ENG 232 Native American Literature, Myth and Folklore

This course provides an introduction to the oral traditional and formal written literature of Native American cultures through a wide variety of texts from different countries, tribes, regions, and individuals. Students will examine the world view expressed in the literature, the major thematic currents of oral and written Native American literature, the characteristics of Native American forms and traditions, and the characteristics it shares.

Credits

4

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Recognize their experience, strength and hope more completely by placing it alongside the experiences, strengths, and hopes expressed by Native American literary artists
2. Identify major themes developed in Native American literature
3. Identify elements of world view common to Native American people and expressed in their literatures
4. Recognize these elements and themes as they function in a wide variety of Native American texts, especially oral ones
5. Identify the distinctive literary characteristics of Native American oral literary traditions
6. Identify the distinctive literary characteristics of Native American writers and also the major characteristics they share with African American, Chicana/o, Asian American and Euro-American writers
7. Recognize these characteristics operating in pieces of oral and written Native American literature
8. Distinguish between connotation and denotation and demonstrate how connotative language helps shape major aspects of the literary tradition
9. Demonstrate ability to use interpretive frameworks to investigate contextual meanings of literature