English 245: Native American Literature and the Land
CRN 24852
Winter Term 2004Professor L. Westling
207 ChapmanOffice: 827 PLC, 346-3938
UH 10:00–11:20Hours: Mon. 11:00-12:30
UH 15:30–16:30
and by appointment
Texts:(available at UO Bookstore)Email: <mailto:>
Tedlock, ed. The Popol Vuh
McNickle.The Surrounded
Erdrich.Tracks
Ortiz.From Sand Creek
Hogan.Solar Storms
Course Packet
Course Description—The First Nations of the Americas have used stories and dramatic performance to define their identities and preserve their histories and cultures for thousands of years.Since European migration and conquest, many of those stories have reflected changes required by adaptation to new realities, but always Native voices have defined the experiences of their communities in sacred landscapes.This course introduces a selection from the many records of Indian people, in prose and poetry, and more recently in film.We begin with the ancient Mayan “Council Book” or “seeing instrument,” thePopol Vuh, which is sacred text and creation story of the Quiché Maya of Guatemala.Then we move through some nineteenth-century writings in English by a Native woman educated at white schools, which reflect catastrophic cultural change.Finally we read works by accomplished twentieth-century Native Americans who are some of the strongest writers in recent decades of our national literature.Always these writers use cultural contexts, histories, oral tales, and sacred traditions which are very different from European cultural materials.We will have to read carefully to appreciate tribal understandings of the human place in the living communities of particular regions and environments.These understandings have defined people’s identities for millennia and continue to vitalize present Native communities.Most of us are not readers from those communities.This fact poses challenges we must address at the outset, for although we are meant to be part of the audiences for these works, we are also unaware of much that we need to understand.
Requirements:Regular attendance, class participation, and punctual completion of all assignments.More than three missed classes will begin to erode your grade.No make-up exams or incompletes are possible except in cases of documented catastrophe.Final grade will be based on short papers (35%), a midterm exam (25%), a final exam (25%), and class participation (15%).Percentages are only approximate, because improvement or its lack will influence the final reckoning.No one who fails both exams can pass the course.
Academic Integrity:All work submitted must be your own and must be written exclusively for this class.The use of sources must be properly documented.Quotations without documentation, or the use of papers written by others or for other classes may constitute plagiarism.See “Standards of Conduct” article 1 in theSchedule of Classesabout penalties for plagiarism.If you have any questions about these matters, let’s talk about them after class or during office hours.
Course Schedule (Readings should be completed by the date they are listed.)
Week IJan. 6Introductions, Contexts, Challenges.
Jan. 8Popol Vuh—21-74.
Week IIJan. 13Popol Vuh,77-129.
Jan. 15130-198.View film ofPopol Vuh.
Week IIIJan.20Zitkala-sa (packet); begin McNickle’sThe Surrounded.
Jan. 22The Surrounded.
Week IVJan. 27The Surrounded.Paper due.
Jan. 29The Surrounded.
Week VFeb. 3Mid-term Exam
Feb. 5Erdrich’sTracks,1-31.
Week VIFeb. 10Tracks,32-119.
Feb. 12Tracks,119-164.Paper due.
Week VIIFeb. 17Tracks,165-226.
Feb. 19 Ortiz,from Sand Creek,Preface –27.
Week VIIIFeb. 24from Sand Creek,28-67.Paper due.Viewing of Sandy Osawa’sIn the Heart of BigMountain.
Feb. 26from Sand Creek,68-end; Hogan’sSolar Storms,Chapters 1-2..
Week IXMar. 2Solar Storms,Chapters 3-10.
Mar. 4Solar Storms,Chapters 11-12.Viewing ofCree Hunters of Mistassini(film).
Week XMar. 9Solar Storms,Chapters 13-18.
Mar. 11Solar Storms,Chapters19-21.
Final Exam: Wednesday, March 17, 8:00