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A note:
In May 2022, I joined a collaborative project to design a one-credit Humanities Futures Lab course that I will co-teach to University of Minnesota undergraduate students from multiple campuses in the Spring of 2023. The intention of this project is to be accessible and useful, which entails spreading the course model beyond this institution.
I have shared here some of the resources that have been helpful to me during this process as well as the collaborative outcomes so that others can develop and teach their own Humanities Futures Labs too. With these resources, I hope you will find something useful for jumping off into your own design process.
-Isabel
Contents:
What is a Humanities Futures Lab?
What is a Humanities Futures Lab?
The humanities lab is a course model that has been gaining popularity in recent years in universities across the country. The Mellon Environmental Stewardship, Place, and Community Initiative (MESPAC) is pioneering a new approach in 2023 through "Humanities Futures Labs" that work explicitly with Indigenous research methodologies. These labs emphasize ‘futures’ by centering Indigenous ways of knowing to seek right relationship with the land.
Core tenets of the Humanities Futures Lab:
Embraces holistic learning
Engages humanities tools for hands-on learning in a "lab" style
Encourages interdisciplinary collaboration through group work
Educates through Indigenous Epistemologies
Employs Indigenous Research Methodologies
Embodies practices of environmental stewardship and connection to the land
Envisions Indigenous futurity
Made by and for Indigenous people
How to Design a Humanities Futures Lab
How to Design a Humanities Futures Lab
A brief start:
What is the topic of your course?
What will the final project of the course be?
Does it involve hands-on learning?
Does it involve interdisciplinary collaboration?
What are the resources you and your students will have access to?
For more in-depth questions to guide your design process, Click here.
Sample Lab Contents
Sample Lab Contents
MESPAC graduate student fellows created three labs: "Unearthing Earth Stories,"
"Food and Relationality," and "Seeds, Cycles and Stories." These labs utilize various humanities tools including text data mining, literary zines, and media communications to engage through Indigenous research methodologies.
The following content is drawn from the "Unearthing Earth Stories" Humanities Futures Lab that presents students with various coding tools to analyze language patterns. Please use these resources however you choose: reuse and contextualize for your own community, draw out ideas to develop your own original lab, or concretize what you don't want to do!
Syllabus
Syllabus
Example Syllabus: Unearthing Earth Stories
Course description, learning goals, assignments, and overview
Lesson Outlines
Lesson Outlines
Example Lessons: Unearthing Earth Stories
Brief outlines of each course and activities with rough timelines
Knowledge Assessments
Knowledge Assessments
Example Humanities Futures Lab Pre-Course Knowledge Assessment
Example Humanities Futures Lab Post-Course Knowledge Assessment
Pre- and post-course knowledge assessments to assess the efficacy of the Humanities Futures Lab through comparing students' opinions and understandings regarding learning goals before and after the course.
The Sample Course ("Unearthing Earth Stories: A Humanities Futures Lab") contents were developed collaboratively by Isabel Huot-Link and Tyler Seidel, under the guidance of Becca Gercken, Carter Meland, Laurie Moberg, and Alexandra Peck through the Mellon Environmental Stewardship, Place, and Community Initiative (MESPAC).
A Jumping Off Point: Resources for Further Investigation
A Jumping Off Point: Resources for Further Investigation
The resources below are selections from the fields of knowledge they represent and this list is by no means meant to be comprehensive. As you read, I invite you to make comments on the documents to share your thoughts in the spirit of a collective learning experience.
Humanities Labs
Breithaupt (2017) Designing a Lab in the Humanities.pdf
Kitch (2018) Experimental Humanities
Indigenous Research
Lewis & Skawennati (2018) The Future Is Indigenous
Moreton-Robinson (2017) Relationality
Wilson (2008) Research is Ceremony Forward & Conclusion and Chapter 1
Wilson (2001) What is an Indigenous Research Methodology?
Indigenous Pedagogy
Antoine et al. (2018) Indigenous Epistemologies and Pedagogies
Archibald Q'um Q'um Xiiem (2018) Raven's Story About Indigenous Teacher Education
Drywater-Whitekiller & Corntassel (2022) Learning On and From the Land
Harris (2002) Coyote Goes to School: The Paradox of Indigenous Higher Education.pdf
Natashu et al. (2022) Indigenous Teacher Education
Simpson (2014) Land as pedagogy Nishnaabeg intelligence and rebellious transformation
Tom et al. (2019) Indigenous knowledges as vital contributions to sustainability
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