History 368 S01D: History and Culture of the American Indian
South Dakota State University, summer 2013
Internet/Online Course Syllabus, 3 Credit Hours
*This is a tentative draft and does not constitute the full syllabus*
Instructor: Dale Potts, Ph.D.
Phone: 688-4903
Office: 116 West Hall
Office Hours: D2L InsideState email addresses until 6:00 pm, Monday – Friday + weekends.
Course texts:
Calloway, Colin.First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History.4th
ed.New York:Bedford/St.Martins, 2012.
Bettelyoun, Susan Bordeaux and Josephine Waggoner.With My Own Eyes: A Lakota Woman
Tells Her People's History.Emily Levine, ed. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999.
Deloria, Ella Cara.Waterlily. Lincoln: University of Nebraka Press, 2009.
Starita, Joe.The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002.
This course is delivered via D2L (Desire2Learn) from May 28, 2012 to June 28, 2013. Please use the email function of D2L to email me when the course is in session; when otherwise, please contact me via university email: . I will respond to your D2L email messages within twenty-four hours, Monday through Friday, unless I am in a place without web capability (I will give you notice of when I will be away). Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any problems or questions.
Course Description: History 368: Presentshistory and culture of North American Indians from before white contact to the present, emphasizing regional Dakota Cultures. Course is cross-listed AIS 368.Course fulfills Teacher Educationrequirement.
Course Prerequisites: No prerequisites, but prior knowledge of American history is highly recommended.
Technological Requirements: Technological skills necessary will include the use of D2L to participate in discussions, take quizzes,and to turn in the final essay. Access to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. To learn about the technology you will need to participate in this course, and to download select necessary software, please visit Technical Support at SDSU. For technical support, you may either call the SDSU Helpdesk at 605-688-6776, email, or visit their website: .
Instruction Method
South Dakota State University and I will deliver this course online via D2L. This course is centered around threeprimary source books and a textbook/document reader. The course is conceived of as an upper-division online seminar.As such, there is a lot of reading involved. This seminar is also significantly based on online discussion.
There are weekly quizzes on the chapters in Colin Calloway's Book, First Peoples.
There are three discussion periods based on the following books: Waterlily, With My Own Eyes, and The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge.Students will participate inonline discussions based on questions I will provide on the Discussion folder of D2L.
Students will also complete a final essay that ties together the material. This is the final exam essay mentioned elsewhere. I will provide the question for the assignment at least one week in advance of the due date.
Course Goals and Student Learning Outcomes: This course builds upon SGR #4 (Humanities and Arts/Diversity). Students taking this course will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the diversity of values, beliefs, and ideas embodied in the human experience. They will also be able to identify and explain basic concepts of history and identify and explain the contributions of other cultures from the perspective of the discipline of history.
This course will include discussion of land and natural resource use, and so also builds upon IGR Goal #1 (Land and Natural Resources). Students will learn the fundamental importance of land and other natural resources and the ways in which Americans and Native Americans viewed the land over time.
This course also builds upon IGR Goal #3 (Social Responsibility/Cultural and Aesthetic Awareness because it examines both Native American and American cultural practices. Through this course students will be more able to demonstrate an appreciation of the different ways in which people expressed their understanding of the human condition. Students will also be more able to understand their responsibilities and choices as related to behavioral, cultural, and/or institutional contexts.