Oberlin
College
Department
of History
Gary J. Kornblith | History 325 |
Rice 306 | Fall 2006 |
x58526 |
Office hours:
Wednesdays, 2-4 pm, and by appointment |
Native
American History, ca. 1450-1900 |
[Note: The official, up-to-date syllabus for this course is online at http://www.oberlin.edu/history/GJK/H325F06/.] This course approaches Native American experience from a sympathetic yet unromantic cultural perspective. We begin with the premise that Native Americans were active agents in producing their history both before and after the European invasion of North America--not just victims of white oppression and/or abstract social forces. Topics include cultural diversity in North America on the eve of European colonization; the dynamics of early Indian-European encounters in different regions of North America; the role of slavery in Native American societies and in Indian-European relations; the political and spiritual dimensions of accommodation and resistance to Euro-American expansion in the eighteenth century; the construction and reconstruction of Indian identities in the era of the American Revolution; the process of Indian Removal; and nineteenth-century struggles on the Great Plains. Emphasis will be placed on current scholarly debates and varieties of historical analysis. Students are encouraged to think independently, and student participation in class discussions (both online and face-to-face) is essential to the success of the course. Written work, like class discussions, will focus on the wide-ranging and intellectually challenging assigned readings. Format: The class meets regularly on Mondays from 2:30 to 4:20 p.m. Class attendance is mandatory, participation in class discussions is expected, and students are also required to post a question or comment on Blackboard in advance of class sessions. |
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Evaluation: Final grades will be based on two 8-10 page papers (33% each) and class participation, including contributions to Blackboard (34%). The instructor reserves the right to exercise some discretion in assigning final grades. | |
Honor Code: All course work is governed by Oberlin's Honor Code. If you have a question about how the Honor Code applies to a particular assignment, you should ask the professor in advance of the due date. | |
Purchases: The following books should be bought and brought to class for the relevant discussions. They are available for purchase at the Oberlin Bookstore.
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Schedule of classes and assignments: |
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Sept. 11 | Perspectives and Methodologies
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Sept. 18 |
America before European Invasion
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Sept. 25 |
Early Native Encounters with the Spanish
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Oct. 2 | No class (Yom Kippur) |
Oct. 9 |
Early Native Encounters with the English: New England
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Oct. 13 (Friday) | First paper due by noon |
Fall Break |
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Oct. 23 | Early Native Encounters with the English: Southeast
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Oct. 30
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Native-French Relations in the Eighteenth Century: Great Lakes Region
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Nov. 6 |
Native-English Relations in the Eighteenth Century: Pennsylvania
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Nov. 13 |
Racialism, Pan-Indianism, and the American Revolution
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Nov. 20 |
Native Responses to the Rise of the United States
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Nov. 27 |
Indian Removal
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Dec. 4 |
Struggles on the Great Plains (I)
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Dec. 11
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Struggles on the Great Plains (II)
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Dec. 17 | Final paper due
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