Goals.  This course surveys prose writing—mainly long fiction—by Native Americans over the past century.  That may seem a rather remedial project for a graduate-level course in English, but I think we’re all aware of the holes in our undergraduate training which might necessitate undertaking such a project here.  And anyway, there’s a time-honored cover for situations like these, tailor-made to cloak our elementary aims in a mantle of intellectual respectability:  the “proseminar,” an intensive reading course designed to let you to achieve some breadth (and possibly even some depth) in a field you’ve hitherto neglected.  What we’ll do here, then, is read and discuss a whole slew of works that represent and in some sense define the “tradition” of Native American fiction written in English that has evolved over the past hundred years or so.  We’ll become acquainted with many, though not all, of the major figures of the contemporary scene, including several of the more provocative critics and theorists.  And we’ll gain an appreciation of concerns common to much of their work—most notably, perhaps, how one can imaginatively negotiate the vexed questions of (racial and ethnic) identity prompted by a history of colonialism and a hegemonic Western modernity.

Texts.   Here are the particulars of the slew, available at the HSU bookstore.  If you buy them new, the total cost is something obscene on the order of $250; I encourage you to scour local independent booksellers or the Internet for cheaper copies.  The following texts are required:

• Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (GroveAtlantic)
• Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine (New Expanded Edition) (HarperPerennial)
• Thomas King, Green Grass, Running Water (Bantam)
• D’Arcy McNickle, The Surrounded (U of New Mexico P)
• N. Scott Momaday, House Made of Dawn (HarperCollins)
• Mourning Dove, Cogewea: The Half-Blood (U of Nebraska P)
• Louis Owens, Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel (Oklahoma)
• Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (Penguin)
• Leslie Marmon Silko, Almanac of the Dead (Penguin)
• David Treuer, The Translation of Dr Apelles (Vintage)
• Gerald Vizenor, Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles (U of Minnesota P)
• James Welch, Winter In the Blood (Penguin)

The remainder are highly recommended, the final two particularly for those who opt to write a seminar paper in lieu of midterm and final exams (see "Work," below):

• David Treuer, Native American Fiction: A User’s Manual (Graywolf)
• Jace Weaver, Craig S. Womack, and Robert Warrior, American Indian Literary Nationalism (U of New Mexico P)
• John Joseph Mathews, Sundown (U of Oklahoma P)
• Greg Sarris, Grand Avenue (Penguin)

Additional readings—critical essays and so on—are available in an online course reader on our class web page.  When I add anything else, I’ll try to give you at least one week’s advance notice.

Work.  Of course, the period encompassed by the books we’re taking up represents only a blip on the radar-screen of Native American verbal expression, and from one point of view it’s deeply misguided of us to expect to understand contemporary works of imaginative literature without at least some rudimentary knowledge both of earlier narrative and poetic traditions and of the particular historical circumstances from which the newer traditions arose.  When reading House Made of Dawn, for example, it would be helpful to know something about Pueblo cosmology and religion.  For Cogewea, an understanding of federal “Indian” policy (extermination, removal, the creation of the reservation system) in the 19th century would be pertinent.  A passing acquaintance with the Indian Allotment (“Dawes") Act of 1887 and its subsequent amendments, as well as the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, would be useful for understanding Sundown and The Surrounded.  Familiarity with the figure of the Trickster (not to mention both the BIA and AIM) would enhance one’s appreciation of Gerald Vizenor’s Bearheart.  And so on.  On the “General Reference” page of our class website, I’ve provided links to a few reference sources that you should freely explore in order to begin filling gaps in your knowledge.  But if you really want to do justice to any of these topics, you’ll have to go farther afield on your own.  In the spirit of collective knowledge-building, I encourage you to let the rest of us in on any expertise you might already have, and/or on any other valuable resources (books, videos, magazine or journal articles, websites) you might discover on topics of relevance to the books we’re studying.

