This year, the Native American Studies program is hosting “Native American Studies and…” conversations, featuring faculty from various departments across campus. Faculty, staff, and students are invited to the following three events, all held in College Hall 424 from 12:10-1:00 on the appointed dates. Professor Treleaven and Professor Clark will each offer a Native American Studies topic course in Fall 2017, so these talks arrive just in time for registration.
Wednesday March 29: Native American Studies and Political Science
Professor Michael Treleaven will discuss Native American governments and politics. His course of the same name adds to and complements the study of American society, diversity, and government through its examination of Native American sovereign governments, which operate within the geographical bounds of the U.S. but which are also distinct from states, from the United States, and from each other.
Monday April 3: Native American Studies and Religious Studies
Professor Emily Clark will discuss how Native American Studies, along with African American Studies and Post-colonial Studies, can prompt scholars of religion to consider non-western, non-Christian narratives and assumptions. Professor Clark will build her talk using examples of how theories of religious studies have historically had a European/Euro-American, Protestant starting place and will then consider ways Native American Studies has prompted an important paradigm shift.
Wednesday April 5: Native American Studies and Contemporary American Literature
Professor Jessica Maucione will discuss how teaching Native American writers creates opportunities to invite students into critical discussions of contemporary sociopolitical and cultural realities involving American Indians. She will talk about the role of Native American literature in students’ explorations of the heterogeneity of Native America and the complexities of all attempts to define or shape Indigenous nationhood in the United States. Professor Maucione will share her approach to teaching American Indian Literatures as well as her incorporation of texts by Native American writers in almost all of her courses. She will also discuss some of the challenges and rewards of teaching Native American texts in lower- and upper-division classes at Gonzaga.
The Native American Studies Program looks forward to seeing you at these three talks—bring your lunches and spend the hour learning from/with our amazing colleagues!