HIST 310 American Indian History
History 310 is a general survey of the history of Native North American nations from pre-contact to the contemporary era. The course makes use of readings, lectures, films, group projects, community investigation, and class discussion to introduce students to the rich diversity of Native North American societies and cultures. American Indian tribes are sovereign nations. Students will explore how Euro-Americans used the construct of race as a tool during the process of settler colonialism to diminish and erase tribal sovereignty and avoid recognizing tribes' inherit power as politically sovereign entities. Throughout this relationship the legalistic erosion of tribal sovereignty was paired with genocidal policies including wars of removal, forced assimilation through the use of boarding schools, and other acts of ethnocide that continue to contribute to contemporary issues in Native Americans communities. Despite these settler colonial actions, tribal governments and Native American peoples continue to survive, persist, and work for cultural revitalization. Class discussions will address, among other issues, the impact of settler colonialism, including how the concept of race homogenized the over 500 distinct cultural and histories into a single concept of "American Indian," the responses of individuals, communities, and institutions to historical and contemporary forms of racism that still affect descendants today, and contemporary issues including efforts to diminish Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), environmental racism, and the impact of historical trauma. Students will be given the opportunity to explore Twin Cities' resources and take a turn at leading a class discussion. Significant focus is given to issues of race and racism.
Prerequisites
4 Undergraduate credits
Effective August 1, 1998 to present
Meets graduation requirements for
Learning outcomes
General
- Analyze history in a way that features an appreciation for how people incorporate change within their various culturally persistent beliefs and practices, particularly with respect to race and racism, consistent with the analytical and expressive complexity and sophistication that are distinctively characteristic of upper-division courses completed at a comprehensive university.
- Describe how Native Americans and Europeans interacted and influenced each other throughout North American history that emphasizes the role of race and racism in those interactions and influences, including the use of race to pave over differences in tribal communities and erode tribal sovereignty consistent with the analytical and expressive complexity and sophistication that are distinctively characteristic of upper-division courses completed at a comprehensive university.
- Effectively and respectfully engage in classroom discussion, particularly with respect to the characteristics of socially constructed forms of race, racism, and institutional responses to the historical legacy of racism, consistent with the analytical and expressive complexity and sophistication that are distinctively characteristic of upper-division courses completed at a comprehensive university.
- Recognize the continued work of Native American individuals and societies to persist and resist Euro-American genocidal attempts of removal and erasure. Use this understanding to assess the legacy and responsibility of both individuals and society in general in the contemporary era consistent with the analytical and expressive complexity and sophistication that are distinctively characteristic of upper-division courses completed at a comprehensive university.
- Recognize the vast diversity of American Indian culturals by dismantling the social construction of an American Indian ¿race¿ and explain the diversity of tribes as political soveregns and culturally distinct entities in a manner consistent with the analytical and expressive complexity and sophistication that are distinctively characteristic of upper-division courses completed at a comprehensive university.
- Evaluate the concept of settler colonialism and its impact on relations between Euro-Americans and American Indian tribes, its influence in constructions of concepts of race, and the mechanisms used to propetuate systems of erasure and domination in a manner consistent with the analytical and expressive complexity and sophistication that are distinctively characteristic of upper-division courses completed at a comprehensive university.
Minnesota Transfer Curriculum
Goal 5: History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Employ the methods and data that historians and social and behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.
- Examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures.
- Use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories.
- Develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues.
Goal 7: Human Diversity
- Understand the development of and the changing meanings of group identities in the United States' history and culture.
- Demonstrate an awareness of the individual and institutional dynamics of unequal power relations between groups in contemporary society.
- Analyze their own attitudes, behaviors, concepts and beliefs regarding diversity, racism, and bigotry.
- Describe and discuss the experience and contributions (political, social, economic, etc.) of the many groups that shape American society and culture, in particular those groups that have suffered discrimination and exclusion.
- Demonstrate communication skills necessary for living and working effectively in a society with great population diversity.
Spring 2025
| Section | Title | Instructor | books | eservices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | American Indian History | Craddick, Jordan Lee | Books for HIST-310-50 Spring 2025 | Course details for HIST-310-50 Spring 2025 |