MISSOURI WESTERN STATE COLLEGE

Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English / Foreign Languages / Journalism

Fall 200l OUTDOOR SEMESTER

ENGLISH 210: APPROACHES TO LITERATURE

Native American Literature: The Land and Its People

Section 38: 9:00 – 9:50 a.m. MWF Room: MC211

INSTRUCTOR: DR. ELIZABETH SAWIN

Office: SSC 215

Office Hours: 8:00 – 8:50 a.m. MWF; 11: 00 – 11:50 a.m. MW

Email: sawin@griffon.mwsc.edu

Phone: 271-4274 [Give name, date of call and your telephone number

slowly on the answering machine if you need me to respond.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

People are not separate from the land. The earth is our heritage. We will study Native American writers

who affirm their culture(s) in many different ways, writing of urban and reservation life, of old traditions

and new ways of living, of war and work, of hate and love.

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND MEANS FOR 210 :

Objectives:

1. To develop students’ understanding of the ways in which humans have addressed their condition through imaginative work in the humanities;

2. To deepen their understanding of how that imaginative process is informed and limited by social, cultural, linguistic, and historical circumstances;

3. To appreciate the world of creative imagination as a form of knowledge.

4. To develop students’ abilities to understand the moral and ethical values of a diverse society and to understand that many courses of action are guided by value judgments about the way things ought to be

5. To make informed decisions by understanding how personal values develop

6. To analyze the ethical implications of choices made on the basis of these values

Means:

a. Identify works in humanities.

b. Explain historical, cultural, and social contexts in humanities.

c. Identify aesthetic standards used to make critical judgments in humanities.

d. Understand differences and relationships between formal and popular culture.

e. Apply aesthetic standards to works in the humanities.

f. Compare and contrast historical and cultural ethical perspectives and belief systems

g. Utilize cultural, behavioral, or historical knowledge to clarify and articulate a personal value system

h. Recognize the ramifications of one’s value decisions on self and others

i. Recognize conflicts within and between value systems

j. Recognize and analyze the effect of context on ethical decisions

REQUIRED TEXTS:

TRACKS by Louise Erdrich (HarperFlamingo Edition, 1998)

A YELLOW RAFT IN BLUE WATER by Michael Dorris (Warren Books Trade Edition, 1988)

CEREMONY by Leslie Marmon Silko (Penguin, 1977)

We will read other literature by Native American writers available online,

in the library, and in books owned by the course instructor.

We will also view films such as Smoke Signals (based on a screen play by Sherman Alexie)

and view college-owned videos from the historical series, How the West Was Lost.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

Pads of white, lined 8.5x11 inch white paper for reading journal and in-class writing.

(This paper is not to be torn from a spiral notebook.)

2 high-density, 3.5-inch computer discs & carrying case for your discs.

Pocket folder for class materials.

REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING POLICY :

Field Journal --- 175 points 25%

Paper on Tracks --- 105 points 15%

Reading Journal on Yellow Raft ----- 105 points 15%

Essay on Ceremony --- 105 points 15%

Quizzes / Mid-term / Final Essay --- 210 points 30%

700 points

FIELD JOURNAL: 175 points

A significant amount of writing to be done daily while on the northern or southern trek of Outdoor Semester. You will visit historical sites, meet Native Americans, face physical challenges, solve problems, cope with weather, view scenes of natural splendor and read brief poems written by Native Americans while you are in the field. As the imaginative writers you will have read in English 210, you will also have the chance to capture the flow and meaning of your own experience. There is no end to the possibilities of what to write about in the field ... from the mundane to the serious, from the speech of Native American elders to jokes in the van; from hints about camping or rafting to probing questions about American culture and what you value in your own life. You will receive journals as part of Outdoor Semester and more specific directions about keeping them shortly before you leave for your trip.

The journal is due OCT. 10 for the North Trek / and NOV. 14 for the South Trek.

ATTENDANCE POLICY:

Because of the seventeen-day field trips that are part of Outdoor Semester, we are on an extremely tight schedule. Regular and punctual attendance is absolutely necessary. All (or part) of up to 3 classes can be missed without penalty. With the fourth and all subsequent absences (more than 15 minutes of any 50-minute class session), you will receive a 3% reduction in points from your semester total. I reserve the right to waive the penalty for highly unusual (and fully documented) extenuating circumstances, although I accept no obligation to do so. You are responsible for obtaining assignments, notes, and handouts from a responsible classmate if you do miss class.

Be sure to sign the DAILY ROSTER that I will hand out for purposes of keeping track of attendance. If you do not sign it, you are not officially here. If you come late to class or if you leave early, you will be marked absent.

MAKE-UP POLICY:

There will be no make-up opportunities for points awarded for daily reading journal entries, in-class writing, or unannounced quizzes.

