Active Course List

This course will provide overview of Minnesota Indian nations and their relations to each other and the effects of European incursion. Subsequent relations will focus on the US-Dakota war and its aftermath.

Graduation Requirements:

Goal Area 5 - History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences | Goal Area 7 - Human Diversity | Diverse Cultures - Purple | Writing Intensive

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

American Indigenous Studies (BA) | American Indigenous Studies (BS)

Being American Indian and being woman creates a unique situation for women who have been directly influenced by the differences of gender roles from two intersecting cultures. This course will focus on how those differences have affected American Indian Women.

Graduation Requirements:

Goal Area 5 - History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences | Goal Area 7 - Human Diversity | Diverse Cultures - Purple | Writing Intensive

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

Gender and Women's Studies (BA) | Gender and Women's Studies (BS) | Gender and Women's Studies Minor

The course is offered according to student demand and instructor availability/expertise. A variety of topics related to ethnic and cultural areas will provide curriculum enrichment on an ongoing basis.

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Examines leadership prior to European colonization, the overlap of Indian and colonial leadership, contemporary governmental leadership, and contemporary tribal leadership. Define what is and is not leadership and examine characteristics of individuals deserving the title of leader among American Indians.

Graduation Requirements:

Diverse Cultures - Purple | Writing Intensive

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

This class introduces students to Indigenous perspectives of education, knowledge, and learning. Students will explore the historical relationships between educational institutions, policies, practices, and Indigenous communities. Through an engagement with present day efforts of educators, programs, and institutions that incorporate and engage traditional knowledges, students will develop a deeper understanding of Indigenous education and ways to promote teaching practices and pedagogies that value and support a diverse educational community.

Graduation Requirements:

Diverse Cultures - Purple

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

American Indigenous Studies (CERT)

This course examines American Indian identity as it relates to Hollywood film industry history. Underlying issues of contemporary Indians are also addressed through an introduction to Native Cinema and the effects of current technologies and globalization.

Graduation Requirements:

Diverse Cultures - Purple

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

American Indigenous Studies (CERT)

Introduces students to the differences between indigenous and Western views of the environment. Analyzes the impact of invasion and encroachment on indigenous societies' interactions with nature. Compares historical and contemporary environmental issues in indigenous societies.

Graduation Requirements:

Diverse Cultures - Purple

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

American Indigenous Studies (CERT)

Course introduces students to the various ways that land is used by American Indians. We will explore traditional land use, contemporary land use, and land issues that impact American Indians and cultural activities that are tied to the land.

Graduation Requirements:

Diverse Cultures - Purple

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

American Indigenous Studies (CERT)

Curricular Practical Training: Co-Operative Experience is a zero-credit full-time practical training experience for one semester and an adjacent fall or spring term. Special rules apply to preserve full-time student status. Please contact an advisor in your program for complete information.

Prerequisites:

At least 60 credits earned; in good standing; instructor permission; co-op contract; other prerequisites may also apply.

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Introduces students to museum science and how historic constructs, practices, and contemporary issues of the museum as an institution relates to the representation of American Indians. Focus will be on translating western practices to a Indigenous aesthetic.

Graduation Requirements:

Diverse Cultures - Gold

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

American Indigenous Studies (CERT) | Museum Studies (CERT)

Working with a faculty advisor, students will gain practical knowledge of fieldwork techniques and gain practical experience through this experiential learning course. Students will learn to approach indigenous communities and people with respect to cultural practices and behave like relatives in their research practices. This course is a capstone research project for the AIS program.

Graduation Requirements:

Diverse Cultures - Gold

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

American Indigenous Studies (BA) | American Indigenous Studies (BS) | American Indigenous Studies (CERT)

This course is offered according to student demand and instructor availability/expertise. A variety of topics related to ethnic and cultural areas will provide curriculum enrichment on an ongoing basis.

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

American Indigenous Studies (CERT)

A brief, intensive or hands on experience based in Indigenous knowledge and methods. Variable topics.

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Field experiences in settings appropriate to the discipline of American Indian Studies. Requires advanced standing in American Indian Studies and consent of supervising faculty.

Graduation Requirements:

Diverse Cultures - Gold

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Allows for an advanced level pursuit of special projects of research on an independent basis. Requires coordination with a faculty member.

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

In this course students examine Indigenous perspectives of education, knowledge, and learning. Students will gain an understanding of the present-day and historical relationships between educational institutions, policies, practices, and Indigenous communities. By engaging with present day efforts of educators, programs, and institutions that incorporate and employ traditional knowledges in educational pedagogy, students will be able to analyze how policy, practice, and lived-experience impact Indigenous education. Students will also develop a deeper understanding and practical skills in supporting and promoting teaching practices and pedagogies that value and support a diverse educational community.

Introduces students to museum science and how historic constructs, practices and contemporary issues of the museum as an institution relate to the representation of the other.

Programs:

Museum Studies (GC)

A brief intensive or hands on experience based in Indigenous knowledge and methods. Variable topics.

In this course students examine Indigenous perspectives of education, knowledge, and learning. Students will gain an understanding of the present-day and historical relationships between educational institutions, policies, practices, and Indigenous communities. By engaging with present day efforts of educators, programs, and institutions that incorporate and employ traditional knowledges in educational pedagogy, students will be able to analyze how policy, practice, and lived-experience impact Indigenous education. Students will also develop a deeper understanding and practical skills in supporting and promoting teaching practices and pedagogies that value and support a diverse educational community. Students should take either AIS 530 or AIS 630 but not both.

This course surveys human biological and cultural diversity through time and space. You will learn about questions like: how did humans evolve? and how do anthropologists collect and interpret information about human beings and their ancestors?

Graduation Requirements:

Goal Area 5 - History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences | Goal Area 8 - Global Perspective | Diverse Cultures - Purple

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

Anthropology (BA) | Anthropology (BS) | Anthropology Minor

A general survey of the evolution of human society from the earliest times to the development of written languages. Topics include the evolution of tools, the agricultural revolution, and the origins of urban life.

Graduation Requirements:

Goal Area 5 - History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences | Goal Area 10 - People and the Environment

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

This anthropology course explores the areas of anatomical forensic science. Students will learn the techniques and methodology involved in collection, preservation, and analysis of evidence pertaining to human remains. The course will include such subjects as analysis of skeletal trauma, victim identification, bite-mark analysis, and crime scene recovery methods. Ethnics and standards in medico-legal investigations will also be stressed.

Graduation Requirements:

Goal Area 3 - Natural Sciences

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

A comprehensive examination of modern archaeological theory methods and activities, focusing on American archaeology. Emphasis will be given to data collection, data analysis, and museology. Lab included.

Graduation Requirements:

Goal Area 3 - Natural Sciences | Goal Area 10 - People and the Environment

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

Anthropology (BA) | Anthropology (BS) | Anthropology Minor | Earth Science (BS) | Geoarcheology (CERT)

An introduction to the study of human biological evolution and variation. This course focuses on evolutionary theory, mechanisms of evolutionary change, and the fossil record of human evolution. Lab included.

Graduation Requirements:

Goal Area 3 - Natural Sciences

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

Anthropology (BA) | Anthropology (BS) | Anthropology Minor | Social Studies Teaching (BS) Anthropology

This introduction to cultural anthropology covers cultural diversity and organization by examining several examples in detail. Both anthropological methodology and theory will be important parts of this course.

Graduation Requirements:

Goal Area 8 - Global Perspective | Diverse Cultures - Purple

Areas of Interest:

People and Cultures

Programs:

Anthropology (BA) | Anthropology (BS) | Anthropology Minor | Social Studies Teaching (BS) Anthropology