FIVE COLLEGE CERTIFICATE IN NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES PROGRAM
FIVE COLLEGE CERTIFICATE IN NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES PROGRAM
Native American and Indigenous Studies raises questions that are critical for a meaningful liberal arts education. Concepts such as power, citizenship, culture, identity, justice and sovereignty take on new meanings in the context of colonialism and the struggles, past and present, of Indigenous peoples. The Five College Certificate in Native American and Indigenous Studies provides students with a broad base of knowledge and understanding of Indigenous intellectual traditions within a comparative and interdisciplinary context. The program emphasizes the many and long histories of Indigenous people as well as the ways in which Native and Indigenous Studies can be applied to the most pressing contemporary issues and questions. Students become familiar with the diversity of Indigenous experiences and knowledge traditions, including cultural forms, institutions, political economies, and modes of expression. While encouraging a transnational perspective, the program places some emphasis on the Native peoples of the Northeast so that Five College students can become acquainted with the history, culture and presence of Indigenous peoples in this region.
Requirements: At least seven courses are required for completion of the Five College Certificate in Native American Indigenous Studies: a foundation course plus six additional courses, with no more than three of the seven courses from a single discipline. A student’s program must be approved by the program advisor from her or his campus.
- Foundation courses. Offered at various levels, foundation courses provide an opportunity to hear Native perspectives and are taught from a philosophical perspective that reflects Native and Indigenous Studies theories, pedagogies and methodologies.
- At least six additional courses from a list of courses currently approved by the Five College NAIS Committee as counting toward the certificate. For a list of these courses consult: http://www.fivecolleges.edu/sites/natam. (Courses not on this list may be approved for inclusion by campus program advisors in consultation with the Committee.)
- Grades. Students must receive a grade of B or higher in all 7 courses to receive a Certificate.
For 2016-17, the Amherst faculty advisor will be Professor Lisa Brooks of the Amherst College Departments of American Studies and English.