[note that all items in brackets are variable]
Alaska Native Studies (ANS) 150
Topics in Alaska Regional Cultural History
[1-3] credits
no pre-requisites
[Brooks Building (BRKS) room 103, Tuesday & Thursday 9:45 am – 11:15 am]
Instructor: [Michael Koskey]
Office: [Brooks 307]
Office Telephone: [474-6604]
Office Fax: [474-5666]
Office Hours: [Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 11:30 am – 1:30 pm, or by appointment]
E-mail: [ffmsk1@uaf.edu]
Required Texts
[Simeone, William
Rifles, Blankets and Beads: Identity, History and the Northern
Athapaskan Potlatch, 2nd ed., 2002; University of Oklahoma
Press.]
Some additional texts and articles are required but will be either supplied by the instructor or
made available on reserve at the library. Additional readings will be announced in class.
Course Objectives & Goals
This course is intended to teach participants the cultural history—within an anthropological
context—of the [Upper Tanana River region]. Knowledge will be gained about indigenous lifeways, the arrival of non-indigenous populations and their life-ways, the resulting consequences,
and the development of [Upper Tanana] cultural history to the present. Focus will be on the
changes affecting [Upper Tanana] peoples—Native and non-Native—and the consequences of
such cultural changes on society and identity. Some introductory knowledge of Native Alaskan
cultures and history is encouraged. Upon completion of this course the student will possess a
general understanding of the cultural and historical processes and patterns of the [Upper Tanana]
that led to its contemporary state.
Instructional Methods & Course Structure
Methods for teaching and accompanying research including physical anthropology, ethnography,
ethnohistory, linguistics, archaeology, social anthropology, ecology and climatology will be
used. This course will include [1-3] lecture-hours per week with student participation and
attendance necessary to achieve the goal of a general understanding of the cultural history of the
[Upper Tanana].
Participation will require the students to discuss various topics with local experts who will come
to the class as guest speakers. These will augment the instructor’s lecture-style teaching.
Students will be required to present their knowledge of local culture history through discussions,
photos, research, and writing. Students will maintain a journal recording their cultural and
historical observations, and these will be shared with the class.
Course Structure and Readings
You must attend class regularly to successfully complete this course. Much of the course
material may be gained only by attending the class, and instructor and student lectures and
presentations will provide the primary source for information that will appear on the two exams.
The text[s] are secondary in importance to class participation, providing details for the
information presented in class.
The texts, of course, should be purchased and read, and class lectures will sometimes mirror
information presented in the texts for this class. Lectures will not be drawn directly from the
texts, however, and will constitute additional course information. Additional readings will be
provided, and then discussed in detail on specified days during class, though they must read
outside of class prior to the discussions. Reading the assignments before class will greatly
increase your understanding of the lecture and presentation material.
Grading & Course Requirements
Provided below is a list of assignments that will provide the grade for this class. To make the
grading scale as understandable as possible, I use a 1000-point scale. Any time during the class
(after the first grade) you may determine your current grade. Simply divide the total number of
points you currently have by the total number of points currently possible, and a percentage score
will result. No curve will be used—scores are absolute. For example:
If current possible total points = 450
and
If your total points gained = 398
then
divide 398 by 450, which = .88 or an 88% (a "B")
90%-100%
80%-89%
70%-79%
60%-69%
00%-59%
=
=
=
=
=
A
B
C
D
F
Grades will be drawn from the following:
Writing Assignments:
Papers: 4 @ 100 points each
Video Assignments: 5 @ 10 points each
= 400
= 50
450 points
Exams:
Map Test: 1 @ 50 points each
Mid-term: 1 @ 100 points each
Final: 1 @ 200 points each
= 50
= 100
= 200
350 points
Group Presentations:
1 @ 200 each
= 200
200 points
Extra Credit:
TOTAL
Extra Credit to be announced
= 100 points
= 1100 possible
points on a 1000point scale
Writing Assignments
Writing Assignments accompany each of the five units of the course. Unless a student is a part of a group
presenting for a particular unit, each student will perform a Writing Assignment for each unit. In
response to the Assignment (handed out in class—see schedule below), a paper of 3-5 pages, doublespaced, at ten to twelve-point font is due. Writing Assignments are worth 100 points each, for a total of
four, constituting 40% of your final grade.
Video Assignments
Five videos or portions of videos will be shown in class during the semester. After each
video/clip, you will be given time to write five questions about the subject matter of the film
from the point of view of a social scientist, and you will attempt to answer them from the
information learned from the film. You will not lose points for incorrect answers, only
“inappropriate” questions. For example, these questions cannot be questions about the film
separate from its content, but must be questions concerning the subject of the film.