Normally in a proseminar, there is no term paper required, only (at most) a midterm and a final exam, and perhaps some other, shorter, informal assignments along the way.  In this course, however, you may in fact write a modified term paper (details to follow)—or you may opt to write take-home midterm and final exams, supplemented by a short annotated bibliographic assignment, instead.  Regardless of your choice of culminating assignment, I’ll be asking all of you for something more regular and informal, as well:  a series of eight (8) reading “memos” of at least 500 words each, which may gather some of your responses to the week’s assignments in rough but not unfiltered form, and should address some particular problem(s) or area(s) of interest that you’ve encountered in your reading.  These memos may be exploratory rather than conclusive, raising questions rather than settling them; still, they should have a point and a shape.  You should post them, no later than one full day before class convenes, to the “Moodle” discussion forums that I will open, though you may also send a follow-up post of 100-200 words within two days after our class meeting.  You should also feel free to exploit the discussion forums as a medium for starting and continuing conversations during any of the 165 hours of the week when our class does not meet.  

Attendance.  As a rule, absences in a graduate seminar are conspicuous and problematic.  Please do stay home if you’re genuinely ill and/or contagious.  Otherwise, you’ll be missed.

Disabilities: Please let me know of any documented disabilities and recommended accommodations that would promote your success in this class. (More information on disability accommodation below, in the "Addendum.")

Grades.  Oh yeah…those.  Here’s where the oppressive substructure of this seemingly benign classroom shows through.  I’m increasingly neo-conservative on this subject:  “A” is reserved for stunningly well-written, insightful, top-drawer stuff.  While it’s not written down anywhere, it’s generally accepted that “B” work at the graduate level, while perfectly acceptable, possibly even above average, is nevertheless middling.  If I give you a “C” as a graduate student, that’s a wake-up call; i.e., I’m signaling that while your work is worthy of credit, it’s not entirely up to snuff.  You must complete all assignments to pass the course.

• The quality and quantity of your responses to the things you read and study, in class and online (i.e., your reading memos, together with your contributions to class), will together count for 50% of your course grade.
• Your term paper (or exams and annotated bibliography) will count for the remaining 50%.

I’ll read and respond to your written work, and I’ll be happy to discuss your progress and prospects at any time.  If you’re having any sort of problem, vague or specific, don’t sit and stew about it:  come and talk to me without delay. 

CALENDAR
(All quantities approximate.  Subject to change.)

Meeting 1 (Jan. 23).  Introductions, bureaucratic housekeeping.  Permission to narrate:  what’s postcolonial about Native American Literature.

Introduction:  The Watershed.
Meeting 2 (Jan. 30).  The beginning of the “boom”:  Momaday, House Made of Dawn.  Recommended:  Owens, Chapter 4 (“Acts of Imagination”) of Other Destinies.

The Groundwork:  20th-century Precursors.
Meeting 3 (Feb. 6).  Mourning Dove, Cogewea; Johnson, “As It Was In the Beginning” (course reader).  Recommended: Vizenor, Introduction to Native American Literature (online course reader); Owens, Chapter 2 (“Origin Mists”) of Other Destinies. 
Meeting 4 (Feb. 13).  McNickle, The Surrounded.  Recommended: Chapter 3 (“Maps of the Mind”) of Other Destinies.

The Rest of the Renaissance.
Meeting 5 (Feb. 20).  Silko, Ceremony.  Recommended: Treuer, “The Myth of Myth” (Native American Fiction: A User’s Manual); Owens, Chapter 6 (“‘The Very Essence of Our Lives’”) of Other Destinies.
Meeting 6 (Feb. 27).  Welch, Winter In the Blood.  Recommended: Owens, Chapter 5 (“Earthboy’s Return”) of Other Destinies.
Meeting 7 (Mar. 5).  Vizenor, Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles.  Recommended: Owens, Chapter 8 (“‘Ecstatic Strategies’”) of Other Destinies; additional texts TBA.

