MAT Program - Sample Course Descriptions

The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program in Southwest Studies
Course Syllabus

1998 Summer Institute in Southwest Studies (Social Science Emphasis)
Culture and Society in the Southwest:
Folklore, Communication, and Cultural Performance
Professors Victoria Levine and Claire Farrer

This course explores the patterns, functions, and meanings of communication in the American Southwest. We will closely consider the historical and cross-cultural dimensions of Southwestern communicative forms, emphasizing the role of folklore and cultural performance in the articulation and negotiation of social boundaries in the Southwest.

Required Readings
Bauman, Richard, ed.
1992 Folklore, Cultural Performances, and Popular Entertainments: A Communications- Centered
Handbook. New York: Oxford University Press.

Farrer, Claire R.
1991 Living Life's Circle: Mescalero Apache Cosmovision. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

Garcia, Nasario, ed.
1994 Tata: A Voice from the Río Puerco. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

Mirabal, Robert
1994 Skeleton of a Bridge. Taos: Blinking Yellow Books.

Paredes, Américo
1993 Folklore and Culture on the Texas-Mexican Border. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Additional readings will be placed on library reserve.

Assessment

Your grade for the course will be determined by the results of a research paper, about 15 pages in length. This paper may be incorporated into your MAT thesis. Please submit a one-page proposal describing your topic, your goals and objectives in undertaking this research, your plan for completion, and a preliminary bibliography. The faculty can provide assistance in developing an appropriate topic.

Class Meetings

Class meets Monday through Thursday from 9:15 am until 12:00 noon in the Hulbert Center for Southwestern Studies.

COURSE CALENDAR Week 1: Introduction to Southwest Studies
6-15-98	Introductions Read: Bauman, pp. xiii-xxi; 3-40
6-16-98	Native Americans of the Southwest Read: Bauman, pp. 41-97
6-17-98	Latinos of the Southwest Read: Bauman, pp. 101-158
6-18-98	Ethnohistory in the Southwest Guest: Marianne Stoller, professor emeritus of anthropology (Colorado College) Read: Mirabal, pp. 1-116
Week 2: Native American Communicative Media
6-22-98	Crayons, Kaleidoscopes, and Ethnographic Fieldwork Read: Bauman, pp. 159-216 Due: Paper topic proposals
6-23-98	Native American Storytelling Traditions Guest: Eulala Pegram, Creek (Colorado Springs) Read: Bauman, pp. 217-260
6-24-98	Weaving and Communication: When the Web is Tangled Guest: Laura Marcus, Oregon Folklife Program Read: Bauman, pp. 261-307
6-25-98	Storytelling and Personal Narratives Discuss: Mirabal and Bauman Read: Paredes, pp. 3-110
Week 3: Latino Communicative Media
6-29-98	Expressive Culture and Communication Read: Garcia, pp. xix-65; Paredes, pp. 113-176
6-30-98	Spanish Ballads in the Southwest Read: Garcia, pp. 68-133; Paredes, pp. 177-234
7-1-98	Hispano and Converso Storytelling Traditions Guest: Josie Mares-Dean, storyteller (Colorado Springs) Read: Garcia, pp. 136-189
7-2-98	Folklore and Identity Discuss: Garcia and Paredes Read: Singer article; Farrer pp. 3-59
Week 4: Cultural Performance in the Southwest
7-6-98	Cultural Performance in Theory and Practice Read: Farrer, pp. 60-127
7-7-98	The Mescalero Apache Girl's Puberty Read: Farrer, pp. 128-183
7-8-98	The Mescalero Apache Girl's Puberty Ceremony Read: Farrer, pp. 184-210; La Maravilla excerpt
7-9-98	Shaping the Hispanic Character in Vea's La Maravilla Guest: Jim Diers, Southwest Studies (CC) Read: Santa Fe architecture article