AIIS 1123 - FWS: Indigeneity as Rights: Haudenosaunee Rights Advocacy

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

First-Year Writing Seminar.

U. Piasta-Mansfield.

The 20th century Haudenosaunee delegations to international fora in Geneva, Switzerland accompanied by the sovereign acts of travelling on the Haudenosaunee-issued passports paved way for the ratification of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007. In this class, by examining the nature of rights themselves and looking into the Haudenosaunee cultural, colonial, political and legal histories, students will learn the perspective from which the Haudenosaunee advocated for their inherent rights as Indigenous People, i.e. their sovereign rights that predated European contact. In effect, this course is an exercise in learning Indigenous rights advocacy through writing that will culminate in a critical assessment on the success of UNDRIP informed by culturally and historically situated readings, visual cultural representations and video clips.

Outcome 1: Students will demonstrate the ability to perform close and critical readings together with the ability to evaluate the methods of disciplinary forms of writing, citations styles, textual analysis, and criteria of academic research.

Outcome 2: Students will be able evaluate and synthesize information to articulate that position by engaging international primary source documents, such as treaties and the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Outcome 3: Students will be able to progress through the process of revision to advance their ideas and communicate more effectively through writing based on their audience, the assignment goals, style, voice, and tone.

Outcome 4: Students will be able to write cohesive essays, recognize good theses statements, incorporate supporting evidence and write effective conclusions.