Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2024 - HIST 325 D100

History of Aboriginal Peoples of North America to 1850 (4)

Class Number: 5801

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 4 – Dec 3, 2024: Thu, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units, including six units of lower division history.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines selected themes in the history of Aboriginal peoples of North America from first contact with Europeans to the mid-nineteenth century. Students with credit for FNST 325 may not take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course is a broad overview of the history of the Indigenous Peoples of what is currently Canada and the United States, from the beginnings in deep time up until the early nineteenth century. While considering the coherence of the original peoples of this continent, both in their own self-understanding and in the eyes of newcomers, special attention will be given to the diversity of communities and individuals that came to be categorized as “Indian,” as well as to the great variety of non-Indigenous communities, individuals, and colonialisms that engaged with them. Another focus will be on the agency of Indigenous Peoples in shaping their history. Finally, throughout the course we will examine how our present moment in these settler societies has been shaped by this history, as well as how the truths currently coming to light are in turn helping us to view the past differently.

Themes and topics will include pre-European contact societies and worldviews, ecological encounters between continents and peoples, economic exchanges, political and military alliances, religious encounters and exchanges, policy and law, the social construction of race and other identities, the place of Indigenous Peoples in the culture and politics of colonialism, and Indigenous strategies of resistance, accommodation, and survival.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

The course requirements of History 325 will help you achieve the educational goals of undergraduate courses in the Department of History. By the end of the course, you will be able

  • to understand “Indigenous issues” such as residential schools, treaties and land claims, and environmental justice, and how these issues affect all of us who call this continent home
  • to understand broad patterns and diversities of Indigenous and settler experiences in the US and Canada
  • to work with diverse primary and secondary sources, primarily by Indigenous authors, including the ability to read the archive “against the grain”

Grading

  • Participation 15%
  • Thomas King Reading Response 25%
  • Essay Assignment #1 20%
  • Essay Assignment #2 20%
  • Take-Home Exam 20%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Brooks, Lisa. Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018.

King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2003.

Merrell, James H., ed. The Lancaster Treaty of 1744: With Related Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2008.

Please note that the third book can be purchased as an e-coursepack at the SFU Bookstore.


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website 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

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.