Chabot College
Fall 2002
Replaced Fall 2010
Course Outline for Anthropology 8
NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES
Catalog Description:
8 - Native American Cultures
3 units
Survey of the Native American cultures of North America from an anthropological
perspective, including cultural developments from prehistory to the present. Emphasis on
the great variety of Native American perspectives and traditions, including kinship, religion,
political, social and economic institutions, and attitudes towards humans, animals, and
nature. Current issues including movements for social and political justice and cultural
survival. 3 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 52.5]
Prerequisite Skills:
None
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:
1.
describe the methodology of cultural anthropology inquiry;
2.
identify the variety of Native American Traditions in North America;
3.
critically evaluate the political, cultural, and economic issues confronting Native
Americans today.
Course Content:
1.
2.
3.
4.
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6.
7.
8.
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10.
11.
12.
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14.
15.
16.
Brief historical overview of the development of the field, its scope, aims, methods,
and relationship with other disciplines of scientific inquiry
Archaeological issues and methods in the study of New World cultures
Earliest Americans: the archaeological data on origins and migrations of Native
American populations
The data from physical anthropology on Native American origins and migrations
The data from linguistics on Native American origins and migrations
Clovis Culture and current pre-Clovis debates; Folsom, the Archaic culture areas
Native American cultural communities of the arctic and sub-arctic regions
Native American cultural communities of the Northwest Coast
Native American cultural communities of the Intermontane West and California
Native American cultural communities of the Southwest
Native American cultural communities of the Prairie-Great Plains
Native American communities of the Eastern Woodlands
Survey of material culture
Cosmology and world view, including cultural perspectives on nature, the human
and nonhuman world of living things, and gender
Accounts of the European encounter with Native American cultures
Contemporary issues of cultural interaction, discrimination, stereotyping,
acculturation and resistance
Chabot College
Course Outline for Anthropology 8
Fall 2002
Page 2
Methods of Presentation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Lecture
Small and large group discussions
Examination of artifacts
Audio-visual material (ethnographic documentary)
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1.
Typical Assignments
a.
Answer study questions relating to Native American cultures.
b.
Compare artifacts in the context of different cultural cultures.
2.
Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
a.
Midterm Examinations
b.
Individual and/or group projects
c.
Essays
d.
Final Examination
Textbook(s) (Typical):
Native American: Portrait of the Peoples, Duane Champagne, Visible Ink Press, Detroit,
2001, or latest edition.
American Indian Myths and Legends, Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz, Pantheon, New
York, 2001, or latest edition.
The Beautiful and the Dangerous: Dialogues with the Zuni Indians, Barbara Tedlock,
Penguin, New York, 2001, or latest edition.
American Beginnings: The Prehistory and Paleoecology of Beringias, Frederick H. West,
University of Chicago Press, 2001, or latest edition.
Annual Editions in Archaeology, Dushkin, Connecticut, 2001, or latest edition.
Special Student Materials:
None.
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Revised 2-12-2002