230648 Indigeneity in Popular Culture (S) (WiSe 2025/2026)

Indigenous peoples in North America remain one of the most marginalized groups in social, cultural, political, and legal terms. Looking at recent media productions about and by Indigenous people, however, shows not just a noteable increase in numbers but also distict move towards genres that are at the heart of popular culture: crime, horror, and comedy, or young adult fiction with high school settings and coming-out stories. "North of North" for instance, and "Reservation Dogs" are shows written, produced, and performed by Indigenous artists, to be consumed by audiences worldwide on major streaming services.
In this class, we are interested in complex contact zones: mainstream culture and marginalized groups, pop culture and high culture, Western genres and Indigenous art, politics and entertainment, representation and resistance. We will recognize the utter marginalization and disenfranchisement of Indigenous peoples in North America, their history of resilliance and survival and the short literary history of their art from the Eurocentric point of view. The class will be devoted to appreciation and discussion of a selection of pop culture products by Indigenous artists from such areas as music, film, TV, and social media.