Academics

Welcome Indigenous students and those interested in Indigenous peoples. We support Indigenous students to succeed in a wide array of degree programs that bring direct benefits to their home communities, and prepare them to be future scholars and professionals. A certificate or degree in Indigenous Studies is not yet available, however, a number of degree programs offer Indigenous related courses and emphases from the bachelors to doctoral degree.

This course listing provides brief information about courses with primarily indigenous content and those with some content. For semesters and times offered follow the informational links or go to the University course schedule.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES WITH PRIMARILY INDIGENOUS CONTENT

Global Imperial-Indigenous Encounters: 1500 to the Present
| WHO 4264 | Jenna Gibbs | History | More Information |
Examines how indigenous peoples and imperial settlers interacted with each other across the globe from the fifteenth century to the present, encompassing case studies from North and South America, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, and utilizing indigenous sources of oral histories, memoirs, and art.

Quechua I
FOL 3930 U01 Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center. More Information. Interested in learning more about Andean language and culture? This class offers the opportunity to learn the Quechua language through Centro Tinku, an academic center in Cusco, Peru. Students will have remote classes with Instructor Regina Tupacyupanqui Arredondo and learn the basics of Quechua. No previous knowledge of Quechua required. Registration is open to students from Florida International University.

Global Women’s Writing: Gendered Experiences across Societies and Cultures WST 3120 / Michaela Moura-Koçoglu / Center for Women’s and Gender Studies / More information here: https:/womenstudies.fiu.edu

Global Women’s Writing provides a critical introduction to global women’s writing, examining the literary representation of gendered experiences in societies and cultures across the globe. Against a critical feminist analysis, students will examine the ways in which women writers address cultural, social and political issues at the intersection of gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, and/or nationality. We will analyze Indigenous writers of Australian Aboriginal, Guatemalan, Mozambican, and Egyptian novels and texts.

Study Abroad: Searching for Reciprocity in Japan ~Learning from Edo and Ainu Society.

IDH 4008-EA7-C Masako Kubota. Honors College.

This study abroad program in the summer of 2017 examines the reciprocal society in Edo and Ainu society in Japan from 1600 to the present. Using a multi-perspective approach, a focus is on the spiritual interaction between nature and the Ainu people, who have a reciprocal life style. Students travel to the Ainu community on the island of Hokkaido. This is the village of the Ainu who visited and performed at FIU in November 2016.

Native American Religions REL 3380 ONLINE Religious Studies|

Overview of American Indian groups regionally throughout North America focusing on beliefs and practices related to the circle, sacred lands, environment, US and International laws.

GRADUATE COURSES WITH PRIMARILY INDIGENOUS CONTENT

Ethnohistorical Research Methods ANG 6480 Dennis Wiedman | More Information |

To understand the present and future one must know the past. This course emphasizes time, process and sociocultural context for understanding the human experience. Ethnohistorical research methods facilitate the compilation and analysis of a wide array of sources created a day ago, or thousands of years ago. Students will be immersed in a variety of data sources and taught the skills to combine written texts, material objects, graphic images, interviews, internet sites and ethnographic fieldnotes. Triangulation and mixed methods builds a chronological and diachronic interpretation of source materials, validates their integrity, and places them in social and cultural context. Compiling, organizing and coding primary data sources with NVivo software, the student learns to generate innovative visualizations, explanations and interpretations. Includes Indigenous methodologies and students can choose to be guided in an Indigenous research project.

Latin America Seminar

ANG 6339. Cross-listed with GEA 6409 Landscapes of Violence and Healing in the Americas. Juliet Erazo

Graduate seminar examines issues pertaining to Latin America’s Indigenous and Afro-descendent populations, focusing on South America and Mexico/Guatemala. Examines the suffering associated with historically marginalized racial groups and identities prior to and after the advent of multiculturalism. Compares ideas about indigeneity, whiteness, and blackness and whether state-promoted multiculturalism and neoliberalism have or have not profoundly changed these ideas. Evaluates solutions for empowerment currently promoted by Indigenous and Afro-descendent intellectuals. Collaboratively develop student proposals for research on Indigenous, Afro-descendent, or other historically marginalized groups.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES WITH SOME INDIGENOUS CONTENT

Early American History.

