Waikato Home
HISTY302-23A (HAM)
Blood, Land, DNA: Contemporary Indigenous Histories and Archives
15 Points
Staff
Convenor(s)
|
Sam Iti Prendergast
J.3.12
samiti.prendergast@waikato.ac.nz
|
|
Administrator(s)
Librarian(s)
You can contact staff by:
- Calling +64 7 838 4466 select option 1, then enter the extension.
-
Extensions starting with 4, 5, 9 or 3 can also be direct dialled:
- For extensions starting with 4: dial +64 7 838 extension.
- For extensions starting with 5: dial +64 7 858 extension.
- For extensions starting with 9: dial +64 7 837 extension.
- For extensions starting with 3: dial +64 7 2620 + the last 3 digits of the extension e.g. 3123 = +64 7 262 0123.
What this paper is about
Blood, Land, DNA focuses on Indigenous experiences in North America, Aotearoa, Australia, and the wider Pacific from the mid-nineteenth century up until the present day. Throughout we address four core questions: What has it meant to be Indigenous at different times and in different settler colonies? How have settler colonial states tried to control the terms of Indigeneity, and why? How have Indigenous peoples navigated around and resisted ongoing colonization? And what role has DNA science played in Indigenous peoples lives, especially in the very recent past?
We will examine attempts by settler governments to impose racial categories onto Indigenous nations and communities, and we will interrogate the motivations underpinning settler state policies and actions directed at Indigenous peoples. This course moves across historical periods, from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century, in order to draw continuity between early attempts to control Indigenous “populations” and modern attempts to determine who is and is not Indigenous. However, we will not be moving in a chronological order! Instead, we are going to begin by looking at the most recent thirty years in order to identify some of the key contemporary debates animating current Indigenous activism and scholarship. When we turn to the mid-nineteenth and early-mid twentieth centuries, we will keep recent and present-day issues in mind.
As we move through the semester we will pay close attention to the ways that Indigenous individuals, activists, nations, tribes, and communities have defined, re-defined, and experienced Indigenous citizenship in the context of settler colonialism. We will consider how the terms of Indigenous belonging differ across regions, nations, tribes, and time periods. This course will not offer a rosy-eyed view of Indigenous resistance. We take, as a starting point, the reality that the mechanisms of settler colonialism have had damaging impacts on Native and Indigenous communities. But we will also acknowledge the many ways in which Indigenous people have pushed against the mechanisms of settler colonialism. The tension between settler desires and Indigenous survival animates this course.
Contemporary Indigenous historians frequently work outside of traditional historical archives and so the paper is designed to introduce students to a broad range of archival materials and archives, from rivers, to art, to online videos.
How this paper will be taught
We will meet twice weekly for a two hour lecture and a one hour workshop. HISTY302 is designed as a kanohi ki te kanohi / face to face class and regular attendance at lectures and in workshops is expected.
As this class is designed for students from a broad range of disciplines I have not assumed any prior experience with historical research. As such, we will learn the methods and skills of Indigenous history in workshops that complement our lectures.
Lectures in this paper will be recorded and uploaded to Moodle, but please be aware that lectures will often be discussion-based and/or interactive. Workshops will focus on the ins and outs of Indigenous history research and will guide students through the assessments. In the second half of the trimester we will often use the workshops to discuss your independent research projects.
If you will have trouble attending class in person please email me before the beginning of trimester and we can discuss your options.
Please note that workshops begin in Week 1.
A note on reading:
Throughout the semester we will read works of Indigenous history, anthropology, sociology, and political science. Some authors will write in styles that are very familiar; other authors will write in ways that you have not encountered and that you might not enjoy. This class is an exercise in sticking with texts regardless of whether or not we enjoy them. Sometimes the readings in this course might seem dense, difficult, and frustrating—we will fight the urge to dismiss these texts and, instead, stay with them in the hopes of teasing out meaning. Sticking with difficult secondary literature helps to train our brains in preparation for reading primary sources: and this is a primary source heavy class!
Most weeks you will be expected to read primary source material alongside our secondary literature. The primary source readings are not supplementary: they are central to the lectures and will be at the centre of our workshop discussions. All of the assessment tasks in this class require you to work with primary sources, so it is in your interest to use the seminar as a place to experiment with primary source interpretation.
Required Readings
Required readings will be available via Moodle. They may also be posted on Reading Lists, but please rely on Moodle as the primary resource for this paper.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the course should be able to:
Assessments
How you will be assessed
The internal assessment/exam ratio (as stated in the University Calendar) is 100:0. There is no final exam.