Middlebury

ANTH 0221

Indigenous Peoples of Americas

Indigenous Peoples of the Americas
This course introduces students to the indigenous peoples of North and South America, from before European conquest to the present. Following a brief look at the mound-builders of North America, we will explore the connection between social stratification, religious ideology, and imperial expansion in the political economy of the Aztecs and the Incas. Ethnographies of Quechua peasants in the Peruvian Andes, Yanomami Indians in the Amazon, and Oglala Sioux in the Dakotas will show how contemporary Native Americans are dealing with the never-ending process of colonialism. How Europeans have imagined indigenous peoples has had a profound impact on how the latter defend themselves. The resulting images of authenticity and resistance have always been double-edged. The course will conclude with the debate over the reservation paradigm in the U.S. 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Subject:
Anthropology
Department:
Anthropology
Division:
Social Sciences
Requirements Fulfilled:
AMR CMP SOC
Equivalent Courses:

Sections

Fall 2022

ANTH0221A-F22 Lecture (Stoll)