Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2021 - INDG 101 E100

Introduction to Indigenous Studies (3)

Class Number: 4578

Delivery Method: Remote

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: Wed, 5:30–8:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Madeleine Reddon Potvin
    mreddonp@sfu.ca
    Office Hours: Zoom – Thursdays: 10am – 11am. Students will be able to show up to the weekly zoom and ask questions, acquire help with the readings, and ask questions about the course content.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Introduces the nature and goals of Indigenous Studies as an academic discipline that emphasizes cultures and homelands of First Peoples. Students with credit for FNST 101 may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Humanities/Social Sciences.

COURSE DETAILS:

To survey pre-contact, historic and current events relating to the First Peoples and communities of Turtle Island and the impacts that contact/colonization have on First Peoples’ abilities to survive and thrive as distinct Indigenous peoples. Students will consider First Nations’ perspectives on everything from the importance of family, languages and connections to the land as well as the oral traditions, Indigenous community identities, Residential Schools, resilience, revitalization, and their own roles in reconciliation. Students will deliberate on the impacts of policy making on First Nations’ lives and the actions that First Peoples continue to take to counter these detrimental forces on theirs and their Nations’ futurities. Indigenous pedagogies that center on the building of respectful relationships will be utilized throughout the semester towards providing a safe environment in which to take up, in meaningful ways, the work that needs to be done by all before reconciliation can begin.

*This course syllabus and delivery of it has grown out of the INDG 101 course designed by Drs. annie ross and Marianne Ignace. It has been adapted by Joyce Schneider, Treena Chambers, and Madeleine Reddon.

Grading

  • Participation (5 x 1%) 5%
  • Activities and Quizzes (4 x 5% each) 20%
  • Group Timeline Assignment (1 x 10%) 10%
  • Medicine Wheel Pedagogy Paper Assignment 25%
  • Tests (2 x 20% each) 40%
  • There is NO final exam

NOTES:

Please note the class time is synchronous,* Wednesdays from 5:30-8:20pm

*Synchronous means that the class happens at the same time every week.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

There is no course text. All readings are available online through Canvas. Additional readings may be provided/presented in class.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021

Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).