AMH 3012. Jenna Gibbs

The American social colonial experience from the Spanish, French, and British settlements to the eve of the revolution. Emphasis is on religion, social structure, politics, and slavery. Includes historical encounters between Indigenous groups and Europeans including the Spanish with the Carib and Arawak, the Florida Timucua and Calusa; the French with the Huron and Iroquois; and the English with the northeastern Algonquins and Wabanki.

Introduction to East Asia / Global Learning Course

ASN 3410 (U06)| Masako Kubota | Asian Studies |More Information |

This introductory course examines the region of East Asia, focusing on the culture and societal life of Japan, China and South Korea. It covers Ainu, an original ethnic group of Japan, their history, culture and ethnic tourism in Hokkaido.

Japanese Culture and Society/ Global Learning Course

JPN 3500 | Masako Kubota | Modern Languages |More Information | | JPN 3500 | RVC | Online Course | Masako Kubota |

This course is intended to provide students with a broad overview of Japanese society from 1603 to 1868 called Edo period. It covers Ainu, an original ethnic group of Japan, their history, culture and Ainu poetry translated by Yukie Chiri.

Medical Anthropology

ANT 3462 - U01. Dennis Wiedman. More information.

Medical anthropology is concerned with human life and wellness. Course stresses the importance of social and cultural factors in governing the type and frequency of disease in a population, the way people explain and treat disease, the way people adapt to changing environments, and the manner in which persons respond and relate to the delivery of modern medicine. Cross-cultural comparisons of health and health care systems around the world highlights Native American health, healing, and the global pandemic of obesity, diabetes and the corona virus.

Myth, Ritual and Mysticism

ANT 3241 | ONLINE

Indigenous content when taught by Juliet Erazo. Global and Socicultural Studies. Anthropological approaches to the study of myth, ritual, and mysticism, as religious and symbolic systems. The social and psychological functions of myth and ritual in small-scale and complex societies will be compared.

Societies in the World

SYP 3456 | ONLINE | Indigenous content when taught by Katherine Lineberger | Global and Sociocultural Studies |

Introduction to the study of local societies in worldwide perspectives particularly environmentally related issues in the context of globalization with an emphasis on the position and issues of Indigenous peoples.

World Ethnographies

ANT 3212 | Indigenous content when taught by Juliet Erazo or Mitzi Carter | Global and Sociocultural Studies|

Introduces students to ethnography, which is the art of writing culture. Teaches students to compare and contrast cultures through ethnographic reading, writing, and critiques.

Healers and Mediums

REL 3185 ONLINE |

Exposes students to an overview of healing types from global religious practices and rituals that usually occur outside the mainstream medical normative standards in the US and Europe. Examines shamanism, ethnobotany of plants used in healing, use of animals in healing, and paranormal psychological phenomena such as reincarnation. Many of the traditional healing methods arise from indigenous groups in the Americas as well as global groups.

PREVIOUS YEARS COURSE OFFERINGS

Summer 2017 Courses

Study Abroad: Searching for Reciprocity in Japan ~Learning from Edo and Ainu Society.

IDH 4008-EA7-C Masako Kubota. Honors College.

This study abroad program in the summer of 2017 examines the reciprocal society in Edo and Ainu society in Japan from 1600 to the present. Using a multi-perspective approach, a focus is on the spiritual interaction between nature and the Ainu people, who have a reciprocal life style. Students travel to the Ainu community on the island of Hokkaido. This is the village of the Ainu who visited and performed at FIU in November 2016.

Native American Religions

REL 3380 ONLINE Religious Studies| Overview of American Indian groups regionally throughout North America focusing on beliefs and practices related to the circle, sacred lands, environment, US and International laws.

Fall 2017 Course

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES WITH PRIMARILY INDIGENOUS CONTENT

Global Women’s Writing: Gendered Experiences across Societies and Cultures WST 3120 / Michaela Moura-Koçoglu / Center for Women’s and Gender Studies / More information here: https://womenstudies.fiu.edu/

Global Women’s Writing provides a critical introduction to global women’s writing, examining the literary representation of gendered experiences in societies and cultures across the globe. Against a critical feminist analysis, students will examine the ways in which women writers address cultural, social and political issues at the intersection of gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, and/or nationality. We will analyze Indigenous writers of Australian Aboriginal, Guatemalan, Mozambican, and Egyptian novels and texts.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES WITH SOME INDIGENOUS CONTENT

Introduction to East Asia / Global Learning Course

SN 3410 (U06)| Masako Kubota | Asian Studies |More Information | This introductory course examines the region of East Asia, focusing on the culture and societal life of Japan, China and South Korea. It covers Ainu, an original ethnic group of Japan, their history, culture and ethnic tourism in Hokkaido.

