32411

WiSe 21/22: Self-Constructions and Popular Constructions of Indigeneity

Matthias Voigt

Hinweise für Studierende

Please note: this class will start October 26 and be held online.

Kommentar

This seminar explores self-constructions and popular constructions of Indigeneity within the realms of military service, activism, and street gang subculture. The seminar switches between Indigenous and non-Indigenous perceptions: One the one hand, this seminar describes and analyzes how Indigenous people define self and society. On the other hand, this seminar also examines how cultural imaginings have shaped popular perceptions of Indigeneity. In so doing, this seminar also views Indigeneity through the lens of gender. From the onset of the settler colonial endeavor, popular images have shaped perceptions of Indigeneity. These understandings, however, do not necessarily correlate with traditional understandings of what it means to be Indigenous. The seminar therefore describes and analyzes how Indigenous people define self and how they are viewed by outsiders. The notions of race and gender play significant roles here, as both help to define the “other” – yet they do not correlate with how Indigenous people see themselves. Indigenous (self-)constructions of gender (male/female/Two Spirit People) are entirely different from Western gender systems. Western societies have been defined by patriarchal privilege and heteronormativity. Conversely, Indigenous understandings of gender are non-binary and fluid. While Indigenous people define self and society through their language, traditions, community, place, etc. Westerners have “othered” Indigenous people through stereotypical images. The theme of martial Indigeneity runs throughout the seminar. Indigenous people have maintained, revitalized, and remade their own cultural identities in the realms of the military, activism, and urban subculture. Central to these self-constructions and popular constructions of Indigeneity are cultural views of self and “other.” This seminar covers the following areas: First, this seminar broadly contextualizes what it means to be Indigenous in the 20th and 21st centuries. Historically, Indigenous people have been impacted by the forces of colonialism and modernity. The seminar contextualizes Indigenous people as complexly situated between different cultural systems –both mainstream culture and their own tribal culture(s). It provides an overview of Indigenous people, their lands, as well as their complex political status vis-à-vis the American nation state (identity politics, federal Indian policies). The seminar then provides a shift in perspective in offering insights into Indigenous views and ways of thinking and doing. Second, the seminar offers insights into popular constructions of martial Indigeneity. The notion of martial Indigeneity is encapsulated in the (self-)image of the “warrior.” The seminar therefore follows popular images of Indigenous men and women throughout the 20th and 21st century in conflict. –Their participation in 20th and 21st century wars; their cultural and political activism in the Indigenous Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s; and the subculture of Indigenous street gangs. Third, the seminar provides insights into Indigenous cultural perspectives. The course explores why Indigenous people have adopted the U.S. military and how military service has allowed Indigenous men (and more lately also women) to carry on their own cultural and warrior traditions. The course also describes and analyzes why/how Indigenous activists have taken recourse to their traditions when protesting for their own rights. Another manifestation of martial Indigeneity can be found in street gang subculture, an aberration of the warrior ideal. Together, this seminar addresses the ways in which notions of martial Indigeneity continue to shape and reshape both dominant society at large and Indian Country more specifically. The course seeks to touch upon the following issues/topics: Indigenous identity (cultural/political); race; gender; citizenship (tribal/American), federal Indian policies (e.g. termination, self-determination); media representations; military service; Indigenous political activism; and urban Indigenous life. Schließen

16 Termine

Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung

Di, 18:00 - 20:00 16 Termine

Di, 19.10.2021 18:00 - 20:00

Dozenten:
Dr. Matthias Voigt