ENGL 334 - American Indian Literatures

Institution:

University of Richmond

Subject:

Description:

An examination of non-Western elements of representative traditional and contemporary American Indian oral and written verbal art. Prerequisite(s): English 297 or 298 with a grade of C or better. Unit(s): 1 Additional Information: This course is an invitation to read a broad selection of American Indian fiction in order to consider different ways in which its authors negotiate the representational quandaries of multiculturalism and the politics of recognition in the United States. We will focus on how these texts confront the challenge of depicting the many versions of indigeneity as it is variously transformed (and transforms) in the meeting and clash with settler society and culture at a time when such representations are eagerly appropriated by the public discourse intent on redeeming the United States as a properly multiculturalist democracy. To set a broad agenda for our meetings throughout the semester, we will begin with a book that has stirred more controversy than perhaps any other contemporary Native American novel, Sherman Alexie's 1996 Indian Killer. Then, we will retrace our steps to the two key texts of the Native American Renaissance of the late 1960s and 1970s (N. Scott Momaday'a 196 8 The House of Daw n and Leslie Marmon Silko's 19 77 Ceremony ). From among writers publishing in the last twenty years, we will read fiction by Louise Erdrich, Gerald Vizenor, LeAnne Howe, James Welch, Diane Glancy, Greg Sarris, David Treuer, Linda Hogan, and Gordon Henry. In addition to literary texts, we will study a selection of critical writings in the field in order to trace a shift from ethnographic and ethnohistorical criticism to indigenous nationalist approach advocated by contemporary American Indian scholars

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.richmond.edu

Phone Number:

(804) 289-8000

Regional Accreditation:

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

The Course Profile information is provided and updated by third parties including the respective institutions. While the institutions are able to update their information at any time, the information is not independently validated, and no party associated with this website can accept responsibility for its accuracy.