Time Schedule:
Gary J. Witherspoon
AIS 203
Seattle Campus
Social constructions of reality, aesthetic as well as philosophic, as conceptualized by approximately five traditional American Indian cultures from different regions of North America.
Class description
The students will learn an Idigenous perspective on both the development of First Nations cultures in North America and on the Indigenous impact on the development of Second American culture in the United States.They will also learn the political and social philosophies of the Iroquois, the ecological philosophies and practices of the Lakota, and the aesthetic (arts and music) styles of the Navajos and others First Nations peoples, as well as the impact First Nations cultures have had on the evolution of 20th century Second American art.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
The class will be taught in two 50 minute sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I teach with Apple's PP like program, Keynote, emphasizing visuals and audio/video as a major part of the learning experience. I also incorporate short clips of video from widely different sources to bring the material to life. Longer, whole videos are also part of the course where they are fully relevant. Students are free to ask questions and make comments whenever they wish to do so within reason.
Recommended preparation
An open mind is the most important preparation for this course, and a plan to attend class regularly. I have found that performance on exams and grades distributed are highly correlated with class attendance. I will try to make copies of my lecture slides available for people who miss a class for unavoidale reasons, and for those who wish to use them in reviewing for the exam, but do not think this can be used as a substiutute for attending class and for taking notes in class. Lecture slides from last year may be available on the AIS website. Shorter readings and the course syllabus will be available on electronic reserve through the library. I can also email you a copy upon request.
Class assignments and grading
The only assignments for the course are the assigned readings which are important additions to the lectures and the videos. These assigned readings present material that is both covered and not covered in the class lectures. About 50% of the readings deal with material that relates to the class lectures. The remaider of the readings go beyond the content of the class lectures. Likewise, about 50% of the content of the class lectures is not covered in the readings, so it is important to both attend class and to do the assigned readings.
Grades are primarily based on your performance on three exams. These are three independent midterms, so they are not cumulative. There is no cumulative final exam. The exams are about 75% based on the classroom presentations and about 25% based on the readings. I give some extra credit for those who attend regularly and who participate in and contribute to class discussions. I give extra credit to essay exam answers that I find especially good. I take a little credit off for students who disrupt class by getting up in the middle of class and leaving. This of course does not apply to people who have to leave temporarily for pysiological reasons. If you must leave before a class is finished, let me know about it ahead of time, sit in the back near the door, and leave as quietly as possible. I do frequently take roll in the second session.
