AMERICAN FRONTIERS: HOMELANDS AND EMPIRE
SPRING 2010 SYLLABUS
Faculty:
Office
Mailbox
Phone Email
Kristina Ackley
Lab I 1011
Lab I
x6020 ackleyk@evergreen.edu
Zoltán Grossman
Lab I 3012
Lab I
x6153 grossmaz@evergreen.edu
(All office hours will be by appointment)
Web: http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
In recent years, many have challenged the "Frontier Thesis" first articulated by Frederick Jackson
Turner--that the frontier is "the meeting point between savagery and civilization"--as a racist
rationale for the colonization of Native American homelands. We will take as our starting point a
critique of the Turner thesis and will consider alternative histories of Anglo-American expansion
and settlement in North America, with interaction, change and persistence as our unifying
themes. We will study how place and connection is nurtured, re-imagined, and interpreted,
particularly in Indigenous communities. We will connect between the on-going process of
"Manifest Destiny" in North America and subsequent overseas imperial expansion into Latin
America, the Pacific, and beyond. The colonial control of domestic homelands and imperial
control of foreign homelands are both highlighted in recent patterns of recent immigration,
involving many "immigrants" who are in fact indigenous to the Americas, as well as immigrants
from countries once conquered by the U.S. military. The American Empire, it seems, began at
home and is coming back home, and will be contested again.
Students will explore the juxtaposed themes of Frontier and Homeland, Empire and Periphery,
and the Indigenous and Immigrant experience. We will be using historical analysis (changes in
time) and geographic analysis (changes in place) to critique these themes, and will turn toward
cultural analysis for a deeper understanding of race, nation, class, and gender. In the last part of
spring quarter, we will be looking at the legacies of “frontier” processes in the present U.S. and
world, and toward future change and reimaginings (climate crisis, indigenous identities,
immigration, etc.). We will continue examining the overlapping experiences of Native Americans
and recent immigrants, in the context of the extension and contraction of empire. Students will
complete their research paper and present their mid-winter to mid-spring research project and
community-based work in a final symposium, using place (homeland, empire, and migration) as
their interpretative frameworks. Through faculty and peer review, redrafting, and a final formal
presentation, students will develop their skills as writers and public speakers.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Tuesday
9:30-11:30
Longhouse 1007B
Lecture
Tuesday
1:00-3:00
SEM II A2109
SEM II A2107
Ackley Book Seminar
Grossman Book Seminar
Wednesday
9:30-12:30
SEM II B1105
Workshop/Film/Lecture
Friday
9:30-12:30
SEM II B1105
Workshop/Film/Lecture
Friday
1:30-3:30
SEM II A2109
SEM II A2107
Ackley Book Seminar
Grossman Book Seminar
Check out the program webpage for updates and the most current information at
http://elms.evergreen.edu/course/view.php?id=334
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REQUIRED BOOKS (AND ANCILLARY READINGS ON MOODLE)
Week 6: Armstrong, Jeannette. Whispering in Shadows
Penticton, B.C.: Theytus Books, 2004. ISBN 978-0-919-44199-6
Ancillary: Quileute chapter from Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula: Who We Are
by the Olympic Peninsula Intertribal Advisory Committee; Jacilee Wray, editor,
University of Oklahoma Press, 2002, pp. 135-149 (Chapter on Moodle)
Week 7: Wildcat, Daniel R. Red Alert!: Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge
by Daniel R. Wildcat
Fulcrum Publishing, 2009 ISBN 978-1-55591-637-4
Ancillary: Northwest Tribes: Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change.
Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute (NIARI), 2010, pp. 1-13. On Moodle and at:
http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/climatechangebooklet.pdf
Week 8: Sen, Rinku, and Fekkak Mamdouh. The Accidental American: Immigration and
Citizenship in the Age of Globalization
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008 ISBN-10: 1576754383 ISBN-13: 978-1576754382
Ancillary: U.S. Military Interventions Since 1890, List by Zoltan Grossman, on Moodle and at:
http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/interventions.html
Week 9: Silko, Leslie Marmon, Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit:
Essays on Native American Life Today
Simon & Schuster, 1997 ISBN-10: 0684827077 ISBN-13: 978-0684827070
Ancillary: Deloria, Phil, Indians in Unexpected Places (excerpted chapters on Moodle)
ASSIGNMENTS
1) Seminar Reading(s) of the Text: Students will engage in close readings of the program texts.
You will write a short paper weekly about one passage in the week’s seminar book. You will pick
an excerpt from the book and write about it. You will give a typed copy to your faculty--generally
at seminar on Tuesday afternoon, and post a revised version on the program website (generally
by Thursday, but see the class schedule).
2) Online Responses: In preparation for the major project, when online learning communities will
become very important, students will regularly post papers and respond to their classmates work
online on the class Moodle website. Every week, you will post the weekly reading(s), your
analysis of a short passage from the seminar text, by Thursday. Then, you will respond to at least
two other students’ work by Sunday.