LATE PAPERS:

When a final draft is due, you must hand it in on the due date at the beginning of the hour. Late papers delay the instructors’ evaluation of everyone’s work. Late papers receive a reduction of one letter grade for every day beyond the deadline. For example, a 100 point paper turned in one day late is then worth a maximum of 90 points. Two days late: 80 points. Three days late: 70 points. I will not accept a paper more than 3 days after it is due.

DISABLED STUDENT POLICY:

If you have a recognized disability that requires special consideration, please make an appointment to see me during the first week of classes so that we can discuss privately how I might help you to meet the course requirements.

ACADEMIC HONESTY:

You are expected to do your own reading and writing in this course. Any student who submits someone else’s work as his or her own will receive no credit (0 points) for that assignment. A second infraction will earn an "F" in the course.

REQUIRED FORMATTING:

Identify yourself in the upper, right-hand corner:

Use regular white paper.

Leave one-inch margins.

Single-space within paragraphs

Double space between paragraphs

N.B. I reserve the right to make changes in the schedule of readings if I have to do so in order to address the needs of students in Outdoor Semester.

SCHEDULE OF READINGS (This schedule of readings is incomplete. Come to class daily.)

8/20 Introduction to Course

Video: A CLASH OF CULTURES: The Long Walk of the Navahos

8/22 Read "The Navaho Long Walk" Howard W. Gorman

"In 1864" Luci Tapahonso

Video: THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN IS A DEAD INDIAN: War Comes to the Cheyennes

"Three Thousand Dollar Death Song" Wendy Rose

"Black Kettle National Grasslands, Western Oklahoma" Diane Glancy

8/24 Video: A GOOD DAY TO DIE: The War for the Black Hills

The Ghost Dance War" Charles A. Eastman

"Dec. 29, 1890: Wounded Knee Creek" N. Scott Momaday

8/27 Video: KILL THE INDIAN, SAVE THE MAN

8/29 TRACKS Louise Erdrich

Ch. 1 Winter 1912: Little Spirit Sun Nanapush (as Narrator) 1-9

Ch. 2 Summer 1913: Raspberry Sun Pauline (as Narrator) 10-31

8/31 TRACKS Louise Erdrich

Ch. 3 Fall 1913-Spring 1914: Crust on the Snow Sun Nanapush 32-61

Ch. 4 Winter 1914-Summer 1917: Blueberry Sun Pauline 62-95

9/3 Labor Day. No class but please keep reading ...

TRACKS Louise Erdrich

Ch. 5 Fall 1917-Spring 1918: Strong Spirit Sun Nanapush 96-130

Ch. 6 Spring 1918-Winter 1919: Wood Louse Sun Pauline 131-64

9/5 TRACKS

Ch. 7 Winter 1918-Spring 1919: Skeleton Winter Nanapush 165-91

Ch. 8 Spring 1919 Pauline 192-205

Optional Conferences with Dr. Sawin about paper topics.

9/7 TRACKS

Ch. 9 Fall 1919-Spring 1924: Wild Rice Sun Nanapush 206-226

9/10 Complete DRAFTS DUE. Peer Review & Dr. Sawin’s suggestions.

9/12 DRAFTS Returned.

9/14 Paper Due

9/17

9/19

NORTH TREK LEAVES CAMPUS

Southerners read the novel by Michael Dorris:

9/21 A YELLOW RAFT Rayona 1-64 Small discussion group meetings

9/24 A YELLOW RAFT Rayona 65-139

9/26 A YELLOW RAFT Christine 141-99 Small discussion group meetings

9/28 A YELLOW RAFT Christine 200-33

10/1 A YELLOW RAFT Christine 234-93 Small discussion group meetings

10/3 A YELLOW RAFT Ida 297-37

10/5 A YELLOW RAFT Ida 337-72 Small discussion group meetings

10/8 Holiday. No class.

10/10 Field Journals of Northerners are due.

Reading Journals of Southerners on A Yellow Raft in Blue Water are due.

10/12 CEREMONY Leslie Marmon Silko 1-45

10/15 CEREMONY Leslie Marmon Silko 45-93

10/17 CEREMONY Leslie Marmon Silko 93-131 First Draft of Essay on Ceremony

10/19 CEREMONY Leslie Marmon Silko 131-76

10/22 CEREMONY Leslie Marmon Silko 176-216

10/24 CEREMONY Leslie Marmon Silko 216-262 Essay on Ceremony due.

SOUTH TREK LEAVES CAMPUS

Northerners read the novel by Michael Dorris:

10/26 A YELLOW RAFT Rayona 1-64 Small discussion group meetings

10/29 A YELLOW RAFT Rayona 65-139

10/31 A YELLOW RAFT Christine 141-99 Small discussion group meetings

11/2 A YELLOW RAFT Christine 200-33

11/5 A YELLOW RAFT Christine 234-93 Small discussion group meetings

11/7 A YELLOW RAFT Ida 297-37

11/9 A YELLOW RAFT Ida 337-72 Small discussion group meetings

Syllabus: To be continued ....

N.B. I reserve the right to make changes in this syllabus if I have to do so in order to address the needs of students in Outdoor Semester.