NAL, the NG.
Meeting 8 (Mar. 19).  Pivot point:  Erdrich, Love Medicine.  Recommended: Treuer, “Smartberries” (Native American Fiction: A User’s Manual); Owens, Chapter 7 of Other Destinies.
Meeting 9 (Mar. 26).  Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.  Recommended: Treuer, “Indian/Not-Indian Literature” (Native American Fiction: A User’s Manual)

Slouching Towards the Apocalypse:  A New Native American Epic.
Meeting 10 (Apr. 2).  Warm-up:  King, Green Grass, Running Water.  Recommended: Bailey, “The Arbitrary Nature of the Story” (online course reader)
Meetings 11 & 12 (Apr. 9 & 16).  The Big Event:  Silko, Almanac of the Dead.  Additional texts TBA.

“So-called Native American fiction (if there is such a thing).”
Meeting 13 (Apr. 23).  Treuer, The Translation of Dr Apelles.
Meeting 14 (Apr. 30).  Treuer, Native American Fiction: A User’s Manual (selections TBA).   Recommended (online course reader):  Owens, Chapter 1 (“Other Destinies, Other Plots”) of Other Destinies; Allen, Introduction to Spider Woman’s Granddaughters; Krupat, Introduction to The Voice in the Margin; Deloria, “Indians Today, the Real and the Unreal.”

We may meet May 7 for final housekeeping—and possibly for food, drink, and fellowship.

The take-home midterm, for those who choose to sit it, will be distributed on Mar. 5 and due no later than Mar. 19; the final, given on Apr. 30 and due May 7.  (The annotated bibliography, unrelated to the exams but also required for those taking that option, may be completed at any point in the semester.)  Those choosing to write the term paper may begin it as early as mid-March; the final draft will be due on May 7.

Addendum: Other Course Policies and General Information

Some of the following information I’m required by the University (whose obedient servant I am) to include.  Some, I provide out of more than a mere sense of obligation; I actually believe in it.  Much else originates purely with me rather than my employer, and I’m fairly fervent about it.  (Come talk to me during office hours and I’ll tell you which is which, if you can’t tell already.)  In any event, you’re responsible for familiarizing yourself with all of it.

Scheduled course meeting time and place (Spring 2012)
Mondays 6:00-9:50 p.m., Founders 203.

HSU Catalog description
"Principal movements, major figures, or other significant topics, with pertinent scholarship."

Course mode and format
This course is classified by the university as a "seminar" course.

English Department "Learning Outcomes"

This pseudo-scientific malarkey isn't applicable to graduate courses, thank heavens. Yet.

Hours outside of class required for course preparation 
"In general, it is expected that the successful student will spend two hours of preparation per week for each unit earned" (Humboldt State University Catalog 2010-2011 p. 56).  For a 1-unit course, this means you will need to devote at least 8 hours per week to this course outside of class.  This is the recommended minimum for undergraduates.  Spending 8 hours per week does not guarantee a passing grade, however, nor does it guarantee any particular letter grade. And we all know that the informal expectation for graduate students is at least double this.

Campus resources that may increase your academic success

• Writing center: Lower Library 32
  http://www.humboldt.edu/english/UniversityWritingCenter.htm
• Learning center: Lower Library 55
  http://www.humboldt.edu/learning/

Academic (dis)honesty
All members of an academic community are responsible for supporting intellectual freedom and openness through rigorous personal standards of honesty and fairness.  Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty undermine the very purpose of the university and diminish the value of an education.  All cases of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating, will be handled in accordance with University policy.  Students are responsible for knowing HSU policy regarding academic honesty.  These guidelines, along with sanctions for violations, can be reviewed at http://www.humboldt.edu/studentrights/academic_honesty.php

Plagiarism
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “plagiarize” as “to take and use as one’s own the thoughts, writings, or ideas of another,” to represent someone else’s words or ideas as your own. The general rule is that if you incorporate any information (e.g., analysis, opinions, interpretations, or facts that are not common knowledge), into your papers, examinations, discussion forum posts, presentations, and so on, you must honestly and accurately credit and document the sources of those words and ideas.  This includes not only books and other printed materials, but also formal lectures and interviews, as well as information of any kind posted on the Internet—regardless of whether that information is attributed to an identifiable author or authors.  Submitting any part of a borrowed, stolen, or purchased paper to fulfill all or part of an assignment also constitutes plagiarism—never mind that it’s desperate and pathetic. 

