Introduction to the Indigenous Oral Literatures of the Northwest Coast of North America
HDS 3664
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
This course introduces students to the indigenous oral literatures of the Northwest Coast of North America. After overviewing the cultural history and linguistic diversity of the region, we will embark on a series of case studies focusing on Clackamas Chinook, Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuxalk, and Haida oral traditions. We will read narratives regarding the origins of the world and of the societies that inhabit it; accounts of heroic journeys to otherworldly realms above the sky and beneath the sea; shamanic initiation stories; and oral histories of migration, intertribal diplomacy, and early interactions with Europeans. Attention will be devoted to the formidable interpretive challenges that indigenous oral traditions pose when they are studied in the Western academy, as well as to the ethical complexities of this endeavor. It is hoped that students will gain an appreciation for the immense cultural diversity of the Northwest Coast’s indigenous peoples and for the vastness of their oral-literary heritage.
Course Notes
Jointly offered with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as FOLKMYTH 125.
Not Available for BTI Cross Registration
Not Available for Cross Registration
Religion and Ecology
Religion, Literature, and Culture
Religion and the Social Sciences
