Class Participation: 15 points

To gain the most out of this course, you will need to demonstrate active engagement with the materials, discussions, and assignments. There are a variety of ways to be participate and stay engaged with the course: attend class and participate in our discussions, contribute to the class Google Doc of course notes (linked at top of schedule page), and reply to students’ blog posts throughout the semester for extra credit (see below).

Extra Credit: Make substantive comments on a maximum of three (3) of your fellow students’ blog posts throughout the semester. You will receive one point extra credit per comment. Reflect and think about their ideas, experiences using the tools, or other aspects of their blog posts in a few sentences.

Weekly Blog Posts: 40 points

Over the course of the term, there will be 8 total blogging activities (one per week, 5 points each). These assignments will correspond with each week’s topics, approaches, and in-class activities. Blogs are due by 11:59pm CT on Sunday of the week they are assigned and should be roughly 350-600 words. Since these posts are generally reflective, I expect thoughtful and intentional writing that draws upon that week’s sources, reading materials, and approaches we discuss. Please include at least one source from that week’s reading materials.

To create a blog post, sign in to the course website (linked on homepage), navigate to posts on the left column and select new post.

Film Review Project: 20 points

Films enable the audience to immerse themselves in stories, visualize another time or place, and build sympathy with characters. Historically, films that depict Native American people, events, and themes have done so in a variety of ways—from cowboy versus Indian tropes to being symbols of a bygone era. The representation of Native characters and topics has also greatly transformed over the last 75 years, with changes often reflecting real-time cultural shifts. Films are as much a representation of their narratives as they are a representation of the time in which they were produced, and we, the audience, play a unique role in the stories that films tell us.

In this assignment, you will select one movie or TV show from this list or ask to approve a film/TV show not on the list. Write your review as a blog post on the class website. It should be at least 750 words (or about 2.5 pages double spaced).

Please note that many of these films contain heavy themes and/or depict graphic scenes. Look at the movie’s IMDb page for a detailed explanation of the film’s rating.

Your review should include the following information:

• Movie Title (year created)
• Historical or contemporary topic of coverage, timeframe, and geographic coverage
• Give a star rating

Then, your review should combine a description of the film (such as key scenes) with an analysis of why it is significant. To help your analysis, choose two topics from the list below to incorporate into your review:

• Reflect on the film’s strengths and weaknesses. How could the weaknesses have been improved?
• Describe the metanarrative of the film (how was it produced, who was involved in its production, what was the production experience like, was there any cultural advising and what did that look like?)
• A deeper reflection of the historical or contemporary topics presented in the film. If the film depicts specific real-life events, discuss the representation and accuracy (you may draw on other sources and notes from class)If you did not have any background on the topic, would you have been left with a false impression about the time period? Give examples and explain.
• How did the film expand your understanding of the topic’s significance? Which parts of the movie were realistic versus fictional? How did the fictional parts add to (or take away from) your understanding?
• Describe what was happening in the U.S. or the world at the time that the movie was created. How did this affect the film’s representation of Native people, events, and themes?
• Many of these films represent a “Western” or “Neo-Western” genre. In what ways did the film reinforce the expectations of its genre, or how did it challenge it?

Film Review Project Due: Sunday, October 27 by 11:59pm CT

Final Research Project | Past Meets Present: 25 points

For your final project, find a piece of recent news regarding Native American communities, policies, or issues from the last 10 years. It can be national or local news, and may engage any topic of your interest (food sovereignty, the #LandBack movement, pop culture, NAGPRA and repatriation, museums, national parks, etc.). Need help? Look at Native News Online or Indian Country Today Media Network.

Your research project is to write the history of this topic and explain how it culminated to the present moment. Your research may be more locally engaged (related to the specific history of a community) and/or address major transformations in Native American history (or the history of Native-U.S. relations).

Project Expectations

Project mode: You may deliver this project as an extended blog essay, a traditional research paper (emailed), or as a digital humanities project (your own website, timeline, storymap, podcast, Microsoft Sway, video documentary etc.) If you choose a DH project, speak with me about resources/tools to help you!

Formulate a clear argument/thesis in your construction of the historical narrative.

Sources: Cite at least 3 primary sources (historical sources) and 2 secondary sources (scholarly sources written about the subject). You may use whichever citation style you prefer (MLA, Chicago, APA), and please include in-text citations of your evidence.

Length: equivalent to 1000 words of writing. For a digital humanities project, you may have less writing in the project itself, but then supplement the word length with a reflection of the project (e.g. 500 words in a timeline, but then a 500 word reflection).

When searching for credible sources, refer to this MLA checklist for source credibility

This final research project is due Sunday, November 17 by 11:59pm CT