Professors have a finely tuned “ear” for prose that their students probably aren’t capable of producing.  Even a close paraphrase of someone else’s words—borrowing the sentence or paragraph structure while making small changes in wording or phrasing—can be construed as plagiarism, especially if you have not properly attributed the source.  And while the Web has made it much easier to buy or steal work produced by someone else (never mind that the Web rarely observes the same standards of punctiliousness that the academy does), it’s also made such fraud much easier to spot, thanks to plagiarism-detection websites and ever-improving search engines. 

The university definition of and policies regarding plagiarism and other types of academic dishonesty can be found online and in the HSU catalog; it's your responsibility to know these policies and to ask questions if you don't understand them.  If you are unsure what counts as plagiarism, play it safe and consult with me (preferably before turning in an assignment!), as ignorance of the policy is not an acceptable excuse for failure to comply with the guidelines.  If you plagiarize in my course, you will automatically fail the assignment and, in most cases, the course.  Additionally, I will notify the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.  Consequently, you may be subject to further University disciplinary action, such as special counseling, dismissal from certain programs and organizations, and academic probation, suspension, oreven expulsion.  If you are having difficulty completing an assignment on time and through honest means, please come talk to me before resorting to plagiarism.  For a free on-line tutorial about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, consult one or all of the following resources:

• HSU Library
• HSU Learning Center
• HSU Composition Director Tracy Duckart's Instructional Website
  

Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, both between students, or between a student and a faculty member, is illegal and will not be tolerated in the classroom or outside of class.  HSU defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” which may be blatant or subtle.  For a detailed description of and HSU’s complete policy on sexual harassment, see 
http://www.humboldt.edu/studentrights/sex_assult.php

Accommodations for students with disabilities or special needs
Please let me know without delay if you have special needs and are (or think you may be) eligible for disability-related accommodation, so that we can discuss any and all available aids and measures that would facilitate your success in this class.  Our campus Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) can assist you with determining eligibility for accommodations and obtaining necessary resources to meet your needs.  The SDRC is located in House 71, on the north end of Library Circle, directly across from the HSU library.  It can be reached by calling (707) 826-4678 (voice) or (707) 826-5392 (TDD) or by emailing the director, Kevin O’Brien at kjo2@humboldt.edu.  For more information, go to http://www.humboldt.edu/disability/.  Please be aware that some accommodations may take up to several weeks to arrange.

Disruptive Behavior
According to HSU policy, “any student who has neglected the work of the course or is disruptive to the educational process may be excluded from a course. . . .  Disruptive student behavior in the classroom is defined as behavior which interrupts, obstructs, or inhibits the teaching and learning process. The faculty member determines what is disruptive and has a duty to terminate it. Disruptive behavior may take many forms: persistent questioning, incoherent comments, verbal attacks, unrecognized speaking out, incessant arguing, intimidating shouting, and inappropriate gestures. . . .  Faculty also have the authority and responsibility to establish rules to maintain order, and to eject students from the course temporarily for violation of the rules or misconduct.”  Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding attendance and disruptive behavior.  For more information, click on the link below:
http://www.humboldt.edu/studentrights/attendance_behavior.php

Under the category of rude and discourteous behavior, I would add such old standbys as inattentiveness, attending to personal grooming, and reading the newspaper--as well as newer forms of electronic rudeness like e-mailing, texting, Tweeting, web surfing, and checking your Facebook page. Please take care of all that on your own time, not class time.

Social conventions and ideas about manners and etiquette change with time and context, I know. But (here comes a "You kids get off of my lawn!" rant): where I come from, wandering in and out of class without at least muttering a sheepish "excuse me" is just plain impolite. Same goes for any number of technology-assisted uncouth behaviors, usually committed by troubled addicts who can't go 5 minutes without exchanging a text or a Facebook message with their BFF (or worse, their mom). If you're using a smartphone, pad, netbook or laptop to do class-related research or to Google some unfamiliar vocab, that's cool; we'll all want to hear what you came up with. Otherwise, it's not. Turn it off.

