CAST 326 - Performing Sovereignty: Reservations, Militarism, and the Politics of Native America

Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3 Hours
Attribute: 3 HU, CD, WR
New course added 06.03.10

This course will investigate competing concepts of sovereignty through a study of the histories of U.S. federal incursion into American Indian tribal politics. Reservations are militarized sites of U.S. colonization that have provoked multiple strategies for tribal nations’ sovereignty claims. Central to this course is the concept of sovereignty as a perfomative act of empowerment and contestation. Questions include: Is sovereignty a “natural” or inherent right? What is the relationship between indigeneity and sovereignty?
Enrollment Limit: 15
Instructor: K. Thompson
Consent of the Instructor Required? Yes