3) Research Papers and Peer Review: Students have already devoted a significant amount of
time to a particular topic, inquiry, or investigative problem. In this manner, you have acquired a
level of knowledge of the topic that you will share through written work – the research paper.
Broadly speaking, your paper will demonstrate your knowledge, develop your voice, shape
learning communities, and influence your readers. The paper should be about discovery and
learning as well as a means of communication. We will focus on writing as a process that involves
strategies for generating idea, revising, and editing. Significant time is devoted to revision and
reflection through peer and faculty review. Students are required to become readers of each
other’s papers. In the first and second week students will break into small groups and will provide
clear and concise feedback on student papers. Take this seriously – your classmate’s ability to
revise their paper depends in large part on careful and thorough feedback. Challenge yourself to
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give your classmate clear comments on their paper (including copyediting for grammar, spelling,
and punctuation). What is the author trying to say? Is there an identifiable argument? Is the
argument well-supported? What was done well? You must go beyond “This was good. I liked it.”!
What were the weak points of the paper (every paper has them)? Importantly, what are possible
solutions to problems that you see? How can the paper be improved? What would you have liked
to know more about? Remember, this is about making the paper better (and having the time to do
it). Students must provide written comments on the papers in peer review groups, in
addition to verbal feedback. You will receive time in class to some of this, but might need to
spend time outside of class as well.
Best Draft Due at 9:30am Tuesday, May 4
Final Draft Due at 9:30am on Friday, May 28
4.) The Academic Panel in the Final Research Symposium: In the last five weeks of class, you
will work individually and collaboratively with your research groups to form an “academic panel.”
An academic panel consists of a small group of scholars who present their research concerning a
topic in common. Students will develop these panels through shared interests that is more
focused and in-depth – say, “The Student-Teacher Relationship in Ethnic Studies Curriculum”
rather than simply “Education.” You will work with other members of your panel to put together a
presentation in which each member of the panel presents a different dimension of a common
topic, based on a reading of a selected portion of your paper. These will be formal presentations
with a student chair of the panel who will introduce the topic and the papers, and will facilitate
questions and discussion.
Research Symposium Tuesday, June 1-Friday, June 4
CREDIT
Full credit can be earned by doing all of the following:
•
Reading assigned texts in advance of class
•
Participating in class activities (participation is defined as active listening, speaking, and
thinking)
•
Attending class (as attendance is a precondition of participation, absences will diminish
your ability to earn full credit; more than three absences will mean reduced credit; three
occasions of tardiness will equal one absence)
•
Completing all assignments by the date due
•
Writing a narrative self-evaluation for your transcript
•
Attending an evaluation conference when you leave the program
•
If you do all the above at a passing level, you will earn sixteen credits for the quarter.
The quality of the work you accomplish will be described in a narrative evaluation.
EVALUATION
Your evaluation will consist of your seminar leader's written evaluation of your work, your selfevaluation, and the evaluation conference. You will be evaluated on your level of comprehension
of the material, on your skills (writing, thinking, speaking, listening, research, presentation), and
on your intellectual engagement with the major themes of the program as reflected in
assignments and seminar discussions.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Please let your faculty know at the beginning of the quarter if there are any accommodations that
you will need that will be coordinated through the Evergreen’s Access Services.
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SIX EXPECTATIONS OF AN EVERGREEN GRADUATE
* Articulate and assume responsibility for your own work.
* Participate collaboratively and responsibly in our diverse society.
* Communicate creatively and effectively.
* Demonstrate integrative, independent, critical thinking.
* Apply qualitative, quantitative and creative modes of inquiry appropriately to practical and
theoretical problems across disciplines.
* As a culmination of your education, demonstrate depth, breadth and synthesis of learning and
the ability to reflect on the personal and social significance of that learning.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
WEEK SIX: MAY 4-7 (SPRING INTRODUCTION)
Book: Armstrong, Jeannette. Whispering in Shadows.
Moodle Ancillary: Quileute chapter from Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula.
****Individual Conferences will be scheduled this week and the next with each student – check
with Kristina or Zoltán for their schedules. At this meeting you will get feedback on your paper in
order to help you best revise it. Make certain you sign up for a meeting!
Tuesday 9:30-11:30
First spring meeting: themes, syllabus, research projects
RESEARCH PAPERS BEST DRAFT DUE
(Bring 4 stapled copies)
Tuesday 1-3
Seminar on Armstrong, Whispering in Shadows
Tuesday 4pm
Film: “Insular Empire: America and the Marianas” in Lecture Hall 3
Wednesday 9:30-12:30 Lecture: Native American Sacred Sites
Peer Review of Research Papers
Wednesday 6-8:30pm
Film: “For the Next Seven Generations” in the Longhouse
with Grandmother Margaret Behan Red Spiderwoman
Friday 9:30-12:30
Class discussion on Armstrong, Whispering in Shadows
BRING SEMINAR PAPER Friday morning, already posted on Moodle
Week 7 Field Trip preparation; Food Committee planning.
