ENG 2935 - PRSPCTVS OF NATVE AMR PEOPLS IN FLMAND LIT 1950-PRESENT

credits: 3.0
Crosslisted/Same As: LAL 2935
ENG 2935-LAL 2935. This course will offer a survey of Native American myths and tales to serve as a baseline to understand the Native past and its rich heritage. Also, students will read literature by Native writers and see films by both Western and Native directors to see how the Native past as perceived by both Westerners and Natives affects their perceptions of Natives in the present. As a result, students will see how Native Americans view themselves and how the dominant culture has viewed them over the last fifty or so years. By examining these changes in popular public attitudes over the last half of the Twentieth and early Twenty-first Centuries, students will understand that differences in cultures are healthy, that being American does not mean being white, and that a dominant culture is ultimately strengthened and enriched when it embraces diversity. Text: Erdoes and Ortiz’s American Indian Myths and Tales. Method of Instruction: Discussion and some lecture. Method of Evaluation: Quizzes based on the previous night’s reading or yesterday’s film, analytical short essays (350 - 500 words) on issues presented in the readings, and short critical reviews of the films. Meets *NWP Distribution Requirement.

Prerequisite(s): STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE COMPETENT COLLEGE LEVEL WRITERS, SOPHISTICATED READERS, AND ABLE TO ANALYZE FILM BEYOND PLOT LEVEL.