SS 140: NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS
PROFESSOR LAGANA
FALL 2009 READING LIST AND COURSE OUTLINE
- Please make sure that you read this course outline: answers to just about any questions you have about the course can be found here. If you ask me a month from now, for example, when my office hours are or what chapters you should be reading, that probably means you haven’t read this course outline. This course outline is also posted on my web page here at Queensborough.
http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/SocialSciences/flagana/flagana.asp
- This is a college-level course, and you’re all expected to treat it like one. That means coming to class regularly, coming to class prepared, paying attention, participating in class discussions, acting like grown-ups, and doing all of the assigned readings. If you’re not prepared to do all of this, then you should consider dropping the course now while you can still get a refund. Please remember that this is college, not the 13th grade.
I. REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
This is the book that everyone has to read this semester. It is available in the bookstore (you should also be able to buy it from Amazon or some other online bookseller; there should also be a copy at the reserve desk in the library. Please make sure that you get the third edition of this book (it has a brown cover).
Mark Sutton – An Introduction to Native North America (Allyn and Bacon Publishers –third edition).
This book will be the basis for class lectures and discussions. I will also be giving a variety of handouts on various topics throughout the semester; you’re responsible for reading those as well.
II. INDIVIDUAL READINGS: in addition to the textbook, please buy and read at least one of the following five books. All of the books are available in the bookstore (or at an online book seller). You have to write a book analysis paper of at least 3 pages on the book you’ve chosen to read. This paper will be due no later than Tuesday October 13. A paper handed in later than that will be penalized; a paper handed in more than a week late (after October 20) will receive a failing grade. Further details about this project are attached at the end of this course outline. A) Asen Balicki – The Netsilik Eskimo B) Frances Berdan – The Aztecs of Central Mexico: An Imperial Society. C) Robert Berkhofer – The White Man’s Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to
the Present
D) Alice Kehoe: The Ghost Dance: Revitalization and Renewal.
E) Stuart Streuver and Felicia Antonelli Holton. Koster: Americans in Search of Their Prehistoric
Past.
III. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS: these four books should all be available at the reserve desk in the library. You will find them useful for further information on many of the topics discussed in the textbook and in class. You may also find them useful for ideas and information about possible topics for your research paper. A) Gordon R. Willey: Introduction to American Archaeology
B) Harold Driver: The Indians of North America.
C) Spencer and Jennings: The Native Americans.
D) Leacock and Lurie: North American Indians in Historical Perspective
IV. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: in addition to the book analysis paper, there will also be two exams, one sometime in mid-October and a second exam at the end of the semester. The first exam will consist of some short answer questions; on the second exam you can expect both short answer questions and at least one essay.
A) You also have to write a research paper for this course. This paper must be at least 7-8 pages long and you have to use at least 3-4 references in your paper (books, magazines, academic journals, web sites, etc). No references from encyclopedias please and no more than 2 of your references can be from the Internet. You have to do most of your research the old-fashioned way: by going to a library.
B) Your paper can be on any aspect of Native American life, either before or after the European invasion of North America, which began in 1492. Please see me for possible topics if you can’t come up with one on your own.
C) You must submit a topic for your research paper by Monday October 26 at the very latest; if you hand in an outline later than October 26 the grade you get on your paper will be reduced by one-half grade. Along with a topic, you also have to give me a brief outline (typed) of your paper. In this outline, please indicate your approach to the topic. Some of your ideas about your topic, and some of the references that you will be using. No paper will be accepted unless you’ve handed in an outline.
D) Try to choose a topic that you’re interested in; don’t choose a topic because you think I might be interested in it. Also, try not to choose too broad a topic. For example, instead of writing a paper about Native American religions. It would be better to limit the paper to a specific area of North America or, even better, the religious beliefs and practices of one specific group of people. You should start thinking about a topic as soon as possible; don’t wait until the night before the outline is due. If you have trouble coming up with a topic on your own, please talk to me for suggestions.