Exams: Map Test
On the 2nd week of class a take-home map test will be distributed. It is due the following
Tuesday. To complete this test any resource may be used. Most important is to become familiar
with the geographic position of the [Upper Tanana’s] features. It is necessary to understand the
relevance of the geographic situation of all human groups. The map test is an easy 50 points,
which will also increase geographic awareness of the [Upper Tanana].
Exams: Mid-term and Final
The Mid-term and Final Exams are worth 100 and 200 points. Each of the two exams will
consist of two parts. An example is presented below:
PART 1: One out of two discussion questions (approximately one page) 25 points
(1) Give a description (rather than a definition) of culture, displaying how culture is a natural
adaptive mechanism for humans. Use an [Upper Tanana] culture to provide examples.
(2) Give a description of how the ancestors of indigenous Alaska Natives came to settle the
[Upper Tanana,] according to archaeological evidence, and briefly identify the controversies
surrounding this origin-theory.
PART 2: Essay Question (required) (approximately 2 pages)
75 points
Describe in detail the [Athabascan potlatch,] including its change through history, the effects of
culture change, rituals and symbolic details, and its overall role as a social institution.
Group Presentations
Each of the five groups (A-E) will be responsible, as a group, for presenting material in one class (one
group per unit). Each group member will present an aspect of their assigned subject (~10 minutes each).
Accompanying this presentation will be a paper of 3-5 pages, double-spaced, at ten to twelve-point font,
detailing the subject matter of the presentation. This paper is intended to augment the presentation, and is
prepared instead of the writing assignment for each unit. The presentational and written portions of this
assignment are worth 100 points each, for a total of 200 points.
SCHEDULE of READINGS and ASSIGNMENTS
*note that a more detailed schedule will accompany each rendition of this course
Dates
Day One
Lecture Topic and Reading Assignment
Introductions and assignment to groups
Week 1
Anthropology, Ethnology, & the Study of Indigenous Cultures
[Readings:]
MAP EXAM
UNIT 1
Weeks 2-3
UNIT 2
Weeks 4-6
Week 7
UNIT 3
Weeks 8-9
The Cultures & Ethnic Groups of the [Upper Tanana]
[Readings:]
Video Assignment: [title]
Writing Assignment 1
Group A Presentation [date]
Prehistory of the [Upper Tanana]
[Readings:]
Video Assignment: [title]
Writing Assignment 2
Group B Presentation [date]
MID-TERM EXAM
[SPRING BREAK]
Gold, Furs, & Highways—the Arrival of non-Natives in the [Upper Tanana]
[Readings:]
Video Assignment: [title]
Writing Assignment 3
Group C Presentation [date]
UNIT 4
Weeks 10-11 Hunting & Fishing, Statehood & ANCSA
[Readings:]
Video Assignment: [title]
Writing Assignment 4
Group D Presentation [date]
UNIT 5
Weeks 12-13 The Current State of Cultural-Historical Affairs of the [Upper Tanana]
[Readings:]
Video Assignment: [title]
Writing Assignment 5
Group E Presentation [date]
Week 14
Future Goals & Trends in the [Upper Tanana]
[Readings:]
SEMESTER REVIEW IN PREPARATION FOR FINAL EXAM
Attendance Requirements
Attendance is required, since this class requires considerable group cooperation. As per ANS
attendance requirements, your grade will be dropped by one value for three or more absences.
Support Services
For Financial Aid, Asset Testing, registration, and admissions information, please contact the [1AC Enrollment Office at 1-888-474-5207 or UAF Tok Center at 883-5613.]
The Writing Center is available to distance education students. To make an appointment, call 1800-478-5246. This offers one-on-one tutoring sessions, organizing material for essays, refining
technical papers, documenting research papers, perfecting business letters, and much more.
Students can visit the off-campus library web-page at
http://www.uaf.edu/library/offcampus/index.html for information regarding services available to
you. You can also call 1-800-478-5348 to request materials.
UA Online is available to all students at https://uaonline.alaska.edu/. This is a web service for
grades, transcripts, and more.
The Computing Help Desk is available to students at 1-800-478-4667 for computer information
and problems.
Students with Disabilities
If you have any condition such as a physical or sensory disability, which will make it difficult for
you to carry out the work as I have outlined it, or which will require extra time on examinations,
please notify me in the first two weeks of the course so that we may make appropriate
arrangements.
I will work with the Office of Disabilities Services (203 WHIT, 474-7043) to provide reasonable
accommodations to students with disabilities. If medical situations arise during the semester,
whether physical or emotional, you can contact the Center for Health and Counseling at 4745655.