1
COURSE OUTLINE: INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS
LITERATURES
Winter 2011
Department: Native Studies (Faculty of Arts)
Course No.: NATV 3130
Section A01: Tue, Thu. 10- 11:15 a.m.
Location: 216 Tier
Instructor: Dr. Renate Eigenbrod
Office: 204 Isbister
Phone: 474 7026
Email: eigenbro@cc.umanitoba.ca
Office Hours: Tue. 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m
We. 3:30-4:30 p.m
and by appointment
Required Readings
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 1996 (expanded ed. with notes)
Ihimaera, Witi Tama. The Whale Rider. 1987
Pilkington, Doris. Follow The Rabbit Proof Fence. 2001
James Welch, Fool’s Crow. 1986.
Jeannette Armstrong. Slash. 2007 (rev.ed.)
Akiwenzie-Damm, Kateri and Josie Douglas, eds. Skins: Contemporary Indigenous
Writing. American Indian, Inuit. First Nations, Aboriginal, Maori. 2000.
Reference Texts
Maaka, Roger CA and Chris Anderson, eds. The Indigenous Experience: Global
Perspectives, 2006.
DePasquale, Paul, Renate Eigenbrod and Emma LaRocque, eds. Across Cultures/
Across Borders: Native American and Canadian Aboriginal Literatures. 2010.
2
Course Objectives
This course aims at comparing aesthetic responses to the experience of colonialism, from
the classic novel by Ibo author Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart to a particular focus on
well-known Indigenous authors in the settler countries of Canada, the USA, Australia and
New Zealand (Aotearoa) as these countries are linked by commonalities of the colonial
experience. In lectures, class discussions and student presentations texts will be discussed
through postcolonial and Indigenous theories with special emphasis on the continuous
importance of Indigenous aesthetic traditions.
As the analysis of texts is central to lectures and class discussions, students are expected
to have done the required readings before coming to class.
Evaluation
Attendance/participation………………………………….10%
Mid-Term ………………………………………………. .20 %
2 oral Presentations….. ………….
Outline for term paper
(15% each) 30%
10 %
Term Paper (comparative, 13-15 pages) …………………30%
Oral Presentation
At the beginning of the course students will sign up for a topic and a date. There will be
approximately half an hour set aside for one presentation. Students are expected to:
follow a clear outline,
speak extemporaneously (rather than read from a paper),
and engage the whole class in a discussion.
One class prior to the presentation, students have to submit a written outline and a list of
references to the instructor (who will photocopy the handout for everybody). The
presentation will be graded for both, clear delivery and the contribution it makes to the
course in terms of textual analysis, literary theory and understanding of the similarites
and differences of colonial experiences.
Term Paper and Term paper Outline
The research-based term paper of about 13-15 pages at the end of the course should bring
together the main points of a student’s learning experience. A list of comparative topics
will be provided later in the course, and students will be asked to choose a topic that
differs distinctively from their oral presentation.
3
Tentative Course Schedule
January 6: Introduction to course
January 11: short stories from Skins
January 13: Introduction to Achebe and his novel
January 18: student presentation on colonalism in Nigeria
January 20: Achebe’s novel
January 25: Introduction to Welch and student presentation on colonialism in the U.S.
January 27: Welch’s novel
February 1: Welch’s novel
February 3: short story by Native American author
February 8: student presentations on Achebe’s and Welch’s novels
February 10: student presentation on colonialism in New Zealand
February 15: Ihimaera’s novel
February 17: Ihimaera’s novel
READING WEEK
March 1: Mid-Term
March 3: presentation on the film Whale Rider (comparison with the novel)
March 8: the gender theme in Indigenous literatures
March 10: AIM and its impacts on Canada
March 15 Armstrong’s novel
March 17: Armstrong’s novel
March 22: viewing of documentary Tthe Spirit of Anna Mae
4
March 24: student presentation on colonialism in Australia
March 29: Pilkington’s novel
March 31: Pilkington’s novel
April 5: taking the children: Australia and Canada (student presentation)
April 7: Review
Grading Scheme
A + Exceptional 92-100
A Excellent
81- 91
B+ Very Good 75 -80
B Good
69-74
C+ Satisfactory 64-68
C Adequate
57-63
D Marginal
50-56
F Failure
0- 49
Policy on Due Dates for Assignments and Test Dates
As a rule, it is the students' responsibility to submit their assignments in class on
or before the due date. Late submissions will only be accepted for health or
compassionate reasons; in the first case, a signed medical certificate must be provided. If
at all possible, any problems students may have with due dates should be brought to the
instructor's attention before the respective date. This is particularly important in case
there is a conflict with the date for an oral presentation and the mid-term test. If students
cannot make those dates for health reasons, they have to provide a doctor’s note.
Academic Dishonesty
The wording below is taken from the University of Manitoba Undergraduate Calendar
2010-2011, p. 27-28.
General Academic Regulations and Requirements
Section 8: Academic Integrity
7.1 Plagiarism and Cheating
Plagiarism or any other form of cheating in examinations, term tests or academic
work is subject to serious academic penalty (e.g. suspension or expulsion from the
faculty or university). Cheating in examinations or tests may take the form of
copying from another student or bringing unauthorized materials into the exam room
(e.g., crib notes, pagers or cell phones). Exam cheating can also include exam
impersonation. (Please see Section 4.2.8 on Exam Personation). A student found
5
guilty of contributing to cheating in examinations or term assignments is also subject
to serious academic penalty.
To plagiarize is to take ideas or words of another person and pass them off as one's
own. In short, it is stealing something intangible rather than an object. Plagiarism
applies to any written work, in traditional or electronic format, as well as orally or
verbally presented work. Obviously it is not necessary to state the source of well
known or easily verifiable facts, but students are expected to appropriately
acknowledge the sources of ideas and expressions they use in their written work,
whether quoted directly or paraphrased. This applies to diagrams, statistical tables
and the like, as well as to written material, and materials or information from
Internet sources.
To provide adequate and correct documentation is not only an indication of academic
honesty but is also a courtesy which enables the reader to consult these sources with
ease. Failure to provide appropriate citations constitutes plagiarism. It will also be
considered plagiarism and/or cheating if a student submits a term paper written in
whole or in part by someone other than him/herself, or copies the answer or answers
of another student in any test, examination, or take-home assignment.
Working with other students on assignments, laboratory work, take-home tests, or
on-line tests, when this is not permitted by the instructor, can constitute
Inappropirate Collaboration and may be subject to penalty under the Student
Discipline By-Law.
An assignment which is prepared and submitted for one course should not be used
for a different course. This is called "duplicate submission" and represents a form of
cheating because course requirements are expected to be fulfilled through original
work for each course.
When in doubt about any practice, ask your professor or instructor.
The Student Advocacy Office, 519 University Centre, 474-7423, is a resource
available to students dealing with Academic Integrity matters.
For appeals of grades received for term work please consult the UofM
2010/2011 Calendar p. 26-27.