Education Studies 262 - Decolonial Undergrounds

What do punk rock, heavy metal, skateboarding, hip-hop, comedy, and alternative education movements have to teach us about Indigenous liberation? This course frames subcultural communities led by historically colonized but inherently sovereign people as vital movements that teach us about justice, equity, and anti-racism. Bringing Native American and Indigenous Studies in conversation with theories of liberatory learning and subcultural sociality, this course aims to foster a deep understanding of how Indigenous and minoritized people agitate for collective rights while dynamically practicing ancestral knowledge. Transdisciplinary by design and global in scope, this course examines scholarly writing and subcultural productions like art, music, film, podcasts, and narratives from Turtle Island/Abya Yala (the Americas), moana nui-a-kiwa (Oceania), Africa, and Southeast Asia to foster historical, contemporary, and global understandings of key issues in Native American and Indigenous Studies. These include coloniality of power, cisheteropatriarchy, environmental justice, cultural resurgence, and tribal sovereignty. Course materials prioritize Indigenous queer, two-spirit, feminist, and Global South perspectives while activities emphasize critical and creative engagement with course concepts. Utilizing decolonizing methodologies, we will engage with subcultural texts in ways that enable us to theorize their relevance to Indigenous struggles for self-determination, rather than normative inclusion in oppressive systems. Embodying key principles in Indigenous education like courageous engagement and relationality, this course will center community-responsive pedagogy, critical reflection, discussion, and the application of key concepts. It will culminate in a creative community-sustaining project that will develop our capacity to build good relationship with Indigenous and minoritized communities, as well as artists, activists, elders, and youth. 

Limited to 20 students. Fall semester. Prof. Noah Romero.