Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Literatures (274-0-20)

Instructors

Mariajose Rodriguez Pliego

Meeting Info

University Hall 312: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

The term "literatures" at the end of this course title will serve as a guiding question throughout the quarter — how and why do we establish boundaries between literature and non-textual forms of storytelling by Native American and Indigenous peoples? Following the impulse of this question, the course will pay particular attention to the presence of oral and visual mediums in Native American and Indigenous literature. We will also study the wide variety of forms that make up Native American and Indigenous literatures, including codices, short stories, memoirs, and novels. We will begin by considering the notion that we are currently undergoing a second Native American Renaissance, or a flourishing of publications by Native American authors, and retrace publishing history back to the first Native American Renaissance, thus labeled in the 1980s. Our discussions will interrogate the notion of a renaissance as a revival of something that was previously dormant and consider the centuries-long history of storytelling by Native American and Indigenous authors. Although the course is centered on the United States, it explores the hemispheric ties of Native American authors with Indigenous writers from throughout Abiayala (the Americas).

Teaching Method

Discussion-based course.

Evaluation Method

Midterm and final papers, participation and attendance.

Class Materials (Required)

Bad Indians by Deborah Miranda, Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz, Carapace Dancer, by Natalia Toledo, and excerpts from Popol Vuh.

Texts will be available at: Canvas and NU bookstore.

Class Attributes

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