Harvard University Native American Program

Teaching

Native American Studies Courses

Harvard University Native American Program contributes to Native Studies at Harvard through its support of courses focused on Native American issues. For courses with a concentration on Native peoples and issues, see: NAS Course Listing 2009-2010.

Native Americans in the 21st Century: Nation-Building I (HKS PED- 501M; HGSE A101) Joseph P. Kalt, Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy, Kennedy School of Government
This course examines issues Native American tribes and nations face as they enter the 21st century, including: political sovereignty, economic development, constitutional reform, cultural promotion, land and water rights, religious freedom, health and social welfare, and education. Because the challenges are broad and comprehensive, the course emphasizes the breadth of issues that leaders must confront. Research finds that effective nation building must be compatible with individual societies cultures.  Yet, American Indian societies are culturally heterogeneous. Hence, there is not "one size" that fits all. Case studies and simulations derived from field research and experience are utilized to engage students in the multidimensional settings that confront Native societies. Scholars and leaders from the Harvard University Native America Program provide selected presentations. Non-HKS students (graduate and undergraduate) from all schools and departments in the university are welcome by cross-registration.

Native Americans in the 21st Century: Nation-Building II (HKS PED-502; HGSE A102) Dennis Norman, Faculty Chair, Harvard University Native American Program; Chief of Psychology at Mass General Hospital; Associate Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School  
This field-based research course focuses on some of the major issues Native American Indian tribes and nations face as the 21st century begins.  Projects are designed and requested by a Native community or organization and focus on some of the major issues Native American tribes and nations face. These projects are based on the "sovereign" choice of a community to partner with a university to study native issues, including sovereignty, economic development, constitutional reform, leadership, health and social welfare, land and water rights, culture and language, religious freedom, and education.  This course is devoted primarily to preparation and presentation of a comprehensive research paper based on a field investigation. In addition to interdisciplinary faculty presentations on topics such as field research methods and problem definition, students will make presentations on their work in progress and findings. Prerequisite: PED-501M or permission of instructor.

The HUNAP colloquium series (formerly the HUNAP lunch seminar series) was created to provide a forum for students, faculty, and staff to share their research on Native and indigenous issues, build awareness of Native perspectives throughout the University, and promote scholarly work and curriculum development at Harvard on issues relevant to Native Americans. Our colloquia topics are fluid and reflect the range of scholarship being produced by our community. Previous topics include, but are not limited to, Native health issues, Native art, federal Indian law, and Native history.

Ethnic Studies
Ethnic Studies courses address race critique in the social sciences and in the humanities, consider the role of mobility, diasporas and migration as well as of indigeneity in the configuration of group identities and power formations.  An overarching concern is the study of the historical, political and cultural forms through which individuals inhabit the political space of the nation and of the transnational sphere, frequently in the wake of colonialism and displacements that have created stateless people.

The study of ethnicity at Harvard is focused on the broad canvas of the human experience.  While it includes the United States at its center, it is enriched by being situated in a broadly comparative and transnational context.  Moreover, the focus of many courses is explicitly historical, making for a better understanding of the changing ways in which individuals choose to affiliate or have been coerced into categories by others.

Click here for a list of Ethnic Studies courses.