The focus will be on North American indigenous mythology. Students will study various tropes, among them the trickster and the preponderance of anthropomorphic characters. Looking at the cosmology of the Iroquois, Algonquin, Zuñi, Inuit, and Navaho, students will examine how different environments influence their stories. The role of shamans and medicine men in transmitting these stories will also be studied. Students will read essays by Bobby Lake-Thom, known as Medicine Grizzly Bear, who was of Karuk and Seneca descent and a native healer. Students will also read sections of Braided Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Offered Spring 2024