E) I will be spending one or two classes talking in more detail about the paper: how to organize it, how to research it, how to do a proper bibliography, etc. A paper which does not conform to the proper format will be returned to you without a grade.
F) This research paper will be due the week of November 30. The last day for handing in your research papers will be Thursday December 3.
V. FINAL GRADE: the book analysis paper will count for about 25% of your final grade. The two exams together also will count for about 25% of your final grade. The research paper will count for about 50% of your final grade. Class attendance and class participation will also be taken into account.
VI. OFFICE HOURS: my office is in Room 119 of the Medical Arts Building. The office phone number is 718-281-5017. My office hours this semester are as follows: Monday 10:30-11:00 AM, Tuesday 4:30-6:00 PM, and Thursday 10:30 – 11:00 AM and 3:30-4:00 PM.. If you can’t make it during these office hours, please talk to me before or after class to set up an appointment at another time.
VII. E-Mail: please send any e-mail to the following address:
frankL@worldnet.att.net
I can also be reached at this address: flagana@qcc.cuny.edu. While I’m on the subject
of e-mail, here are three things to rememberwhenever you send an e-mail to one of
your professors.
A) When you send e-mail to a professor, please make sure that you use
some semblance of proper written English. For example, do not use common e-mail
and text messaging shorthand such as “u” instead of “you”, “r u” instead of “are you”, “plz” instead of “please”, etc. I will not reply to any email that’s not written in proper English.
B) When you send e-mail to a professor, please make sure that you put something
in the subject line of the e-mail to let the professor know that it’s from a student.
Please use the free e-mail account (Tigermail) you have here at Queensborough.
This account can be easily accessed either from home or at school.
C) Last year I got an e-mail from a student with the e-mail name of
“RagingPimp”. Another e-mail came from a student calling herself
“HotnSexyChicana”. Amusing as these sort of names might be, you should all try
to use a more neutral sounding name for school-related e-mail. Would you send a
resume to a prospective employer with the name “RagingPimp”? I hope not. I will not reply to any email with an inappropriate name. Once again, please use your Tigermail account when writing about school-related matters.
VIII. ATTENDANCE POLICY: you cannot expect to do well in this course unless you come to class regularly. If you are absent from more than 6 classes without a very good reason, you’re likely to fail the course or at the very least have your grade reduced. Minor illnesses, parking problems, your work schedule, court appearances, etc are not valid reasons for missing class. If you do miss a class or two, it’s your responsibility to get the notes you missed from another student. If you’re going to miss several classes because of illness or some other good reason, I expect you to let me know, either by phoning or by e-mail. It’s also important that you get to class on time; students who arrive late to class disturb everyone, especially me. If you’re going to be more than 10 minutes late to class, don’t bother coming at all; anyone arriving more than 10 minutes late will be marked absent.
IX. CLASS RULES: please make sure that you get to class awake and on time. Try to refrain from catching up on your sleep, reading the newspaper, playing on your laptop, or conducting your courtships while in class. Please do not eat your lunch or breakfast or anything else during class. If you carry a cell phone, make sure you turn it off and put it away before class begins. If you use your phone during class for any reason (that especially includes text messaging), you will be asked to leave for the day and you will be marked absent for the day. Anyone whose cell phone goes off during an exam will be penalized 5 points. And please pay attention, or at least pretend to; if I think that your attention is starting to wander, you may find yourself called on to comment about what’s being discussed in class.
X. MAPS: it would be a good idea if you all had access with a good map of North and Central America. If you knowledge of geography is weak or non-existent, it’s going to be harder for you to follow what’s going on in class.
XI. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: don’t even think of cheating on any of the exams in this class – the result will be a failing grade for the semester if you’re caught (you do have the right to appeal to the department committee on academic integrity). Any written work that you hand in has to be entirely your own work and not the work of anyone else: handing in someone else’s work on a written assignment will also warrant a failing grade for the semester: no excuses and no second chances. Please remember that your professors know how to use Google too so don’t even think of trying to get away with taking an assignment off of the internet.
