230581 Native Americans (S) (WiSe 2007/2008)

This seminar will be concerned with providing a deeper background on the Native Americans of North America. This well-known, but relatively small and heterogeneous ethnic group is, of course, well known because of the prominence with which Indians show up in literature and movies. Throughout the history of contact between Europeans and Native Americans, stereotypes of the one or the other type have dominated. This runs from the idea of the "noble savage" to the view that "The only good Indian is a dead Indian." For this reason one of the purposes of this seminar will be to gain as balanced a view of "the Indian" as possible.

One section of the course will concentrate on the pre-Columbian period, and we will try to understand something of the variety of Indian cultures and some of the principles of social organization they incorporate. In a second step we will deal with the nature and consequences of European-Indian contact. In the final section our attention will turn to the present-day situation of Native Americans in the United States.

Credit for this class can be gained on the basis of regular attendance and work and a final written exam. It is possible for B.A. as well as Magister and Staatsexamen students to choose a topic from this seminar for a term paper.

A selection of relevant books will be made available on a reserved reading shelf.