AIS 100 Introduction to American Indian Studies (Jordan, K)
TR 1:25 - 2:40P, plus sections
(100 is not a prerequisite to 101)
This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the cultures and histories of American
Indian Nations north of Mexico to 1890. Lectures and discussion sections begin with a survey of
the Pre-Columbian Indian occupation of North America, and then examine the political, economic,
cultural, legal, and demographic consequences of European and American colonialism. The course
will emphasize the contemporary relevance of traditional values, as well as the ways in which the
deep past continues to affect the present and future of Indian peoples. Course materials will
address Indian histories and cultures from a variety of perspectives, including those of the
humanities, social sciences, and expressive arts.
AIS 230 Cultures of Native North America (Lambert, B.)
MWF 1:25 - 2:15P
A survey of the principal Inuit and American Indian culture areas north of Mexico. Selected
cultures will be examined to bring out distinctive features of the economy, social organization,
religion, and worldview. Although the course concentrates on traditional cultures, some lectures
and readings deal with changes in native ways of life that have occurred during the period of
European-Indian contact.
AIS 353 Anthropology of Colonialism (Simpson, A.)
MWF 10:10 - 11:00A
This course examines the relationship between colonialism and anthropology and the ways in which
the discipline has engaged this global process locally in North America. One of our aims in this
course is to gain an appreciation of colonialism both as a theory of political legitimacy and as
a set of governmental practices. As such, we will re-imagine North America in light of the
colonial project and its technologies of rule such as education, law, policy that worked to
transform indigenous notions of gender, property and territory. We will do so in order to
appreciate the ways in which these forms of knowledge and practice advanced the settlement of
space and place and both settled and unsettled peoples. This course will be comparative in scope
but will be grounded within the literature from Native North America.
AIS 364 Polities of "Nations Within" (Hendrix)
MW 2:55 - 4:10P
AIS 400/600 Seminar in American Indian Studies (Simpson, A.)
T 1:25 - 4:25P (400 Caldwell)
This course is an interdisciplinary survey of the literature in Native American Studies. Readings for
this course engage themes of indignity, colonialism, power and "resistance". The syllabus is
formed from some of "classic" and canonical works in Native American Studies such as Custer
Died for Your Sins, but will also require an engagement with less canonical works such as the Red Man's
Appeal to Justice as well as theoretical and historical contributions from scholars that work outside of
Native American Studies . This course is open to graduate students but advanced undergraduates are
welcome to audit (with permission of instructor).
AIS 435 Tribal Government & Enviroment Policy (Muskett, M)
MW 2:55 - 4:10P
This course will examine issues of globalization and how they affect indigenous people worldwide.
The processes of globalization, whether under the auspices of the World Trade Organization and
regional economic agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement or the
de-territorialization of social and political arrangement co- temporal with modernization, have had
profound social, cultural and economic impacts upon indigenous peoples. At issue are the lands,
resources, traditional knowledge, cultural property and tribal sovereignty of indigenous peoples.
In this course we will examine the multifarious and complex issues of impact of globalization on the
world's indigenous peoples, such as the effect of free trade and development on indigenous peoples;
issues of cultural 'property' such as songs and stories of native artists; intellectual property such
as plant medicines; the question of treaties and water rights; and whether and to what extent civil
society can truly include and address the interests of indigenous peoples.
AIS 472/772 Historical Archaeology of Indigenous Peoples 772 (course requirements differ
between 400 and 700 levels)
M 12:20 - 2:15P
This seminar uses archaeology to examine the responses of non-state indigenous peoples across the
world to European expansion and colonialism over the past 500 years. Archaeology provides a
perspective on indigenous lives that both supplements and challenges document-based histories. We will
assess the strengths and weaknesses of various theories of culture contact, and explore a series of
archaeological case studies, using examples primarily from North America with lesser emphasis on
Africa and the Pacific. The seminar provides a comparative perspective on indigenous-colonial
relationships, in particular exploring the hard-fought spaces of relative autonomy created and
sustained by indigenous peoples.
AIS 497 Independent Study
Topic and credit hours to be mutually arranged between faculty and student. Independent Study Forms
must be approved by American Indian Program Office.
AIS 601 Colloquium / Proseminar Series (Gonzales, A.)
F : 9/9, 10/21, 11/11, 12/2 12-1:30 (400 Caldwell Hall)
Students should contact Prof. Gonzales by e-mail for more information:
aag27@cornell.edu
