Water is Life/New currents in the Study of Land, Water, and Indigeneity

In this course, we’ll think conceptually about water. We’ll look to work in Native and Indigenous Studies, Pacific Studies, and American Studies to see how reframing popular understandings of water and space can radically alter our engagement with questions of geography, imperialism, colonialism, and globalization. For instance, how is our understanding of settler colonialism limited through a land-focused approach? How might our vision of the global world change when we center island nations? Using literary, theoretical, and historical texts we’ll use a focus on water to upend common approaches to space and see what emerges. Registration permission granted based on questionnaire distributed at first class meeting.