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

• Forrest Hylton and Sinclair Thomson, 2007. Revolutionary Horizons: Popular Struggle in Bolivia. London/New York: Verso. ISBN: 184467097X

Course Content:

This course explores the recent historical experiences, social conditions, and movements of modern indigenous peoples in the United States and in 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 emphasis on the social rebellions of the 1930s and 1960s and the state policies and programs that prompted them, leading to the partial recovery of Native American rights, and a reinvigorated indigenous identity and culture over the past thirty years or so. We then explore and analyze the renewed power, diversity, and centrality of indigenous movements in many countries of Latin America, as a new aspect of the continent's long quest for political sovereignty, social justice, economic and cultural self-determination, and development. We complete the course with an in-depth look at the indigenous rebellions and movements to remake Bolivia, culminating in the election of Evo Morales as its first indigenous president in December of 2005, and the ongoing struggle for a new constitution.

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 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 at the end).

Each student shall come to class with a one-page "READING ASSESSMENT" (typed, double-spaced, font 12) for each of the assigned readings 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 from the reading? (b) In your opinion, where was the analysis at its strongest and where at its weakest? (c) What one 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 students 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 a final exam, 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 their movements & conditions in the United States, is due in class on Tuesday, February 12; the second one, which must be on indigenous peoples and their movements & conditions in Latin America, is due by noon, Friday March 14 at Dr. Santos' office. For each group project, students will write their own separate paper. The overall research  topic and time frame may be as broad or narrow as each group chooses, involving several First Nations (e.g., in a given country), or just one; it may cover a time frame of centuries or just a few decades or even years. As to how students will divide up the research topic, it may be divided up among the students chronologically, thematically (e.g., the economic, political, ideological aspects), or in comparative fashion between different indigenous people covered. The students must obtain pre-approval from Dr. Santos for both their overall group topics and for their individual subtopics by January 29 for the first project, and February 21 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 by email (in Word, please) and their complete, assembled research volume in paper. The volume must be bound in a three ring binder, have a title page, a table of contents listing each individual title and student author, and the actual papers in order; ; each paper should start with the paper title and author at the top, be independently numbered, and have its own bibliography at the end.

Each individual paper should have a well stated, well focused research topic; it should have citations from the scholarly literature consulted, include accurate and meaningful data (charts, graphs, maps, etc.), and contain critical analysis and a conclusion. Papers will be graded for language clarity and paper organization, accuracy and quality of analysis, 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 30 points (students called upon to share who are absent or did not prepare an assessment will lose points!); 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 - even if not called upon to share anything - will negatively affect the final grade. Extra credit may be up to 3 points per GST 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.                                                                                                                                                          .