Horizon: Where Land Meets Sky

Anthropology: Ethnography of Western Washington and the Northwest
4-16 hours
First session with second session possibilities 

The readings, discussions, lectures and seminars for this five week course are designed to provide a very good introduction to the cultural anthropological study of Indian peoples of the region.  At the same time, students will receive a good introduction to methods and theory of ethnography in general. In seminars, twice weekly, students will study, Twana Narratives and The Structure of Twana Culture both by William Elmendorf, in order to appreciate how one people's lives have been represented in published anthropological literature. Students will also study Indians in the Making: Ethnic Relations and Indian Identities Around Puget Sound by Alexadra Harmon. Recommended additional reading includes A Race at Bay: New York Times Editorials on 'the Indian Problem,' 1860-1900 by Robert G. Hays (editor). 

Students who wish to gain a broader understanding of the discipline will be helped to design follow-on self-paced reading programs to be completed during second session.  Two texts will be required to support this work.  They are Anthropology OnLine and Anthropology Explored: The Best of Smithsonian AnthroNotes. Other texts TBA as needed.  Students will be required to respond to weekly assignments via e-mail. 

(Additional independent contract work in anthropology and its subdisciplines may be arranged for both or either summer session. Students should meet with faculty in late spring to design independent study)