Schedule
The course is divided into three broad studies corresponding to three of the main geographic and cultural regions of the Western US. Each of these divisions will highlight one particular group of people along with supplementary and comparative treatment of two other groups from the same region. As we proceed, we will develop some "collateral issues" that hold general importance for the entire region. We will end the semester with a brief consideration of contemporary issues. There is some tendency to think that "the day of the Indian" is past and that all of this is just cultural history. This is far from true, and I hope that every portion of the course produces convincing evidence to demonstrate that these are living cultures of great value and instructional significance to all of us.
| Week | Day | Topic | Reading | Activity | Due |
| Jan 15-19 | M | Martin Luther King, Jr, Day | |||
| W | Introduction & Orientation | . | WebSite Demo | . | |
| F | Geography of the Western US | Web-based maps | . | . | |
| Jan 22-26 | California | ||||
| M | California culture regions: Cahuilla, Ohlone, Maidu, and Yurok/Hupa | Kroeber, (xerox) and Benedict, Patterns of Culture, pp. 1-20 | . | . | |
| W | Material culture | Bean, Mukat's People, pp. 1-35 | . | . | |
| F | " | pp. 36-67 | reports | . | |
| Jan 29 - Feb 2 | M | Social culture | pp. 68-102 | . | . |
| W | " | pp. 102-135 | reports | . | |
| F | Myth and ritual | pp. 135-170 & Cahuilla Creation Story (xerox) | . | . | |
| Feb 5-9 | M | " | Shipley, The Maidu Indian Myths and Stories of Hanc'ibyjim, pp. 17-63 | . | Peer Edit P#1 |
| W | Collateral issues: Prehistoric origins | Dixon, Quest for the Origins of the First Americans, pp. 1-38 | video | P#1 | |
| F | " | pp. 39-76 | . | . | |
| Feb 12-16 | M | " | pp. 77-134 | . | . |
| W | " | Stages in Western Archaeology (xerox) | report | . | |
| F | " | " | video | . | |
| Feb 19-23 | Southwest | ||||
| M | Southwest culture regions: Hopi, Zuni, and Rio Grande Pueblos | Benedict, Patterns of Culture, pp. 21-56 | . | . | |
| W | Material culture | Underhill, Life in the Pueblos (xerox) | . | . | |
| F | . | " | reports | . | |
| Feb 26 - Mar 2 | M | Social culture | Benedict, pp. 57-93 | . | . |
| W | . | pp. 93-129 | reports | . | |
| F | Myth, ritual, and the arts | Cushing, The Mythic World of the Zuni, pp. 1-32 | . | . | |
| Mar 5-9 | M | " | pp. 33-64 | . | Peer Edit P#2 |
| W | " | pp. 65-102 | reports | P#2 | |
| F | Collateral issues: Spanish, English, Russian, Mexican, and US historical influences | Course Notes | video | . | |
| Mar 12-16 | Spring Vacation | ||||
| Mar 19-23 | M | " | Course Notes continued | video | . |
| W | " | Course Notes concluded | report | . | |
| F | " | no reading | report | Res Prosp | |
| Mar 26-30 | Northwest | ||||
| M | Northwest culture regions: Makah, Kwakiutl, and Tlingit | . | . | . | |
| W | Material culture | pp. | . | . | |
| F | " | pp. | report | . | |
| Apr 2-6 | M | Social culture | Benedict, Patterns of Culture, pp. 173-198 | . | . |
| W | " | pp. 198-222 | reports | . | |
| F | Myth, ritual, and the arts | Reid & Bringhurst, The Raven Steals the Light, pp. 11-30 | . | Res Bibliog | |
| Apr 9-13 | M | " | pp. 31-48 | report | . |
| W | " | pp. 49-68 | report | . | |
| F | " | pp. 69-91 | HSS Advising | . | |
| Apr 16-20 | M | Collateral issues: Native American oral literature -- Raven and Coyote | Shipley, The Maidu Indian Myths and Stories of Hanc'ibyjim, pp. 65-116 | . | . |
| W | " | A Coyote Reader (xerox) | . | . | |
| F | " | N. Scot Momaday (xerox) | . | Res Outline | |
| Apr 23-27 | M | HMC Presentations Period | |||
| W | |||||
| Contemporary Issues | |||||
| F | Sovereignty, politics, and law | Course Notes | . | . | |
| Apr 30 - May 4 | M | Economy and opportunity | " | . | . |
| W | Health, education, and cultural survival | " | video | ResPaper | |
| F | HMC Senior Exams and General Reading Period | ||||
Updated on November 22, 2000; click here to return to Course HomePage