AIS 101 Indian America in 20th Century (Simpson, A.)
MW 11:15-12:05, plus sections
This course addresses major US policies affecting American Indians in the 20th Century, and
ways in which American Indians pursued strategies to sway the process of social change. American
Indian political, economic, and cultural issues are examined through history, literature, art,
and film. The approach of this interdisciplinary course and an emphasis is placed on the study of
American Indians as living cultures. Current trends are discussed, and the implications for
American Indians in the 21st century are explored. Guest lectures, including American Indian
scholars and leaders, provide additional perspectives.
AIS 235 Archaeology of North American Indians (Jordan, K.)
MWF 10:10-11:00
This introductory course surveys archaeology's contributions to the study of American Indian
cultural diversity and change in North America north of Mexico. Lectures and readings will examine
topics ranging from the debate over when the continent was first inhabited to present-day
conflicts between Native Americans and archaeologists over excavation and the interpretation of
the past. We will review important archaeological sites such as Chaco Canyon, Cahokia, Lamoka Lake,
and the Little Bighorn battlefield. A principal focus will be on major transformations in life
ways such as the adoption of agriculture, the development of political-economic hierarchies, and
the disruptions that accompanied the arrival of Europeans to the continent.
AIS 266 Introduction to Native American History (Parmenter, J.)
MW 11:15-12:05, plus sections
With the abandonment of earlier perspectives grounded in romantic and evolutionary stereotypes,
Native American history today represents one of the most exciting, contentious, and dynamic fields
of inquiry into America’s past. This course introduces students to the key themes and trends
of the history of North America’s indigenous peoples by taking an issues-oriented approach.
We will cover material ranging from the debate over the Native American population at the time of
first contact to contemporary social and political struggles over casino gambling and land claims.
The course stresses the ongoing complexity and change in Native American societies and will
emphasize the theme of Native peoples’ creative adaptations to historical change.
AIS 333 Course Title TBA (Muskett, M.)
This course explores environmental perceptions and relationships held by indigenous people.
Interpretations of the relationships between Indians and nature will be examined through the
concepts of connective and holistic interrelationship, community, identity, and the sacredness of
nature. These concepts will be illustrated with specific legal cases, stories, individual
perceptions, and current environmental case studies.
AIS 340 Contested Terrain: Hawaii (Hamabata, M.)
TBA (Arranged with Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Hawaii Program)
This course draws from the fields of history, political science, and sociology to present an
historical understanding of contemporary Hawaiian society. Topics include Western contact,
establishment of Western institutions, overthrow of a sovereign government, annexation,
integration into the United States. Direct experience with Hawaiian leaders and institutions are
incorporated to address contemporary issues: sovereignty, economic development/dependency, social
change, and land use as a sociopolitical and cultural struggle.
AIS 348 / 648 (Iroquois Archaeology) (Jordan, K.)
6480 (Course requirements differ at the 3000 and 6000 levels).
This course surveys the long-term development of Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) culture from an
archaeological perspective. Issues examined will include the geographic origins of the Iroquois;
material culture, settlement, and subsistence; the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy; Iroquois
responses to European –borne diseases, the fur trade, and territorial encroachment; the
practicalities of doing Indian archaeology in New York State and contemporary Haudenosaunee
perspectives on Archaeology. The Six Nations Iroquois will be emphasized with some material drawn
from surrounding Northern Iroquoian groups. Visits to local archaeological sites and museum
collections will supplement classroom instruction.
AIS 490 New World Encounters 1500-1800 (Parmenter, J.)
M 2:30-4:25
The discovery of the Americas, wrote Francisco Lopez de Gomara in 1552, was “the greatest
event since the creation of the world, excepting the Incarnation and Death of Him who created
it.” Five centuries have not diminished either the overwhelming importance or the
strangeness of the early encounter between Europeans and the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Taking a comparative approach, this course will conceptualize early American history as the
product of reciprocal cultural encounters by assessing the various experiences of Spanish, French,
and English newcomers in different regions of the Americas. Critical interpretation of primary
source material will be emphasized in the course, as will the development of students’
ability to reflect critically on these documents, taking into account the perspective of both the
colonizers and the colonized.
AIS 610 American Indian Studies Pro-Seminar
TBA
AIS 726 The Legal Construction of Indian Country: Interdisciplinary Approaches to
Federal Indian Law (Cheyfitz, E.)
TBA
This is an interdisciplinary seminar open to both students in the Law School and the Graduate
School of Arts and Sciences. While its focus is the historic development of federal Indian law, it
will address fundamental theoretical issues such as the cultural limits of Western law, the
situation of indigenous peoples in a postcolonial context, and the critical relationship between
law and literature.
