Graduate Minor in American Indian Studies

Program Description

Grounded by a strong commitment to the worlds, histories, representations, and political struggles of Indigenous peoples locally and globally, the intellectual project of American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) uses interdisciplinary methods of critical inquiry as a means through which students engage research and scholarship in their major fields of study. An AIIS minor is composed of graduate coursework with core and affiliated Indigenous studies faculty in the Department of American Indian Studies and other departments. Students receive foundational training in one of three required courses: Indigenous Critical Theory, Problems in American Indian History, or American Colonialism and Indigenous Histories.

In addition, students choose (in consultation with the director of graduate studies) from graduate courses in a range of disciplines committed to Indigenous studies to tailor their work to their own scholarly needs. The AIIS graduate minor strengthens student work in their major field of study as AIIS minors will learn how to best integrate American Indian and Indigenous Studies into their existing work as well as how to complement their research to include indigenous methodologies.

Requirements

Required Core Course (3 Credits)

Select one of three core courses, from the following:

• AMIN 8301 Critical Indigenous Theory (3 cr)
• AMIN 5890/HIST 5890 Readings in American Indian and Indigenous History (3 cr)
• AMST 5920/HIST 5910 American Colonialism (1-4 cr)

Three Electives (9 Credits) 

We recommend that you take at least one elective course with an AMIN designator, under consultation with the director of graduate studies (DGS). Elective courses may also be included in additional core courses in addition to the chosen required course.