Ancillary reading: Quileute chapter on Moodle from
Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula: Who We Are (pp. 135-49)
Friday 1:30-3:30
Peer Review of Research Papers
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WEEK SEVEN: MAY 11-14 (CLIMATE CHANGE AND QUILEUTE NATION)
Book: Wildcat, Daniel, Red Alert!: Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge.
Moodle Ancillary: NIARI, Northwest Tribes: Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change
http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/climatechangebooklet.pdf
Tuesday 9:30-11:30
Lecture: Climate Crisis and Pacific Rim Indigenous Nations
Lecture: Climate Change at Quileute and Hoh
Tuesday 1-3
Seminar on Wildcat, Red Alert, and NIARI, Climate Change booklet
Bring paper to Tuesday seminar, post on Moodle by Friday.
Respond to at least two other students by Sunday.
Tuesday 7-8pm
Swil Kanim Violin Performance in Lecture Hall 5
Native performer, best known for “Business of Fancydancing”
Wednesday
FIELD TRIP TO LA PUSH, Quileute Nation
Leave from Parking Lot C at 9:30 sharp
Bring your own sack lunch, for lunch at Big Cedar.
Evening meal, 5:30; Drum and Healing Circle
Thursday
Breakfast in Forks; Prepare sack lunches
Meetings at LaPush and Forks
Return to campus by 6:00 pm.
Friday 9:30-12:30
Guest speaker: Therese Saliba (Arab/Muslim immigrants)
Lecture: History of U.S. Military Interventions and Bases
Friday 1:30-3:30
Field Trip Reflections
Preparation for Research Group Presentations
WEEK EIGHT: MAY 18-21 (EMPIRE AND PLACE)
Book: Sen, Rinku. The Accidental American: Immigration & Citizenship in the Age of
Globalization
Moodle Ancillary: U.S. Military Interventions Since 1890, also at:
http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/interventions.html
Tuesday 9:30-11:30
Film: The Letter: An American Town and the “Somali Invasion”
Lecture: Somali Immigration
Tuesday 1-3
Seminar: Sen. The Accidental American (Intro., Ch. 1-4)
Bring paper to Tuesday seminar, post on Moodle by Thursday.
Respond to at least two other students by Sunday.
Wednesday 9:30-12:30 Lecture: Angel Island case study (San Francisco Bay)
Short Film: Nisqually Watershed Podcast
Lecture: Fort Lewis and Nisqually Nation
All-Class Seminar: The Accidental American (Ch. 6-8, 10)
Friday
NO CLASS! Faculty at Native American & Indigenous Studies
Association (NAISA) conference in Tucson;
Use time to prepare for presentations in groups
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WEEK NINE: MAY 25-28 (NATIVE WORLDS REIMAGINED)
Book: Silko, Leslie Marmon, Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit: Essays on Native
American Life Today
Ancillary on Moodle: Excerpts from Deloria, Phil, Indians in Unexpected Places
Tuesday 9:30-11:30
Faculty reflections on NAISA conference
Lecture: Native independent filmmaking
Films: Shelley Niro (Mohawk)
Tuesday 1-3
Seminar on Silko, Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit (pp. 13-72)
Bring paper to Tuesday seminar, post on Moodle by Thursday.
Respond to at least two other students by Sunday.
Wednesday 9:30-12:30 Lecture: Indians in Unexpected Places
Class discussion: Deloria, Indians in Unexpected Places
(pp. 3-14, 136-182)
Lecture: Reindigenizing Place Names
Friday 9:30-12:30
FINAL DRAFT OF RESEARCH PAPER DUE, 9:30 am.
Film: “Edge of America”
Friday 1:30-3:30
146-151; 192-195)
Seminar on Silko, Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit (pp. 73-134;
WEEK TEN: JUNE 1-4 (STUDENT RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM)
Monday, May 30
name to Mt. Rainier
Day of 1000 Drums: Gathering in Tacoma to restore Native American
Tuesday 9:30-11:30
BRING BEST DRAFT OF SELF-EVALUATION
Self-Evaluation Workshop
Mental Map of our Program
Student Presentations
Tuesday 1-3
Student Presentations: Meet in Lecture Hall 2
Wednesday 9:30-12:30 Student Presentations
Friday, 9:30-11:30
Student Presentations
Friday, 12:30-3pm
Student Presentations: Meet in B1105
Final Thoughts
CLASS POTLUCK (bring a dish to pass)
EVALUATION WEEK: JUNE 7-11
All students will check in with their faculty for an evaluation conference, and inform them in
advance of any vacation plans.