The Native American Studies Program exists to broaden the understanding of students interested in the history, culture, and contemporary situations of Native Americans in the United States.
The curriculum has been structured to provide courses that deal with both historical and cultural analysis of Native American cultures and contemporary legal and social institutions that affect Native American life. The program not only stresses sound academic preparation in the classroom but also allows students the flexibility to take part in community-oriented education through fieldwork or studies directed towards community situations and problems.
Honors Program
The Native American Studies Program provides a program leading to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree with honors. A student must have senior standing, a 3.5 grade-point average (GPA) overall, and 3.5 GPA in the major. To complete the degree with honors the student will be required to undertake a 6-unit research project (NATAMST H195A and NATAMST H195B) and will be graded according to standards determined by the faculty advisor as being of honors quality.
Minor Program
The department offers a group minor in Native American Studies. For further information regarding declaring the minor, please contact the department.
Other Majors and Minors Offered by the Department of Ethnic Studies
In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements, listed on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill the below requirements specific to their major program.
General Guidelines
All courses taken to fulfill the major requirements below must be taken for graded credit, other than courses listed which are offered on a Pass/No Pass basis only. Other exceptions to this requirement are noted as applicable.
No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs, with the exception of minors offered outside of the College of Letters & Science.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in both upper and lower division courses used to fulfill the major requirements.
For information regarding residence requirements and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.
Proseminar: Issues in the Fields of Ethnic Studies: Racialization and Empire [4] (Students can take ETH STD 103A or another ETH STD upper division elective course; see advisor for more information)
Proseminar: Issues in the Fields of Ethnic Studies: Racialization and Contemporary Communities [4] (Students can take ETH STD 103C or another ETH STD upper division elective course; see advisor for more information)
Proseminar: Issues in the Fields of Ethnic Studies: Racialization, Gender, and Popular Culture [4] (Students can take ETH STD 103E or another ETH STD upper division elective course; see advisor for more information)
Field Study in Native American Studies [1-3] (4 units total)
Minor Requirements
Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements and are noted officially on the transcript in the memoranda section, but they are not noted on diplomas.
General Guidelines
All minors must be declared no later than one semester before a student's Expected Graduation Term (EGT). If the semester before EGT is fall or spring, the deadline is the last day of RRR week. If the semester before EGT is summer, the deadline is the final Friday of Summer Sessions. To declare a minor, contact the department advisor for information on requirements, and the declaration process.
All courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements below must be taken for graded credit.
A minimum of three of the upper division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required for courses used to fulfill the minor requirements.
Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth requirement, for Letters & Science students.
No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.
All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which the student plans to graduate. If students cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, they should see a College of Letters & Science adviser.
All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)
Seminar on Advanced Topics in Native American Studies [1-4]
College Requirements
Undergraduate students must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those required by their major program.
For detailed lists of courses that fulfill college requirements, please review the College of Letters & Sciences page in this Guide. For College advising appointments, please visit the L&S Advising Pages.
All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing requirement. Fulfillment of this requirement is also a prerequisite to enrollment in all reading and composition courses at UC Berkeley.
The American History and Institutions requirements are based on the principle that a US resident graduated from an American university, should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.
All undergraduate students at Cal need to take and pass this course in order to graduate. The requirement offers an exciting intellectual environment centered on the study of race, ethnicity and culture of the United States. AC courses offer students opportunities to be part of research-led, highly accomplished teaching environments, grappling with the complexity of American Culture.
College of Letters & Science Essential Skills Requirements
The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is designed to ensure that students graduate with basic understanding and competency in math, statistics, or computer science. The requirement may be satisfied by exam or by taking an approved course.
The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating proficiency in reading comprehension, writing, and conversation in a foreign language equivalent to the second semester college level, either by passing an exam or by completing approved course work.
In order to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing, and critical thinking the College requires two semesters of lower division work in composition in sequence. Students must complete parts A & B reading and composition courses by the end of their second semester and a second-level course by the end of their fourth semester.
College of Letters & Science 7 Course Breadth Requirements
The undergraduate breadth requirements provide Berkeley students with a rich and varied educational experience outside of their major program. As the foundation of a liberal arts education, breadth courses give students a view into the intellectual life of the University while introducing them to a multitude of perspectives and approaches to research and scholarship. Engaging students in new disciplines and with peers from other majors, the breadth experience strengthens interdisciplinary connections and context that prepares Berkeley graduates to understand and solve the complex issues of their day.
Unit Requirements
120 total units
Of the 120 units, 36 must be upper division units
Of the 36 upper division units, 6 must be taken in courses offered outside your major department
Residence Requirements
For units to be considered in "residence," you must be registered in courses on the Berkeley campus as a student in the College of Letters & Science. Most students automatically fulfill the residence requirement by attending classes here for four years. In general, there is no need to be concerned about this requirement, unless you go abroad for a semester or year or want to take courses at another institution or through UC Extension during your senior year. In these cases, you should make an appointment to meet an adviser to determine how you can meet the Senior Residence Requirement.
Note: Courses taken through UC Extension do not count toward residence.
Senior Residence Requirement
After you become a senior (with 90 semester units earned toward your BA degree), you must complete at least 24 of the remaining 30 units in residence in at least two semesters. To count as residence, a semester must consist of at least 6 passed units. Intercampus Visitor, EAP, and UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) units are excluded.
You may use a Berkeley Summer Session to satisfy one semester of the Senior Residence requirement, provided that you successfully complete 6 units of course work in the Summer Session and that you have been enrolled previously in the college.
Modified Senior Residence Requirement
Participants in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP), Berkeley Summer Abroad, or the UC Berkeley Washington Program (UCDC) may meet a Modified Senior Residence requirement by completing 24 (excluding EAP) of their final 60 semester units in residence. At least 12 of these 24 units must be completed after you have completed 90 units.
Upper Division Residence Requirement
You must complete in residence a minimum of 18 units of upper division courses (excluding UCEAP units), 12 of which must satisfy the requirements for your major.
Student Learning Goals
Learning Goals for the Major
Undergraduates are expected to obtain the following skills by the time they graduate. These skills belong to five different general areas: historical knowledge, empirical knowledge and quantitative methods, interpretation and qualitative analysis, theory and critique, and community service.
Historical Knowledge
Familiarity with the history of modern Western civilization including European expansion, conquest, and enslavement.
Specific knowledge of the modern history of at least three different ethno-racial groups.
Acquaintance with debates in historiography, particularly as they relate to the use of history in relation to the understanding of people of color.
For students who specialize in history, proper use of primary and secondary historical sources as well as the writing of scholarly historical work.
Empirical Knowledge and Quantitative Methods
Familiarity with different methods of gathering empirical data about human communities (e.g., anthropological and sociological).
Knowledge of critical debates about the use and implications of traditional methods of gathering empirical data to obtain knowledge about communities of color.
Identification of proper methods to conduct research and awareness of the limits and possibilities of such methods.
Creative use, delimitation, and expansion of methods of empirical and quantitative study based on the nature of the problems and questions addressed in the research as well as the object of study.
Interpretation and Qualitative Analysis
Acquaintance with major methods and debates in the humanities.
Familiarity with the art, film, literature, or music of at least three different ethno-racial groups.
Identification of proper methods to conduct research about the creative products of human communities and ethno-racial communities in particular.
Creative use, delimitation, and expansion of methods of qualitative analysis based on the nature of the problems and questions addressed in the research as well as the object of study.
Theory and Critique
Familiarity with major theories of race and ethnicity, and their intersections and constitutive relations with class, gender, and sexuality.
Acquaintance with theories of space and place, including indigeneity, Diaspora, migration, and nation as well as their use in determining the unit of analysis.
Use of comparison and contrast for evaluating and producing theory as well as for critical analysis.
Creative use of philosophies and theories that are relevant to the understanding and critical analysis of the social contexts, interpersonal dynamics, and multiple creative productions of ethno-racial communities.
Service Learning
Further refinement and enrichment of the above listed skills in settings where the students interact with communities of color and/or their productions.
Advising
Departmental Major Advising
The department strives to deliver personalized advising services of the highest quality by seeking to continuously educate itself on developments in the field and to evaluate, improve, and streamline advising services to support students in obtaining the best education and experience possible.
Advising Staff and Advising Hours
Dewey St. Germaine: Monday thorugh Friday, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 4 p.m., or by appointment deweystg@berkeley.edu
530 Barrows Hall
510-643-6420
Laura Jimenez-Olvera: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 4 p.m., and Friday, 1:30 to 5 p.m., or by appointment lauraj@berkeley.edu
532 Barrows Hall
510-642-0243
Mailing Address
Department of Ethnic Studies
506 Barrows Hall
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-2570
Academic Opportunities
Berkeley Connect in Ethnic Studies
Berkeley Connect in Ethnic Studies matches interested students with Ethnic Studies graduate student mentors in a semester-long, 1-unit program that includes individual advising, small-group discussions, special events and excursions. Through this program, students will become part of a community of like-minded faculty, mentors, and students that will provide a supportive environment in which to exchange and discuss ideas and goals. Berkeley Connect will help students make the most of their time at the University as they learn more about the majors offered through the Department of Ethnic Studies. For further information, please see the Berkeley Connect website.
Study Abroad
The Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies program encourages all undergraduate majors to consider study abroad opportunities. Whether students are interested in fulfilling major and/or general education requirements, taking courses related to a future career, improving or learning language skills, or simply living and studying in a country that is of interest to them, the department will work with students to make it happen. For information about study abroad programs, please see the Berkeley Study Abroad website.
Prizes and Awards
The Department of Ethnic Studies offers the Dr. Carlos Munoz Jr. Scholar/Activist Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded each semester and recognizes students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, leadership, and activism in their community on and off campus.
Courses
Native American Studies
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Summer 2020 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2019
This course introduces students to the genres of Native American literature (written and oral traditions), provides historical and cultural frameworks for understanding, appreciating, and interpreting Native American writings, and develops basic skills in expository and creative writing. Satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement. Native American Studies Reading and Composition: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Satisfaction of UC Entry Level Writing Requirement
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Summer 2020 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2020, Summer 2019 First 6 Week Session
Course examines Native American written and oral traditions in historical and cultural contexts. Emphasis on literary interpretation and creative and analytical writing, so that students increasingly write from positions of strength. Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement. Native American Studies Reading and Composition: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature and Composition. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
This course explores the interactions, from friendship treaties and land deals to contemporary American governmental policies, between America's original inhabitants with Europeans and Euro-Americans. Emphasis will be placed on how tribal peoples continue to react to the national myths and policies created by Europeans and Euro-Americans. Introduction to Native American Studies: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
This course explores Native American identify practices in written and oral traditions in literature, art, dance, theatre, ceremony, and song. The place of these traditions in the contemporary day will be emphasized as creative struggles for maintaining and elaborating on Indian identity in the context of colonialism. Introduction to Native American Studies II: Cultural Practice, Art, and Identity: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2013
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester. Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Priority given to freshmen and sophomores
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5-4 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017
This course is for people who want to learn a Native American language, understood to include any of the hundreds of indigenous languages of North, Central, and South America. Since most of these languages are not taught in the usual formal educational settings, a major emphasis of the course is helping students develop strategies for self-directed language learning and effective teaching methods to help others learn as well. The course will also provide a basic introduction to principles of linguistic analysis that will make materials developed by specialists more accessible and useful to learners.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
An ethnohistorical analysis of America's original inhabitants and their interactions with Europeans and Euro-Americans emphasizing an Indian perspective. Native Americans in North America to 1900: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
A survey and analysis of issues affecting Native Americans in the 20th and 21st centuries. Course will explore political, economic, and social/cultural developments as they shape federal-Indian relations and tribal sovereignty. Native Americans in North America 1900-Present: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2013
This course examines the history of indigenous, aboriginal, native, or "tribal" peoples over the last five centuries. Particular attention is paid to how these groups were brought into relations with an expanding Europe, capitalist development, and modern nation-states. How have these peoples survived, what are the contemporary challenges they face, and what resources and allies have they drawn on in the present? Indigenous Peoples in Global Inequality: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
The course will introduce students to different ways of understanding the history of American Indians and to basic resources and research methods for studying the history of Indian tribes. Freshman Seminar--Myth, Memory and History: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Limited to Freshmen
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015
Individual conferences to be arranged. Supervised experiences relevant to specific aspects of the Native American community in off-campus settings. Regular individual meetings with faculty sponsor and written reports required. Field Work in Native American Communities: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and lower division standing
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-9 hours of fieldwork per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5-22.5 hours of fieldwork per week 10 weeks - 4.5-13.5 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015
Individual conferences to be arranged. The individual student, with consent and guidance of an instructor, researches an interest not covered in the courses offered in the Program. Supervised Independent Study and Research: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Lower division standing and consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 1-3 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-3 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
Historical background of the unique relationship between the United States government and Native American tribes, and examination of contemporary legislation, court cases, and federal, state, and local policies affecting Native American social, political, legal, and economic situations. Native American Law: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 71, 72, or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
The roles of tribal governments in the formation of internal and external policies affecting the lives of Native American people, the basis for their political power historically and in contemporary society, and their structure and functions. Native American Tribal Governments: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 71, 72, or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019
Key contemporary issues in the critical study of tribal and federal policy pertaining to American Indians and Alaska Natives in the U.S. Topics include political and cultural sovereignty; religious, gendered, sexual, racial, and other tribal minorities, and civil rights within tribes; Native legal identity and tribal enrollment; the role of violence against women in the history of colonialism, and the struggle for justice and healing; and the movement for traditional or other culturally appropriate forms for tribal self-governance. Critical Native American Legal and Policy Studies: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 100, 101, or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2018, Spring 2018
This course addresses how Indigenous communities throughout the Americas deal with their contemporary political dilemmas. It explores the ways in which internal colonialism, projects of assimilation, political and economic marginalization, land loss, and resistance have affected how Indigenous people view themselves in relationship to the dominant societies in which they reside. It explores local differences, attentive to the specificity of the national or regional dimension of “the Indian Problem.” And it examines the varied and often complementary tactics that Indigenous people take in their pursuit of political and cultural self-determination. Indigenous Issues Across the Americas: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2017
Overview of literary theory and criticism, historiography, and social sciences theories and methods useful in the study of Native American literature, history and contemporary tribal groups. Course will develop skills of information gathering and development of theories that structure information. Theories and Methods in Native American Studies: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 71 or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2012, Fall 2008, Spring 2008
This course explores the practice of Native American art forms from the perspective of Native American Artists and scholars. Focused on specific art forms such as dance, music, film, crafts, and other traditions, this course provides a critique of conventional understandings of the relationships of Native American cultural traditions and their place in the world of "art." Topics in Native American Arts: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 10 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
This course explores the development of photography, historical photographs of Indigenous peoples, Black Indians, and the push to win the American West. Central to the course are research methods that deconstruct stereotypical representations of Native Americans, African Americans (who either married into Native nations, were owned by Native peoples, or who joined the military to fight Native peoples), and the theories and methods that influenced photography. Photography and the American Indian: Manifest Destiny, American Frontier, and Images of American Indians: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 0-1 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2012
This course explores the ways in which an invented, generic "Indian" has played a variety of roles in master narratives of United States history. We shall examine changes in images of key figures and events constituting "our" collective historical memory. Images of Native Americans in American History: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
This course examines gender roles from the period before the invasion to the present. An emphasis will be placed on the ways in which contact with European gender practices transformed those prevalent in Native North American before the conquest. Gender in Native American Society: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Fall 2017, Spring 2002
This workshop provides intensive study of the crafts of writing in relation to various Native American genres as well as writing and discussion of student work. Native American Narratives: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing and completion of 1A-1B
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
A study of the philosophical and metaphysical aspects of Native American world views, with emphasis on systems of knowledge, explanations of natural phenomena, and relations of human beings to nature through ritual and ceremonial observances. Native American Philosophy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 71 or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
An analysis of the written and oral tradition developed by Native Americans. Emphasis will be placed on a multifaceted approach (aesthetic, linguistic, psychological, historical, and cultural) in examining American Indian literature. Native American Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 151 is recommended but not required
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2018, Summer 2018 First 6 Week Session
This course will analyze the sociological, psychological, and literary aspects of Hollywood moviemakers' stereotyping of the American Indian through the history of film. The format will include representative Indian films, lectures, and guest speakers from the movie industry. Native Americans and the Cinema: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 1997 10 Week Session, Summer 1996 10 Week Session
This course will analyze the sociological, psychological, and literary aspects of Hollywood moviemakers' stereotyping of the American Indian through the history of film. The format will include representative Indian films, lectures, and guest speakers from the movie industry. Native Americans and the Cinema: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 72 or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of laboratory per week 8 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 2 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 1999 10 Week Session
This course considers Maya traditions as performance, oral literature, and creative resource which informs the present and the future. The course will illustrate the ways Maya mythic narratives are tied and untied in Maya cultural histories and geographies with close attention to contemporary use of the 260-day sacred calendar, creation accounts, ceremony, and the publically emergent role of the AjQ'ijab, the spiritual leaders. Maya Traditions: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 3 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2017 3 Week Session, Summer 1999 10 Week Session
This course is a survey of contemporary Native American Indian art from the 19th century to the present. The general philosophical foundations of traditional tribal arts and culture will be discussed in the first week of the course. The second and third week of the course contemporary art will be studied through selected readings, slide presentations, and other reproductions of painting and sculpture by Native American Indian artists. Native American Art: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 3 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 1999 10 Week Session
This course is a general survey of competing environmental interests of Native American Indians. Sacred sites and stewardship of the environment will be discussed in the first week. The legacy of radioactive waste disposal on tribal land will be studied in the second week of the course. Lectures in the third week will consider mining and the pollution of air and water on treaty reservations. Native American Environments: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 3 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 1999 10 Week Session
This course will consider Native American Indian ceremonies through the introductory examination of diverse religious beliefs, practices, and performances. Among the topics discussed will be the role of healing practices, revitalization movements, and religious changes in tribal communities in North America. The lectures will compare various tribal philosophies and world views in the context of culture and history. Native American Ceremonies: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 3 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 1999 10 Week Session
This introductory course will compare the general cultural themes and political histories of Native American Indians in California. The lectures in the first week of the course will consider demographic studies and the diversity of tribal cultures. The second week will review colonial dominance, mission activities, assimilation policies, and relations with the United States government. In the third week discussions will focus on the general political issues of tribal casinos in California. Native Americans of California: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 3 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 1999 10 Week Session
Native American Indians have been the cultural objects of photographers and the exotic figures of filmmakers for more than a century. Lectures in the first week will critique the images of Native American Indians in photographs. The second week will focus on selected scenes in motion pictures. General theories of simulation, historical and ethnographic representations will be considered in the third week. Students will read selected essays and view slides and scenes from films. Native American Images: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 3 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2000 10 Week Session
This course will compare the general cultural themes and political histories of Native American Indian warrior cultures of the North American Great Plains, with an emphasis on the diversity of traditional cultural roles. Plains Warriors: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 3 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2000 10 Week Session
This course will explore the unique legal status of Native American Indian tribes and reservation lands in the United States, including discussions of treaties, federal trust relationships, and the evolution of laws and policies that determine sovereignty. Native American Sovereignty: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 3 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2000 10 Week Session
This course considers the health of Native American Indian communities past and present. The lectures will be comparative and explore medical public health issues in urban areas and on reservations. Medicine and Public Health: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 3 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course will examine the cultural history and contemporary political dynamics of First Nations in Canada. The lectures will focus on early encounters with natives recorded in , and on recent land claims and the Nunavut treaty. First Nations in Canada: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 3 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Spring 2016
This course examines the history of indigenous, aboriginal, native, or "tribal" peoples over the last five centuries. Particular attention is paid to how these groups were brought into relations with an expanding Europe, capitalist development, and modern nation-states. How have these peoples survived, what are the contemporary challenges they face, and what resources and allies have they drawn on in the present? Indigenous Peoples in Global Inequality: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students that have previously taken ETH STD/NATAMST C73AC are not eligible to receive credit for taking ETH STD/NATAMST 173AC.
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the American Cultures requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
History of the Native Americans of California with emphasis on the lifeways, mores, warfare, and relations with the United States government. Attention will be given to the background and evolution of acculturation up to the present. History of Native Americans in California: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
This course explores the history of Native Americans from the point of view of Native American historians and scholars. Focused on specific periods and regional case studies the course provides a rereading of much United States history as it has been conceived, set into periods, written, and taught. The chronological scope of the course begins before the European invasions and continues to the end of the 20th century. Topics in Native American History: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2010, Fall 2009, Fall 2008
This seminar will explore the intersections of Native American and African American histories and communities in the context of the United States which was formerly "Indian Country." We will read historical texts, first-person accounts, fiction, and primary documents primarily from the perspective of Native American, African American, and Black-Indian scholars and writers. Africans in Indian Country: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Summer 2020 First 6 Week Session
This course explores the dynamic relationships between indigenous communities and the continuously changing environmental landscapes of the North American West from before European contact to the present, and how these communities have continually adapted traditional cultural practices to meet ever-changing environmental realities. With this broader context, this course examines how specific indigenous communities have navigated their relationship with the natural world amidst the challenges of colonialism, globalization, environmental ruin, and climate change in the North American West. Additionally, this course highlights the active role of Native peoples in regional and environmental histories of the region. Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Change in the North American West: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course is the first of the two-semester seminar required for the Native American Theme Program residents. This installment of the seminar component will build a general understanding of basic historical developments affecting Native and Indigenous peoples of North America, with a focus on Native American identity and contemporary issues from a variety of academic and philosophical standpoints, laying the groundwork for the spring seminar. Using an interdisciplinary lens that covers academic genres to memoir, the course will think critically and reflectively about Native American identity both historically and contemporaneously, and its intersections with gender, class, and other forms of difference. Native American Theme Program Seminar: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. This is part one of a year long series course. A provisional grade of IP (in progress) will be applied and later replaced with the final grade after completing part two of the series. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This course is the second half of the two-semester seminar required for the Native American Theme Program residents. This installment of the seminar uses builds on concepts from the fall semester to take a more in depth look at Native identity and community through Native scholars. Using an interdisciplinary lens that covers academic genres to memoir, the course asks students to think critically and reflectively about Native American identities in the academy, communities, activism and as well as in their own lives. Native American Theme Program Seminar: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. This is part two of a year long series course. Upon completion, the final grade will be applied to both parts of the series. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011
The course will entail directed study and completion of an honors research project under the direction of a faculty committee. The project should have originated from a regularly scheduled course in the department. Native American Studies Honors Course: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Student must have junior standing; a 3.5 GPA overall; a 3.5 GPA in major; and have been admitted to the honors program by the faculty adviser
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013
Course for senior Native American Studies majors designed to support and guide the writing of a senior honors thesis. For senior Native American Studies majors who have been approved for the honors program. Senior Honors Thesis for Native American Studies Majors: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Senior standing. Approval of Faculty Advisor, 3.5 GPA on all University work, and a 3.5 GPA in courses in the major
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. This is part one of a year long series course. A provisional grade of IP (in progress) will be applied and later replaced with the final grade after completing part two of the series. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
Course for senior Native American Studies majors designed to support and guide the writing of a senior honors thesis. For senior Native American Studies majors who have been approved for the honors program. Senior Honors Thesis for Native American Studies Majors: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Senior standing. Approval of Faculty Advisor, 3.5 GPA on all University work, and a 3.5 GPA in courses in the major
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. This is part two of a year long series course. Upon completion, the final grade will be applied to both parts of the series. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015
Supervised fieldwork experience with campus and community organizations related to the vision and mission of Native American Studies. This University organized and supervised field program is an opportunity for students to think critically about the work of engaged scholarship through their participation a variety of community-based activities and events. Students will be required to meet regularly with a faculty sponsor and submit a final project. Field Study in Native American Studies: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-9 hours of fieldwork and 0-2 hours of seminar per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5-22.5 hours of fieldwork and 0-0 hours of seminar per week 10 weeks - 4.5-13.5 hours of fieldwork and 0-0 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2016, Fall 2015
Individual conferences to be arranged. Group discussion, research, and reporting on topics by students. Supervised Group Study: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of the instructor and upper division standing preferred
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-3 hours of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015
Individual conferences to be arranged. The individual student, with consent and guidance of an instructor, researches an interest not covered in the courses offered in the Program. Supervised Independent Study and Research: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Upper division standing and consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of independent study per week 10 weeks - 1.5-6 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Native American Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Thomas J. Biolsi, Professor. Native Americans, American Indians, governmentality. Research Profile
Shari Huhndorf, Professor. Interdisciplinary Native American studies, cultural studies, gender studies, American studies, literary and visual culture. Research Profile
Beth Piatote, Associate Professor. Native American studies. Research Profile
When you print this page, you are actually printing everything within the tabs on the page you are on: this may include all the Related Courses and Faculty, in addition to the Requirements or Overview. If you just want to print information on specific tabs, you're better off downloading a PDF of the page, opening it, and then selecting the pages you really want to print.