Add/Drop policy 
Students are responsible for knowing University policy, procedures, and schedules for dropping or adding classes.  For more information see:
http://sorrel.humboldt.edu/registrar/students/regulations/schedadjust.html

To sum up
In the end, I’m asking you only to be reasonably disciplined and responsible in your approach to this course.  Please consider any and all obligations you have in addition to your course load.  I strongly advise you not to commit to more than you can realistically accomplish in the next fifteen weeks (you’re working 30 hours a week?  and you’re on the volleyball team? and you’re the choreographer for an upcoming production of The Sound of Music?  and you’re carrying 20 units?—what are you, crazy?), but if you do, please recognize that you set your own priorities, and that I can’t and won’t cut private deals with you based on your individual circumstances—particularly when those circumstances are of your own making. (Medical emergencies that turn ugly and/or lengthy are a different kettle of fish; in such instances, I may be open to making special accommodations. But let's hope such situations simply don't arise for anyone in our midst!)

Safety information and emergency evacuation
Please review the evacuation plan for the classroom (posted on the orange signs) and review Campus Emergency Preparedness procedures by following the link below:
http://www.humboldt.edu/emergencymgmtprogram/campus_emergency_preparedness.php 

Information on campus closures and emergency information can be found at:  826-INFO (4636) or http://www.humboldt.edu/humboldt/emergency.  Try to avoid calling University Police for campus status information.

Exits, rally points, and EAP’s

• In each classroom or lab, identify the exit(s). Take note of alternate exits including doors and windows.
• Faculty and students must know how to get to the class “Rally Point” immediately outside the building. This is usually a commonly known outdoor landmark such as a specific walkway, staircase, fountain, or planter. Gather and count heads.  For this course we will gather outside the Natural Resources Building as our rallying point.
• Emergency Assembly Points (EAP’s) are for gathering people when our buildings aren’t safe to occupy (e.g. a following a major earthquake).  Each class should head there to organize themselves. Police arrival at EAP’s will be delayed.  For this course we will gather at the Lower Playfield, outside and across 17th Street from the Natural Resources Building.

What to do for the “Big Three”

• Earthquake: Duck, cover, and hold until the shaking stops. After shaking stops, head to Rally Point.
• Fire Alarm: Evacuate whether there is smoke and/or fire or not. Head to Rally Point.
• Gunshots/Criminal Activity: If at all possible, get out and get away.  Don’t linger at Rally Point.  If you absolutely can’t get out, lock the door and shelter in place.

Power outage procedures

• When electrical power is first interrupted, individual faculty members are responsible for deciding on a class-by-class basis, if the class should continue, be relocated, or be canceled.  I will tell you in class or, if class has not yet begun, post outside the classroom what to do in the event of a power outage.
• If the power outage appears likely to continue for several hours or longer, campus-wide information about continuing/suspending classes will be disseminated from the President through deans, departments, and chairs. Call this number for recorded information: 826-4636.

Students must get themselves prepared

• The North Coast is prone to earthquakes, severe weather, road slides, and utility interruptions. The campus cannot feed/shelter all of our students.
• Every student must store sealed bottled water, non-perishable food, flashlight, and a battery-operated radio.  More information is available atwww.prepare.org.
• Interested students may seek specialized training from the American Red Cross and/or by applying to Humboldt’s Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Learn North Coast safety risks

• River safety:  Take river safety training. Study the river with an experienced friend.  Watch for “sweeper” branches that can hold you under water. Stay sober.
• Coastal safety: Keep an eye on the ocean and for “sneaker” waves that may be 2-3 times larger than the surf pattern.  Sneaker waves pull victims out to sea every year. Hypothermia and powerful currents are deadly threats.  If the water draws down low or you hear a loud roar, head to higher ground immediately.

• Earthquake: duck, cover, and hold on during strong shaking. After shaking stops, evacuate.
• Tsunami: If you are at the beach and feel strong shaking, head to higher ground immediately. If you hear that a warning is in effect, evacuate ONLY if you are in a coastal zone (the HSU main campus is not in a coastal zone).