Japanese Culture and Society/ Global Learning Course | JPN 3500 | Masako Kubota | Modern Languages | More Information | | JPN 3500 | RVC | Online Course | Masako Kubota | This course is intended to provide students with a broad overview of Japanese society from 1603 to 1868 called Edo period. It covers Ainu, an original ethnic group of Japan, their history, culture and Ainu poetry translated by Yukie Chiri.

Myth, Ritual and Mysticism | ANT 3241 | ONLINE Indigenous content when taught by Juliet Erazo or Hugh Gladwin. Global and Socicultural Studies. Anthropological approaches to the study of myth, ritual, and mysticism, as religious and symbolic systems. The social and psychological functions of myth and ritual in small-scale and complex societies will be compared.

Societies in the World | SYP 3456 | ONLINE | Indigenous content when taught by Katherine Lineberger | Global and Sociocultural Studies | Introduction to the study of local societies in worldwide perspectives particularly environmentally related issues in the context of globalization with an emphasis on the position and issues of Indigenous peoples.

World Ethnographies | ANT 3212 | Indigenous content when taught by Juliet Erazo | Global and Sociocultural Studies| Introduces students to ethnography, which is the art of writing culture. Teaches students to compare and contrast cultures through ethnographic reading, writing, and critiques.

Global Environment and Society | EVR 1017 Jim Riach | A multidisciplinary examination of the varied relationships between humans and their environment that exist across diverse cultures from around the world. What the ways of life and worldviews of traditional cultures, particularly indigenous peoples, can teach the more dominant global societies about sustainability and quality of life.

Healers and Mediums | REL 3185 ONLINE | MaryLou Pfeiffer |

Magic and Religions | REL 3075 ONLINE | Erin Weston |More Information More Information | Course explores the concepts of magic, witchcraft, divination, ecstatic states, and the supernatural in a variety of cultural and religious contexts from around the world, including many indigenous traditions.

GRADUATE COURSE WITH INDIGENOUS CONTENT

Ethnohistorical Research Methods

ANG 6480 Dennis Wiedman. Wednesday 11:00 to 1:50. | More Information | To understand the present and future one must know the past. This course emphasizes time, process and sociocultural context for understanding the human experience. Ethnohistorical research methods facilitate the compilation and analysis of a wide array of sources created a day ago, or thousands of years ago. Students will be immersed in a variety of data sources and taught the skills to combine written texts, material objects, graphic images, interviews, internet sites and ethnographic fieldnotes. Triangulation and mixed methods builds a chronological and diachronic interpretation of source materials, validates their integrity, and places them in social and cultural context. Compiling, organizing and coding primary data sources with NVivo software, the student learns to generate innovative visualizations, explanations and interpretations. Includes Indigenous methodologies and students can choose to be guided in an Indigenous research project.

Spring 2017 Courses

American Indian Ethnology
| ANT 4312 | Dennis Wiedman | Global and Sociocultural Studies | More Information |
Key concepts and methods in the comparative study of American Indian history, culture, art, and contemporary issues of governance, economics, health, and media. Native North Americans are emphasized and compared to contemporary issues of Indigenous peoples of the world.

Global Imperial-Indigenous Encounters: 1500 to the Present
| WHO 4264 | Jenna Gibbs | History | More Information |
Examines how indigenous peoples and imperial settlers interacted with each other across the globe from the fifteenth century to the present, encompassing case studies from North and South America, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, and utilizing indigenous sources of oral histories, memoirs, and art.

Latin American Environmental Issues
| EVR 3003 | David Bray | Earth and Environment | More Information |
Overview of historical and emerging environmental issues in Latin American countries. Themes covered include environmental history, urban pollution, tropical deforestation, and indigenous peoples.

