Interpretive study of art and material culture as expressions of the knowledge, concepts and religious worldview (rituals, sacred histories) of Native American cultures. Focus on living cultural traditions and indigenous pespectives, as well as on historical accounts. The class is connected to the department’s iconological <del>historical</del> ethnographic research projects on (1) Mixtec culture, language and history, and (2) on the function and symbolism of the ancient Mesoamerican calendar, still in use in Southern Mexico and Guatemala (in cooperation with the Institut fuer Altamerikanistik und Ethnologie, University of Bonn). In their own presentations students are expected to focus on their specific area of (thesis) interest.
Timetable
Block I, Wednesdays 9.00-11.00 and Thursdays 9.00-11.00. NB. The course will take place in Block I; additional tutoring, the writing of a paper and the final assessment will take place in Block II. Second year students of the MPhil programme may be involved as teaching assistants.
Method of Instruction
Seminar with analysis of ethnographic data, including a discussion of methodological and theoretical issues. Students are required to give powerpoint presentations about primary material and/or textual sources.
Course objectives
Exercise research skills for in-depth interpretation of Native American oral traditions. Discussion of the historical context of the relations between these traditions and visual art. Exercise in oral presentation, discussion and writing.
Required reading
Different sources, monographs and articles, which in part will be assigned during the class, and in part have to be identified by the students themselves (library/internet search).
Examination
Active participation with powerpoint presentations and written assignments. Final paper (of approx. 3000 words) containing the analysis of the present-day social reality and worldview of a specific indigenous people in the Americas (preferably in the area of thesis research). Point of departure is the recent U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) and interrelated legal instruments (see for example www.iwgia.org; www.indigenouswomensforum.org; www.ohchr.org; www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii) and some theoretical literature (e.g. Luis Matias, Repression and Rebellions in Southern Mexico. The search for a political economy of dignity. PhD Dissertation Free University, Amsterdam 2007; Thela Latin American Series, Dutch University Press, accessible through internet). The paper is an exercise in finding and analysing relevant data in anthropological monographs, native texts (oral traditions), as well as newspapers and other documents on the internet, and should provide a basic understanding of the present-day social situations and cultural-linguistic heritage of the Native American people in the area/country that is relevant for the thesis research, as well as articulate scholarly and ethical viewpoints, with knowledge of the main international standards.
Information
Course instructor Prof. Dr. M.E.R.G.N.Jansen