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English 612 - Mixed Race Asian American Literature

ENGL

Teacher: Michael Prior

Fall 2023 - Cultural Memory - 01

Narrativas contra el exterminio: memoria cultural en el Amazonas y la Patagonia

Desde el norte del Amazonas hasta la Patagonia austral, la expansión de las naciones suramericanas en el siglo XIX estuvo fundada en la aculturación, el desplazamiento y el exterminio de numerosas poblaciones nativas. No obstante, pese a su alto grado de violencia, eventos como el genocidio selknam (Chile) o “las atrocidades del Putumayo” (Colombia-Perú) se encuentran en los márgenes de la memoria cultural de la región. Las obras culturales que analizaremos en este curso nos ayudarán a entender no solo lo que estos eventos traumáticos significan hoy, sino los límites y las contradicciones de cualquier acto de memoria. ¿Cómo dar forma narrativa a un crimen de lesa humanidad? ¿De qué manera los descendientes de las víctimas, activistas y artistas complican y cuestionan las narrativas en torno al “exterminio”? ¿Qué formas de reparación son apropiadas hoy? En este curso responderemos estas preguntas por medio del análisis de una amplia variedad de voces y textos, desde los diarios personales de un activista en derechos humanos hasta un wéstern. El curso se dividirá en dos unidades geográficas que proveerán el marco general de nuestras discusiones:

I. El noroeste del Amazonas (Perú-Colombia)
II. La Patagonia austral (Chile-Argentina)

Teacher: Daniel Coral Reyes

Fall 2023 - Indigenous Healing & Well-Being - 02

Over the past several decades, Indigenous healing and well-being has become an emerging area of psychology and related disciplines (e.g., anthropology, public health, etc.). In this course, we will examine a range of topics pertinent to the health, healing, and well-being of Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. This includes answering questions like: What historical and contemporary factors influence the health of Indigenous Peoples in the U.S.? What are the health and mental health experiences of Indigenous Peoples in the U.S.? What are traditional modalities of healing among Indigenous Peoples in the U.S.? Though we will focus on the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples in the U.S., we will also include global perspectives occasionally. We will draw on local examples of Indigenous healing through a course partnership with the Native American Community Clinic in Minneapolis, which we will take field trips to.

Teacher: Jill Fish

Fall 2023 - Intro Asian American Studies - 01

Teacher: Jake Nagasawa

Fall 2023 - Major British Writers - 01

Medieval mysteries and magic abound in historical British literature. What creature really kidnapped the infant son of Queen Rhiannon? What was Margery Kempe’s greatest, shameful secret? Did Shakespeare really write his plays? Social questions arise too: how did magical legends affect the development of the “normative” Anglo-American society we see today?

We will investigate these questions and more as we read poetry, stories, and plays from British history. One of our main tools will be etymology—the study of words and how they developed over time. By investigating the history of words like “man” and “wife”, we will trace meaning and change in both literature and society.

Along the way, we will pay special attention to tracing the footsteps of individuals who were prohibited from participating in mainstream literary society: low-income workers, women, LGBTQ* folk, and BIPOC groups. Literary investigation and etymology will help us learn from our cultural ancestors who lived on the margins of their societies.

Teacher: Coral Lumbley

Fall 2023 - Psych and/of Climate Change - 01

Climate change is no longer a distant, hypothetical threat. Yet, though more than half of Americans are “concerned” or “alarmed” about global warming, few are taking significant personal action in response, and only a small minority are involved in civic action to address the issue.
This course will take a broad psychological perspective on the questions, “Why are we not doing enough to address global climate change?” and "What will catalyze the social movement necessary to address the issue?" The class will explore psychological theories and studies that help explain why people respond to the climate crisis in the ways they do, and what psychological research tells us about how to shift that response.