Searching for Reciprocity in Japan ~Learning from Edo and Ainu Community
| IDH 4007-EA3 | Masako Kubota | Honors College |
This class is designed as the preparation for the Study Abroad Program in 2017 summer. It examines the reciprocal society in Edo and Ainu society in Japan from 1600 to 1868, the Tokugawa years—also known as Edo period. Using a multi-perspective approach, a focus is on the spiritual interaction between nature and the Ainu people, who have a reciprocal life style.

Native American Religions
| REL 3380 | ONLINE | MaryLou Pfeiffer | Religious Studies | More Information |
Overview of American Indian groups regionally throughout North America focusing on beliefs and practices related to the circle, sacred lands, environment, US and International laws.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES WITH SOME INDIGENOUS CONTENT

Introduction to East Asia / Global Learning Course
| ASN 3410 (U06) | Masako Kubota | Asian Studies | More Information |
This introductory course examines the region of East Asia, focusing on the culture and societal life of Japan, China and South Korea. It covers Ainu, an original ethnic group of Japan, their history, culture and ethnic tourism in Hokkaido.

Japanese Culture and Society/ Global Learning Course
| JPN 3500 | Masako Kubota | Modern Languages | More Information |
| JPN 3500 | RVC | Online Course | Masako Kubota |
This course is intended to provide students with a broad overview of Japanese society from 1603 to 1868 called Edo period. It covers Ainu, an original ethnic group of Japan, their history, culture and Ainu poetry translated by Yukie Chiri.

Myth, Ritual and Mysticism
| ANT 3241 | ONLINE Indigenous content when taught by Juliet Erazo. Global and Socicultural Studies. Anthropological approaches to the study of myth, ritual, and mysticism, as religious and symbolic systems. The social and psychological functions of myth and ritual in small-scale and complex societies will be compared.

Societies in the World
| SYP 3456 | ONLINE | Indigenous content when taught by Katherine Lineberger | Global and Sociocultural Studies |
Introduction to the study of local societies in worldwide perspectives particularly environmentally related issues in the context of globalization with an emphasis on the position and issues of Indigenous peoples.

Studies in Colonial and Early American Literature
| AML 4213 | Martha Schoolman | English |
Course emphasizes stories of Euro-American-Native American conflict from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, written from both Native and Euro-American points of view. The Pequot War, King Phillip’s War, and the Indian Removal Act serve as key historical signposts.

World Ethnographies
| ANT 3212 | Indigenous content when taught by Juliet Erazo | Global and Sociocultural Studies|
Introduces students to ethnography, which is the art of writing culture. Teaches students to compare and contrast cultures through ethnographic reading, writing, and critiques

GRADUATE COURSE WITH INDIGENOUS CONTENT

Integrated Solutions for Water in Environment and Development
| EVR 5332 | Elizabeth Anderson | Earth and Environment |
Examines the theory and practice of integrated water resources management, focusing on science, policy, and socioeconomic themes evaluated through case studies from different regions and Indigenous peoples of the world. Emphasis given to environmental elements.

Fall 2016 Courses

Native Traditions and the Environment
| EVR 4934-U03/5935-U03 | MWF 4:00 - 4:50 PM | FIU MMC, PC 447 | Jim Riach | More Information |
Course focuses on knowledge and traditions (Traditional Ecological Knowledges or TEK’s) that have been transmitted across multiple generations through oral stories, and traditional beliefs and practices, especially those regarding the relationship with the natural environment.

Spring 2016 Courses

Introduction to East Asia/ Global Learning Course
| ASN 3410-U01 | MWF/ 12:00-12:50, DM 164 | Spring 2016 | Masako Kubota | More Information |
This introductory course will examine the region of East Asia, focusing the culture and societal life of Japan, China and South Korea. We cover Ainu, an indigenous ethnic group from the northern areas of Japan, their history, culture and ethnic tourism in Hokkaido.

Japanese Culture and Society/ Global Learning Course
| JPN 3500-U02 | MWF/ 11:00-11:50/ GC 279A | Spring 2016 | Masako Kubota | More Information |
|JPN 3500- RVC, Online Course| Masako Kubota |
This course is intended to provide students with a broad overview of Japanese society from 1603 to 1868 called Edo period. Japanese indigenous people called Ainu and their culture and society will be introduced in DVD also.

