Courses at Augustana that Focus on Native American Topics

ART-343 Art of Americas (4 Credits)

(PA, D) Exploration of the art of the first peoples of North America, stressing symbol and pattern in the aesthetic development and utilizing traditional techniques for artistic expression. The use of art as narrative and ritual medium will be examined. After initial experimentation with traditional techniques, students will generate projects that push at the boundaries of the media, using traditional and nontraditional materials. Please note: this course will have field trips and studio time that may extend beyond class time. Studio fee $45.

ART-343A Art of the Americas (4 Credits)

(PA) Exploration of the art of the first peoples of Latin America, stressing symbol and pattern in the aesthetic development and utilizing traditional techniques for artistic expression. The use of art as narrative and ritual medium will be examined. After initial experimentation with traditional techniques, students will generate projects that push at the boundaries of the media, using traditional and nontraditional materials. 343A will only be taught in Latin America. $45.00 lab fee

ENGL-278 Native American Indian Literature (4 Credits)

(D) Through the study of fiction, poetry, myth, and memoir by American Indian writers, American Indian Literature explores the tragic history and enduring culture of indigenous non-Europeans on the North American continent. Special attention to the writers of the Native American Renaissance, such as Simon Ortiz, Joy Harjo, Leslie Marmon Silko, James Welch, Louise Erdrich, and Sherman Alexie-and to the diverse kinship groups (Ojibwe Laguna Pueblo, Wampanoag) with which these and other writers identify.

ENGL-270 Multicultural Literature of the U. S. (4 Credits)

(PL,D) This course offers students the opportunity to study the literary traditions of the United States and how they have been influenced by various factors like race, ethnicity, gender, religion, national origin, geography, lifestyle, and socioeconomic status. The selection of contemporary writers including African American, Hispanic, Asian American, Jewish, and Native American writers will enable students to discover the varieties of both common and distinguishing factors in the life experiences and literary expressions of writers and other artistes of different backgrounds.

GEOG-339 Historical Geography of North America (4 Credits)

(PP) Historical Geography introduces students to the field of historical geography and emphasizes its contribution to understanding North America's past. The objectives of the course are 1) to offer a broad surveyof North America's past human geographies, emphasizing the period between 1600 and the present and 2) to explore the questions, methods, and sources used within the field of historical geography including archival research, historical Geographic Information Science, and field methods. Offered in alternate years.

HIST-232 Picturing the "Other": American Indians (4 Credits)

(PA,D) Picturing the "Other": American Indians and Visual Culture examines the way that visual depictions of "the Indian"- in paintings, photographs, and film--have functioned as a way of negotiating identity for both Euro-Americans and Indigenous Americans between colonization and the present. Beginning with early American images of indigenous people as "noble savages" and ending with postmodern reinterpretations of indigeneity by contemporary Native American artists, we'll come to understand how imagery reinforces powerful narratives about race and empire even as it provides the terms through which Native Americans have always negotiated their own self- representation.

RELG-209 Global Christianities (4 Credits)

(REF) An exploration of Christianities throughout the world today including social, political and cultural factors that contribute to Christianity's shape in places outside of central Europe and North America. Students will pay particular attention to developments such as those involving the rise of Pentecostalism, Christianity as it encounters indigenous or other religions, migration, religious syncretism, or the shifting of Christianity to the Global South.

RELG-357 Gift of Simplicity I (2 Credits)

A course taught fall semester on campus to prepare students for the J-term experience in Montana. The course will combine (a) readings pertaining to the question of how the natural world and material possessions should be viewed and environmental issues such as preserving woodlands, with (b) a study of Native American culture with particular emphasis on the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

RELG-358 Gift of Simplicity II (2 Credits)

(PH, D) The Montana J-term portion of the course with numerous site visits and special presentations related to the assigned readings covered in RELG357, including opportunities to interact with faculty and students at Salish-Kootenai College, a meeting with the members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council, a visit to the historic Jesuit mission at St. Ignatius, a visit to the National Bison Range, and a presentation by a forester accompanied by a tour of land protected by a conservation easement.

SOAN-321 Native North America (4 Credits)

(PS, D) Survey on the indigenous peoples and cultures of North America, with special emphasis on cultural geography, subsistence patterns, the ethnohistory of various indigenous peoples, and contemporary issues and problems in Native America. (Offered in alternate years.) Prerequisite: SOAN 101 or 102 or permission of instructor.

SOAN-329 American Race & Ethnic Relations (4 Credits)

(D) American Race & Ethnic Relations. An overview of major sociological interpretations of the nature of ethnicity and ethnic relations; socio-historical analyses of the major racial and ethnic minorities in the United States; Native American, African, Latinx, Asian and European origin groups; an assessment of the role of race in American society; an exploration of the future significance of race and ethnicity. Prerequisite: SOAN 101 or 102 or permission of instructor.

SOAN-336 Anthropology of Art (4 Credits)

(PS,G) This course holistically examines human artistic expression. Students will learn about how creativity sparked human evolution, and what the archaeological record can tell us about various artforms. We will examine oral traditions through folklore and ethnomusicology, and we will look at contemporary global problems in relation to the arts. Specifically, we will look at the ways in which the intersection of modern capitalism and indigenous arts traditions have empowered or exploited artists in various contexts. In this way, the course will take a 4-fields approach to anthropology by studying human evolution, archaeology, linguistics and oral traditions, and sociocultural anthropology. Prerequisite: SOAN 101 or 102 or permission of instructor.