Spring 2025 Religion GU4999 section 001

GLOBAL INDIGENOUS RELIGIOUS HISTORIES

GLOBAL INDIGENOUS RELIG H

Call Number 00517
Day & Time
Location
T 10:10am-12:00pm
To be announced
Points 4
Grading Mode Standard
Approvals Required None
Instructor Tiffany Hale
Type RESEARCH SEM
Course Description

Nomads, natives, peasants, hill people, aboriginals, hunter-gatherers, First Nations—these
are just a handful of the terms in use to define indigenous peoples globally. The names these groups
use to describe themselves, as well as the varying religious practices, attitudes, and beliefs among
these populations are far more numerous and complex. For much of recorded history however,
colonial centers of power have defined indigenous peoples racially and often in terms of lacking
religion; as pagan, barbarian, non-modern, and without history or civilization.

Despite this conundrum of identity and classification, indigenous religious traditions often
have well-documented and observable pasts. This course considers the challenges associated with
studying indigenous religious history, as well as the changing social, political, and legal dimensions
of religious practice among native groups over time and in relationship to the state. Organized
thematically and geographically, we will engage with classic works of ethnohistory, environmental
history, indigenous studies, anthropology, and religious studies as well as primary sources that
include legal documentation, military records, personal testimony, and oral narrative.

Web Site Vergil
Department Religion @Barnard
Enrollment 15 students (15 max) as of 5:05PM Sunday, December 8, 2024
Status Full
Subject Religion
Number GU4999
Section 001
Division Barnard College
Section key 20251RELI4999V001