Japanese Literature and Cinema
| JPT 3521-U01 | MWF/ 10:00-10:50/ GC 271A | Spring 2016 | Masako Kubota | More Information |
This course offers an overview of Japanese literature and film spanning from 12th century to the contemporary period. Ainu Literature will be introduced by the Ainu Shin’yoshu written by Chiri Yukie.

Fall 2015 Courses

World Ethnographies
| ANT 3212 | Fall 2015 | Juliet Erazo or Claire Oueslati-Porter |

Women in Latin American Art
| ARH 3873 | Fall 2015 | Carol Damian | More Information |
Art from Pre-Columbian beginnings to today. Emphasizes painting and sculpture of the twentieth century and Indigenous artists especially Inka Coya.

Introduction to East Asia
| ASN 3410 (U01) | Fall 2015 | Masako Kubota | More Information |
This introductory course when taught by Masako Kubota examines the region of East Asia, focusing the culture and societal life of Japan, China and South Korea. We cover Ainu, an Indigenous ethnic group from the northern areas of Japan, their history, culture and ethnic tourism in Hokkaido.

Global Environment and Society
| EVR 1017 | Fall 2015 | Jim Riach |
A multidisciplinary examination of the varied relationships between humans and their environment that exist across diverse cultures from around the world. What the ways of life and worldviews of traditional cultures, particularly indigenous peoples, can teach the more dominant global societies about sustainability and quality of life.

Healers and Mediums
| REL 3185 | Fall 2015 | ONLINE | MaryLou Pfeiffer |

Magic and Religions
| REL 3075 | Fall 2015 | ONLINE | Erin Weston | More Information |
Course explores the concepts of magic, witchcraft, divination, ecstatic states, and the supernatural in a variety of cultural and religious contexts from around the world, including many indigenous traditions.

Societies in the World
| SYP 3456 | ONLINE | Katherine Lineberger |
Introduction to the study of local societies in worldwide perspectives particularly environmentally related issues in the context of globalization with an emphasis on the position and issues of Indigenous peoples.

Ethnohistorical Research Methods
| ANG 6480 | Fall 2015 | Dennis Wiedman | More Information |
Mixed methods approaches to using historical documents and archives such as photographs, interviews, fieldnotes, videos, and blogs. Includes Indigenous methodologies and readings. Students can choose an Indigenous research project.

Japanese Culture and Society
| JPN 3500 | Fall 2015 | Masako Kubota | More Information |
Includes Ainu culture.

This course when taught by Masako Kubota provides students with a broad overview of Japanese society from 1603 to 1868 called the Edo period. Japanese indigenous people called Ainu, their culture and society will be introduced with lecture and video

Japanese Literature and Cinema
| JPT 3521 | Fall 2015 | Masako Kubota | More Information |
Includes Ainu Poetry and video.

This course when taught by Masako Kubota offers an overview of Japanese literature and film spanning from 12th century to the contemporary period. Ainu Literature will be introduced by the Ainu Shin’yoshu written by Chiri Yukie.

Spring 2015 Courses

Anthropology through Film: Indigenous Issues, Voices and Perspectives
| ANT 4391-U01 | Spring 2015 | MMC | Wednesdays | 12:00PM - 2:50PM | Dennis Wiedman | More information |

Seminar on Latin America: Latin American Indigenous Peoples’ Experiences, Cultures and Political Struggles
| ANG 6339 | Spring 2015 | MMC | Wednesdays | 11 AM - 1:45 PM | Juliet Erazo | More Information |

Indigenous and Environmental Issues in the Andean Amazon
| EVR 4934/5935 LASS 5933 | Semester | MMC | Jim Riach | More Information |

Peruvian Amazon Service Research Study Abroad
| IDH 4007/4008 | Semester | MMC | Jim Riach | More Information |

Complex Litigation
| LAW 7308 | Spring 2015 | MMC | Mon-Wed | 3:30PM - 4:45PM | Manuel Gomez | More Information |

Comparative Indigenous Religions of the Americas
Natives of North America, Mayas of Central America, Aymaras and Quechuas of the Andes.
| RLG 5937 – REL 4937-U06. | Spring 2015 | MMC | Mondays | 5:00 - 9:05 PM | Ana Maria Bidegain | More Information |

Native American Religions
| REL 3380 | Spring 2015 | ONLINE | MaryLou Pfeiffer | More information |