Notice for Students with Disabilities
Any student who feels that he/she may need an accommodation based upon the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss his/her specific needs. Please contact the office of Services for Students with Disabilities in ScienceBuilding, room 132 (718 631 6257) to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
COURSE OUTLINE/COURSE OBJECTIVES
- This course will be focusing on several basic questions about the native peoples of North America, the people who were here before Columbus, the people commonly (and mistakenly) known as American Indians. For the purposes of this course, North America refers to what is now the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as the islands of the Caribbean sea. By the time the semester is over you should be able to intelligently discuss and, if asked, write about, the following questions.
1. What have anthropologists and other scientists been able to learn about the origins of the people we call American Indians? Where did they come from, when did they get here, how did they get here? What has been learned about the earliest documented cultures of North America (some dating back as far as 15-20 thousand years ago and perhaps even longer than that)? Who were the first inhabitants of what Europeans would later call the “New World”?
2. How did the native peoples of North America adapt to the many different kinds of environments found on the continent? What were some of the different social, political and economic systems found in North America before the European invasion?
3. How did the native peoples of North America see themselves in relation to the world around them? How were these relationships expressed in areas of life such as art, philosophy, religion, and science?
4. What were the causes and the consequences of the European invasion of North America? What effects did the invasion have, both on native peoples and on Europeans (and on Africans as well)? How did native peoples respond to the demographic, ecological, and cultural changes that occurred after 1492?
5. What happened to native peoples during the 20th century? What have been the effects of government policy on native peoples and cultures? What will the 21st century be like?
OUTLINE OF READINGS FOR THE SEMESTER
Here is an outline of the major topics for the semester and the readings that you should be doing in the textbook. Please make an effort to keep up with the assigned readings. If there’s anything in the textbook that you don’t understand, it’s your responsibility to ask about it. Please remember that you cannot expect to do well in this course unless you do all of the assigned readings; that includes any handouts I give the class.
WEEK OF:
August 31, September 7, September 14, September 21: Chapters 1 and 2 – Introduction and Prehistory (these are both very important chapters to read, especially for those of you who lack some basic knowledge about American history).
September 28 and October 5: Chapters 3 and 4 – The Arctic and Subarctic.
October 12: Chapter 10 – The Plains (please remember that your book papers are due no later than Tuesday October 13.
October 19 and October 26: Chapter 11 – The Northeast (remember that a topic and an outline for research paper is due no later than Monday October 26).
November 2 and November 9: Chapter 6 – The Northwest Coast
November 16: Chapter 9 – The Southwest.
November 23, November 30 and December 7:
Chapter 13 – Native Americans in the 21st century. Your book papers are due the week of November 30, any day that week Monday through Thursday. The last day for handing in your papers is Thursday, December 3.
Please make an effort to read as many of the remaining 4 chapters as you can.
IMPORTANT DATES
1) August 31 (Monday) – first day of classes.
2) September 7 (Monday) – no classes.
3) September 28 (Monday) – no classes.
4) October 12 (Monday) – no classes.
5) October 13 (Tuesday) – book analysis papers due.
6) October 14 (Wednesday) – classes follow a Monday schedule.
7) October 26 (Monday) – a topic and a brief outline for your research paper are due today;
no extensions and no excuses.
8) November 26 (Thursday) – no classes.
9) Week of November 30 – research papers are due; the last day for handing in your papers is
Thursday, December 3.
10) December 10 (Thursday) – last day of classes.
11) December 14à21 – final exam week.
Final Exam week is scheduled to run from December 14-à21. Please organize your life so you can
be here during that week.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMEMBER: your book analysis papers are due no later than Tuesday, October 13. Your research
paper topic and outline is due no later than Monday, October 26. The research papers are due the
week of November 30, any day that week Monday -àThursday: absolutely no extensions or excuses
so don’t even think about asking. The last day for handing in your research papers is Thursday,
December 3. Handing in your work on time is important if you expect to get very far in college.
back to top
|
