Indigenous Studies (INST) 358

Overview

This course examines the roles of women in traditional, pre-contact Aboriginal societies, the changes facing this group of women as a consequence of colonization, and contemporary issues of concern for Aboriginal women in Canada. While the course deals with Aboriginal women in Canada, particular emphasis will be on Western and Northern Canadian contexts and experiences and the women of those territories wherever the existing resources and materials permit. The course has been designed thematically and chronologically in order for patterns of experience to emerge and become evident. Throughout this course, the terms ‘Indian’, Inuit and ‘Metis’ will be used as they are the terms used in the Constitution Act (1982) to identify Aboriginal peoples of Canada and because these terms reflect historical usage. In the context of this course they are applied exclusive of the derogatory context which has sometimes arisen as a result of cultural misconceptions.

Outline

Indigenous Studies 358 is divided into 10 units each with its own readings and study questions as outlined throughout the course outline.

• Unit 1: Introduction to Theoretical Concepts
• Unit 2: Traditional Roles of Aboriginal Women: Oral Traditions
• Unit 3: Traditional Roles of Aboriginal Women: Recent Scholarship
• Unit 4: The Historical Fur Trade, ca. 1700-1850
• Unit 5: The Colonial Impact, ca. 1850-1920
• Unit 6: The Colonial Impact, ca. 1920-1960
• Unit 7: Challenges to Colonialism, ca. 1960-1985
• Unit 8: Violence and Aboriginal Women in the Late Twentieth Century
• Unit 9: Reawakening Strength and Resistance
• Unit 10: Survival, Strength and Healing through Literature and Artistic Expression

Evaluation

To receive credit for INST 358, you must achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination, and a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent). The weighting of assignments is as follows:

Short Essay	2 Critical Analyses (10% each)	Long Essay	Final Exam	Total
15%	20%	35%	30%	100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Other Materials

The course materials include a study guide, a student manual, and a reading file.

Students are encouraged to view:

The Burning Times [Montreal: Studio D, National Film Board of Canada, 1990].

Hands of History: Aboriginal Women Artists [Ottawa: National Film Board of Canada, 1994].

Mother of Many Children [Ottawa: National Film Board of Canada, 1977].

Daughters of the Country, Part I, Ikwe and Mistress Madeleine [Ottawa: National Film Board of Canada, 1986].

Donna’s Story [Ottawa: National Film Board of Canada, 2001].

Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief: A Documentary Tribute to Native Women in Canada [Ottawa: National Film Board of Canada, 1986].

Challenge for Credit Course Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university level course.

Full information for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Policy
• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Procedures

Challenge Evaluation

For more information please contact the course coordinator.

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

• Challenge for Credit Form