Textbooks:

• David E. Wilkins, 2006. American Indian Politics and the American Political System, 2nd. ed. New York: Rowman & Littlefield pubs. ISBN: 0742553469

• Nancy Grey Postero and Leon Zamosc, eds., 2004. The Struggle for Indigenous Rights in Latin America. Brighton/Portland: Sussex Academic Press. ISBN: 1845190637
  

• John Ross, 2006. Zapatistas: Making Another World Possible, Chronicles 2000-2003, Vol. 3. New York: Nation Books. ISBN: 1560258748
  

Course Content:

This course explores the historical experiences, social construction, and movements of modern indigenous peoples in the United States and Latin America. We first focus on the varied and complex Native American experiences in the United States over the course of the XX Century, with particular emphasis on the role and interplay of the social rebellions of the 1930s and 1960s, and resulting state policies, in the recovery and reconstruction of Native American identity and culture. We then explore and analyze the renewed power, diversity, and growing importance of indigenous movements throughout Latin America, as a central aspect of the continent's long quest for true people's sovereignty and sociocultural self-determination, eco-friendly and sustainable development, and social justice. We complete the course with an in-depth look at the Zapatista Maya rebellion in Chiapas, Mexico, and the role the Zapatistas have been playing in national and international anti-systemic movements ever since its appearance in 1994 up to 2006, year of highly contested presidential elections in Mexico.

Class Policies & Activities: The course relies on the active, collective involvement of the students in their own process of exploring and learning. Students will be organized into groups of three students at the beginning of the course. These groups will be at the center of all class activities. It is most important that students take their group obligations very seriously and stay in close contact with each other for the duration of the course. Individual class attendance is mandatory (tardiness and unexcused absences will be penalized).

Each student shall come to class with a one-to-two page READING ASSESSMENT (typed, double-spaced, font 12) of the assigned reading for that day. These assessments will be turned over to Dr. Santos at the beginning of each class. The assessments should cover the following items: (a) What, in your opinion, were the most significant two or three things you learned/discovered/realized from the reading? (b) In your opinion, where was the analysis (descriptions and explanations) at its strongest and at its weakest? (c) What issue would you like to raise for class discussion? Please do not forget to include your name, the class (Soc 338), the date, and the author/chapter of the reading you are assessing.  At the beginning of each class, Dr. Santos will randomly select a group to share their reading assessments in front of the class - so be punctual, because no late reading assignments will be accepted after Dr. Santos collects them. And be prepared to share them!

Group Research Projects: In lieu of doing a mid-term and final exams, each group will design, research, and write two research projects: the first one, which must be on a topic relating to Native American peoples and movements in the United States, is due in class on Wednesday, February 16; the second one, which must be on indigenous peoples and movements in Latin America, is due by noon, Friday March 16 at Dr. Santos' office. The research project subject matter and time frame may be as broad or narrow as each group chooses, involving many First Nations or a few, or just one; it may cover a time frame of centuries or just a few decades or the contemporary scene. The subject matter may be divided up among the students chronologically, thematically, or in comparative fashion between peoples, but it ultimately must be historically grounded and sociologically oriented. The students must obtain pre-approval from Dr. Santos for both their overall group topics and for their individual subtopics by January 31 for the first project, and February 23 for the second. Group delegates may consult with Dr. Santos during his office hours - no emails on this topic, please.

Though the final research volumes should reflect the group effort, each student will individually write his or her own papers, between 6 and 8 pages in length (apart from the bibliography), double-spaced, font 12, with one-inch margins. Students must submit their individual papers electronically (in Word, please) and their assembled research volume in paper. The volume must be bound, have a title page, a table of contents listing each individual title and student author, and the actual papers; continuous page numbering between papers and a single, common volume bibliography are unnecessary and are actually discouraged - don't waste time; each paper should start with the paper title and author at the top, be independently numbered, and have a bibliography at the end.

Each individual paper should have a well stated, well focused research hypothesis or question, citations and critical assessment of the scholarly literature consulted, collected descriptive data (charts, graphs, maps, etc.), and a critical analysis section leading to a conclusion. Papers will be graded for clarity and organization, quality of analysis, and accuracy, breath and relevance of assembled data.

For guidelines on how to write a good research term paper, citations & bibliographic styles, etc., please go to the following URL: http://www.csub.edu/~gsantos/Guide-Paper.html.

GST 126 - Researching the Electronic Library (2 units)
Introduces students to effective research techniques using Library electronic resources. Emphasis will be placed upon skills necessary for the identification, retrieval, and evaluation of information for general and specific topics. Students will acquire the competencies necessary to develop an effective search strategy and find research materials, including references to journal articles, full text articles in electronic format, government publications, books, and Internet resources.

 GST 153 - Research on the Internet (2 units)
Introduces students to the information resources available on the Internet for research purposes Students will develop general knowledge of the Internet, navigation skills, effective search strategy skills, familiarity with Internet finding tools, evaluation methodologies and other Internet research skills.

Contact: Ms. Christy Gavin
Librarian, Walter W. Stiern Library
cgavin@csub.edu
661-664-3237

Plagiarism: To prevent students from wittingly or unwittingly engaging in plagiarism, Dr. Santos strongly recommends students to carefully read and abide by the document CSUB Classifications of Plagiarism found at: http://www.csub.edu/tlc/options/resources/plagiarism/4plagiarimclassifications.htm.

Grading: The reading assessments students turn in and share in class will count for up to 30 points (assessed individually); the two group research projects will count for 35 points each (30 points for the individual paper and 5 points for the group effort). Absences & tardiness will negatively affect the final grade. Extra credit may be up to 3 points per class taken.

The final letter grade will be assigned, on a scale of 0 to 100, as follows:

Office Hours & E-Mail to Dr. Santos: All students are encouraged to visit (or if you can't visit, call) Dr. Santos regularly during his posted office hours, especially to ensure their research project topics and their individual papers' subtopics are well chosen and organized, or to discuss anything related to the texts or the class lectures, videos,  reading assessments, or class discussions. Private - but brief and to the point - e-mail messages may be sent to Dr. Santos (NOT a substitute for office visits or calls, please) -- expect a single-line answer.

My Group #: _____

First Group Research Project Title:                                                                                                         .

1.                                                                                                                                                          .

2.                                                                                                                                                          .