(Cross listed with PEA_ST 2490)

Framed by the concepts of story, land, and sovereignty, we will examine major issues across the literatures of contemporary Native North American, Native Hawaiian, Maori, and Aboriginal Australian writing.Together, we will consider how Indigenous literary expression addresses itself to issues such as the intertwined nature of past and present, the necessity of imagining alternate future worlds in order to understand the one we live in today, and the presence of beauty in every life. We will read writing from Indigenous authors, including the lyric memoir Poet Warrior by 2019-2021 United State Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo (Muscogee Nation); 2021 Pulitizer Prize for fiction winner The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa); the celebrated ecological narratives in Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Citizen Potawatomi Nation); and the seminal anthology of Indigenous science fiction and Indigenous futurisms Walking the Clouds edited by Grace Dillon (Anishinaabe). Assignments include experiential and active learning activities, weekly reading responses, collaborative projects, and a presentation.