Department of English

This course will consider how Native American writers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have written about their lives in various historical moments. We will consider the definition of RautobiographyS as well as the challenges that Native writers have faced in representing themselves through the autobiographical form. Through lively discussion and listserve postings, participants will examine the historical pressures that not only make these texts engaging literature but also crucial to understanding the idea of RAmerica.S Course requirements will include three essays. Authors who we consider will include William Apess, Black Hawk, Sara Winnemucca, Zitkala-Sa, Charles Eastman, Black Elk, N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, Albert Yava, Linda Hogan and Irvin Morris.