American Studies 229 - NATIVE NEW ENGLAND

In this course we will interrogate the space we now know as ?New England? as a land with histories, peoples, and life ways that predate and exceed the former English colonies and the lineaments of the current United States. We will devote our semester to learning about the cultural distinctiveness of the Native peoples of New England--for example, the Mohawk, Mohegan, Abenaki, Wampanoag, and Shaghticoke--and to understanding the historical processes of encounter, adaptation, resistance, and renewal that have characterized Native life in the area for centuries. We will explore histories of the pre- and post- ?contact? period through the perspectives of various Native communities, and discuss the legacies of these histories for Native New England today.