St. Cloud State University
General Education Goal Area 6 Designation
Humanities & Fine Arts
Academic Affairs Use Only:
Response Date: ______________________
Effective Date: ______________________
Prepared by: Stephen Crow
Phone: 308-3061
Proposal Number: _________________
Email: smcrow@stcloudstate.edu
2.
Requesting Unit: English
3.
Department, Course Number, Title: English—English 215, American Indian Literature
4.
New Course
5.
Will this course be flagged as a diversity course?
X Already Designated as Diversity
Existing Course: X
No
Diversity Proposal
Accompanying This Form
6. Will this course also satisfy another General Education Goal Area?
If “Yes” specify which goal area.
X No
Yes
7. Course bulletin description, including credits and semesters to be offered:
Contemporary American Indian Literature in poetry, short stories, essays, and
novels. Consideration of tradition, history and current realities from an Indian viewpoint
as well as negative stereotypes and discrimination that Native people face.
8. Indicate the clientele for whom this course is designed. Is the course for general education
only, or does it fulfill general education and other program needs for this or another department?
Obtain signatures from any affected departments.
This course is designed as a general education and diversity course for all
students completing general education and/or diversity credits at SCSU including English
majors/minors, American Indian Studies minors (Ethnic Studies), Human Relations and
American studies.
9. Indicate any changes that must be made in offerings or resources in your department or other
departments by offering this course.
None. The course is already offered.
10. For new courses or courses not yet approved for General Education, indicate any other SCSU
departments or units offering instruction that relates to the content of the proposed course.
NA
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11. Courses designated as General Education are included in the assessment plan for the Goal
Area(s) for which they are approved. Courses for which assessment is not included in the annual
GE assessment report for two years will be removed from the General Education Program.
X
The Requesting Unit understands and recognizes the above conditions.
12. Provide a concise explanation of how the following goal is a “significant focus” of the
proposed course.
Goal Area 6: Humanities & Fine Arts
Expand appreciation and critical understanding of changing modes of human
expression and systems of thought in the arts and humanities, and develop abilities in the
creation and performance of meaning.
Engl. 215--American Indian Literature provides students with the opportunity of
better understanding and appreciating not only traditional (ancient) but modern
Native American history, culture, tradition and contemporary affairs through the
literature and art created by Native authors since the 1700’s. The course also
maps the diversity of individual and collective tribal voices from North, Central
and South America although the Indigenous literature of North America is the
primary focus of the course.
13. In order for a course to be designated as fulfilling Goal Area 6, it must address at least 5 of
the 7 student learning outcomes (SLOs) below. Check the SLOs below that are focused on
in the proposed general education course.
X
1. Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.
X
2. Describe and appreciate works in the arts and humanities as expressions of individual
and collective values within an intellectual, cultural, historical and social context.
X
3. Interpret and respond critically to works from various cultures in the arts and
humanities.
X
4. Explore intellectually the ideas expressed in works in the arts and humanities.
5. Engage in creative processes or interpretive performance.
X
6. Articulate an informed personal response to works in the arts and humanities.
X
7. Analyze the diverse means of communication in the arts and humanities.
14. Discuss how each Student Learning Outcome checked above is achieved in this course.
(Note: Although descriptions of typical assignments or types of assignments may be part of this
discussion, it is not appropriate to submit copies of actual assignments.)
3
SLO-1. The course includes articles, essays, documentary videos, numerous interviews,
newspaper articles, historical accounts, cultural treatments and discussions, and other multi-media
forms (including sources and websites via the Internet) portraying the experiences, traditional
beliefs and values of American Indian tribes throughout the United States involving Native
poetry, short stories and fiction representing American Indian life and reality from the earliest
contact through colonization, the late 1700’s through 1800’s, and more modern and contemporary
literature of the 1900’s through the 20th Century to the present.
SLO-2. The course carefully builds-in and considers American Indian, American, European,
African, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Australian historical and cultural realities and developments
prior-to, during and after ‘discovery’ and colonization (1492-present) in order to provide a
Native-world and world-class context for works in writing and literature (including American
Indian art, theatre, traditional and modern music) by Indian authors expressing their own
traditional and modern life experiences, spiritual, philosophical, intellectual, social, artistic, and
traditional scientific values.
SLO-3. During and after course lectures, video-, and other multi-media presentations, students are
engaged in critical cultural, historical, social and literary theory (including expansive artistic and
literary theory, terminology and technique) from an American Indian as well as a world
literary/artistic perspective in preparation for personal interpretive- or reaction-type writing
assignments embracing a viewpoint reflective of an American Native and greater-world context
but encouraging the expression of the students’ own personal opinions.
SLO-4. Course provides an in-depth intellectual exploration of traditional and modern Native
American ideas, values, beliefs, ceremonies, and practices including traditional and modern
Indian prophesy, philosophy, intellectualism, art, social science and science via a variety of tribal
origin or creation or traditional stories/legends, songs, and all primary genres of modern and
contemporary American Indian literature in all forms of prose and poetry as representative of
Native literature since the 1700’s in the larger body of American and world arts and humanities.
SLO-6. Students are assigned personal interpretive or analytical written responses or analyses of
items or titles from the course. They are guided to draw directly from these items and titles in the
form of quotes, paraphrases and summaries according to well-established intellectual, critical
theory and scholarly practice in order to advance, develop and substantiate their own personal
thoughts, interpretations and analyses of the works they are discussing in written or
responsive/interpretive form.
SLO-7. As noted above, the course approaches, analyses and studies the ways American Native
tribal and world cultures live and express themselves individually and uniquely. It also examines,
as tribal humanity, the ways that they interconnect and interface, including their literatures/arts,
societies, traditions, histories, practices, values, and beliefs in the context of contemporary world
realities. A course premise is that human and tribal histories, cultures and traditions (ancient,
traditional and modern) and their art and literature are special, unique, varied, and independent, as
well as, similar, connected and characterized by shared-realities and common human needs,
experiences and interests given that we are human beings in the human family living on the same
Mother Earth.
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15. List or attach the Course Outline (adequately described and including percentage of time to be
allocated to each topic). Curriculum Committees may request additional information. Topics
larger than 20% need to be broken down further. Indicate in your course outline where the
Student Learning Outcomes checked above are being met.
15%
Overview/treatment of American Indian world history from an American Indian
viewpoint.
15%
Analysis of literary/artistic terms and concepts relative to American Indian literature and
culture.
15%
Study, interpretation and response to American Indian poetry.
15%
Study, interpretation and response to American Indian short stories.
15%
Study, interpretation and response to American Indian fiction.
15%
Popular images of American Indians in history, culture, and literature.
10%
Discussion and preparation for course personal written responses, exams and end-of-term
assignments.