RUSS 217
Indigeneity Today: Comparative Indigenous Identities in the US and Russia Spring 2025
Division I W Writing Skills D Difference, Power, and Equity
Cross-listed ANTH 217

Class Details

Indigenous movements for land, rights, and cultural preservation have spread to and originated in all corners of the world. However, the global nature of these movements at times obscures ways of being Indigenous in differing contexts. This course analyzes Indigeneity in both the United States and Russia today. Through reading and analyzing ethnography, theory, and literature, it focuses on Indigenous peoples in a comparative context. Rather than prioritizing concern with Indigenous peoples emerging from the US, it attempts to demonstrate what Indigeneity has been in both the United States and Russia and what it is and means today. It asks the following questions: what is Indigeneity and who is Indigenous; how is Indigenous identity constructed and by whom; and what convergences and divergences exist in Indigeneity between the US and Russia or for that matter in other contexts? To help answer these questions, in this course we will grapples with Indigeneity as a social category and other social formations, especially ethnicity, nationality, and race. Topics include: Indigeneity and the State, Revitalization and Resurgence, Indigenous People and Nature Protection, and Hemispheric and Global Indigeneities.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 16
Expected: 12-15
Class#: 3849
Grading: no pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: 10 posts to the course Glow discussion page, 3 times leading class discussion on the assigned readings, 1 short presentation, 1 extended portfolio project with regular shorter and longer writing submissions, and 1 final paper and final presentation (as the final part of the portfolio).
Prerequisites: None
Enrollment Preferences: Majors and certificate-seekers in Russian, then majors in Anthropology and Sociology, and then Global Studies concentrators
Distributions: Divison I Writing Skills Difference, Power, and Equity
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
RUSS 217 Division I ANTH 217 Division II
WS Notes: This course has the following assignments: Weekly post to the Glow discussion page, 1 extended project with regular writing submissions, 1 final paper and final presentation. For the extended project, we will have instructor feedback for all project assignments. In instructor feedback, comprehension of the material and the content of the writing, improvement in writing style and clarity, and development of voice will be discussed. There will also be peer feedback/review.
DPE Notes: In the course, students will learn about Indigeneity as a context-specific social formation. It understands Indigeneity as a category of difference with past and present importance. We will read about, discuss, and write about Indigeneity as a social category, along with other social categories it arose alongside (such as race, ethnicity, and nationality), and how it has been mobilized by both those who identify as Indigenous and by those who designate others as Indigenous.

Class Grid

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