the circulation of the Guna word "Abiayala" among Indigenous activists and "Turtle Island" as the name that Native American creation stories give to our continent. Our discussions will trace connections between the storytelling traditions of Native American and Indigenous authors across Abiayala/Turtle Island. This course will provide an illustrative and non-exhaustive sample of writings by Indigenous authors from what today we call Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, the United States, and Chile. Following calls by Indigenous authors to understand colonialism's five-hundred-year history, will move between sixteenth-century manuscripts and contemporary literature.

Teaching Method

Lecture and discussion-based course.

Evaluation Method

Midterm and final papers, personal essay, attendance and participation.

Class Materials (Required)

Excerpts from Popol Vuh and Florentine Codex as well as writing by Ailton Krenak, Natalie Diaz, and Yásnaya Aguilar Gil.

Texts will be available at: Materials will be available on Canvas.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity