Required Texts

1. Shell Shaker by LeAnn Howe (Aunt Lute Books ISBN 1879960613)
2. Indian Boyhood by Charles A. Eastman (Dover ISBN 0486220370)
3. House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday (Perennial ISBN 0060931949)
4. Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie (Warner ISBN 0446672351)
5. Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich (Perennial ISBN 0060931221)
6. Gardens in the Dunes by Leslie Marmon Silko (Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0684863324)

All books are available at Goering's Textbook Store (1717 NW 1st Avenue; Tel. 352-377-3703). If you purchase your books elsewhere,  please try to get the editions ordered for the class.

In addition to the books listed, you will be required to view several films.  Screening of one of these films will be held in class, and one outside of class on a time and place to be announced.  You are not required to attend the screening outside of class, but you are required to view the film.  Both films will be on 3-hour loan in course reserves, Library West.

The Business of Fancydancing (2002), d. Sherman Alexie
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), d. Zacharias Kunuk

Course Requirements

1. You are required to attend class and participate in discussions.  You are also required to view the films and keep up with the readings. The quality of course discussions depends in a large part on your presence, energy, and preparedness.  I reserve the right to hold unannounced quizzes if it becomes apparent that the class isn't keeping up with the reading.

2. You will write two papers of 7 to 10 pages each on topics generated from the assigned course materials.  An in-class paper workshop will be held well before the due dates of both papers to allow an opportunity to refine paper topics and get feedback on the writing from your professor and peers.  

Final due dates for the papers are at the beginning of class, Thursday March 5; and 4 pm on Friday April 24.

Course grades will be determined as follows:

1/3 of grade: attendance,  participation,  any quiz grades, and participation in paper workshops
1/3 of grade: first paper
1/3 of grade: second paper

Academic Honesty Policy

You are required to review the university's Academic Honor Code and the Academic Honesty Guidelines, especially the discussion of plagiarism, found in the Undergraduate Catalogue.  Plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty will result in an automatic failure of the assignment and the filing of a report in your academic file.

Types of plagiarism include (but are not limited to):

1. presenting as your own work papers written in whole or in part by someone else (for example a paper written by a friend; a purchased or retyped paper; or one taken from a file)
2. directly quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing from external sources without proper citations

Please take a moment to consider the second category of plagiarism.  Many students fail to fully understand that even such possibly innocent mistakes as paraphrasing the work of others, failure to give proper citation, or cutting and pasting from a website without attribution is a serious form of plagiarism.  Because such mistakes can potentially get you in a lot of trouble, you should  talk to me if you have any questions about plagiarism, academic honesty, or proper research and citation methods.

Schedule of Discussions and Readings

Tues. 1/6     course introduction
Thurs. 1/8     lecture and discussion, What is American Indian literature?; no readings assigned
Tues. 1/13     Eastman, Indian Boyhood
Thurs. 1/15    Eastman, Indian Boyhood

Tues. 1/20   Eastman, Indian Boyhood
Thurs. 1/22   Momaday, House Made of Dawn

Tues. 1/27    Momaday, House Made of Dawn
Thurs. 2/29    Momaday, House Made of Dawn

Tues. 2/3     Momaday, House Made of Dawn
Thurs.  2/5     screening of The Business of Fancydancing TBA

Tues. 2/10    discuss the Business of Fancydancing and Alexie, "How to Write the Great American Indian Novel"
Thurs. 2/12  discuss the Business of Fancydancing and Alexie, "How to Write the Great American Indian Novel," and begin Alexie, Reservation Blues

Tues. 2/17     Paper #1 Workshop First Paper Information
Thurs. 2/19    Alexie, Reservation Blues

Tues. 2/24     Alexie, Reservation Blues
Thurs. 2/26    Howe, Shell Shaker

Tues. 3/3    Howe, Shell Shaker 
Thurs. 3/5   Howe, Shell Shaker First paper due!

Tues. 3/10-Thurs. 3/12  NO CLASS; SPRING BREAK

Tues. 3/17 Erdrich, Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
Thurs. 3/19 Erdrich, Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse

Tues. 3/24     Erdrich, Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
Thurs. 3/26    Erdrich, Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse

Mon. 3/30 screening of Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner  4:05 pm in TUR 2318
Tues. 3/31   discuss Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
Thurs. 4/2    discuss Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner

Tues. 4/7 Silko, Gardens in the Dunes
Thurs. 4/9  Silko, Gardens in the Dunes 

Tues. 4/14   paper #2 workshop  Second paper information
Thurs. 4/16 Silko, Gardens in the Dunes

Tues. 4/21     (last class meeting) Silko, Gardens in the Dunes
Fri. 4/24    Final paper due!


updated 4/2/09