Indigenous Methodologies of Dance, Movement, and Other Ways of Knowing

Catalog description

In this course, students will engage with Indigenous Methodologies of creating knowledge through dancing, ceremonies, embodiment, oral histories, and talking-while-walking in their territories. The course draws on Native American and Indigenous Studies, Queer Studies, Dance Studies, and Performance Studies. Students will have the opportunity to learn how, despite colonization, different Indigenous communities across the world have maintained many of their stories and traditions through dancing, embodied practices, and storytelling. The compass that guides this course is the relationship of Indigenous communities with the land, animals, and ancestors, as these entities regulate the cycle of life, dances, and ceremonies of Indigenous peoples. In the class, we will study this cycle (including the agricultural cycle), and how Indigenous people coproduce knowledge via the relations they maintain with more-than-humans. We will also put particular attention to queer Indigenous people's histories and their crucial role in maintaining Indigenous traditions and cycles alive. Since this is a methodological course, students are expected to design a research project that applies the methods and knowledge acquired in the class. Some of these methods may require students to conduct oral histories, dance, participate in Indigenous ceremonies and fiestas, and engage in critical observations and walks with Indigenous people to learn the histories of their lands. Following a scaffolding structure, students will design their research project during the first five weeks of the quarter. Then, they will implement the project during the second half of the quarter. And finally, they will share their research project during finals week. The format of the final may vary depending on the students' projects and the knowledge they are able to share. Some of the options for the final may include…