Program prerequisites | Course descriptions | Living arrangements | Extra costs
| Deadlines | Further information | Helpful links
Santa Fe, New Mexico, and its broad environs offer unparalleled opportunities in the United States for the study of American Indian cultures. The Native Americans of the Southwest have been less absorbed into mainstream culture, more tenacious of their traditions, and more successful in maintaining integrated tribal identity than virtually all other tribes in the country. At the same time there is a larger proportion of the non-Indian population who cares about Native American culture in the Southwest than in most parts of the United States. Because of its location, its museums and other institutions, its art and literary communities, and its proximity to several Indian Pueblos, Santa Fe is nearly ideal as a locus for Native American Studies, Sociology and Anthropology.
The Colgate Native American study program in Santa Fe is unique. To the best of our knowledge, there is not another liberal arts college or university in the United States that offers a semester off-campus study program, with a full component of courses, in Native American life and culture. The program has been offered in alternate years since 1991 and is being offered again in the fall of 2009. Classes will be held at Ghost Ranch Study and Conference Center, located in downtown Santa Fe. Students will have access to collections in the University of New Mexico Library, the Research Library of the Laboratory of Anthropology at the Museum of New Mexico, and the Santa Fe Public Library near Ghost Ranch.
Courses
All courses count toward the concentrations in Sociology and Anthropology and in Native American Studies.
NAST 302Y Contemporary Issues in Southwest Native Cultures. Taught by Dr. Joseph Suina, Professor of Education, emeritus, University of New Mexico. Class meetings Wednesday, to discuss the issues facing Native American communities in the Southwest, with experiential learning activities two days per week. This course provides students with various opportunities to explore issues related to Native American Studies through participation in experiential, service learning activities. The activities are arranged with programs at different pueblos (e.g., Cochiti, Tesuque) within a 45-mile radius of Santa Fe and enable students to work directly with people from the pueblos.
SOAN 349Y Colonialism and Development. Taught on Mondays and Wednesdays by Tom Hall, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology. This course traces the expansion of Europeans into the Americas from 1492 to the present, focusing upon the American Southwest as a case study. The course examines European expansion as a key process in the emergence of the modern world as a social system, in the formation of the nation-state, and in the industrial revolution. This course studies the nature of this expansion and its impact on Native American peoples and others who came to the Americas. The course studies these peoples' responses to colonization and to the processes of development that continue to affect them. The concept of development is examined critically, distinguishing between economic and human or social development; alternative strategies of development are studied. The course studies various topics, such as the question of cultural survival, the exploitation of labor, racism, and the relation between hunger and the distribution and use of land.
SOAN 349Y Frontiers and Borders. Taught by Tom Hall on Mondays and Wednesdays. This course examines the intriguing puzzle of frontiers, focusing upon the American Southwest as a case study. Scholars recognize that frontiers -- between nation-states, between states and non-states, between societies not organized into states -- are often locations where social change of all kinds is volatile and fast. Some argue that each frontier is unique. Others argue that there can be no general theory of frontiers, but that we can learn a great deal about them by comparing and contrasting different frontiers. This course will address the differences, origins, transformations, and destructions of frontiers, not only in the Southwest, but also in other times and places.
SOAN 359Y Archaeology and Ethnology of Southwestern Indians. Taught by Dr. Eric Blinman, Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico. Monday and Wednesday mornings, augmented by single and multiple day field trips. Lectures, readings, field trips, and discussions highlight the deep time depth and diversity of the traditional cultures of the Southwest. Topics will include environments and traditional technologies that underlie the transition from Paleoindian big game hunters to Puebloan farmers over the past 10,000+ years. The final segment of the course will review the dramatic changes of the past 400 years of cultural contact and conflict during the Spanish, Mexican, and American periods in the northern Southwest.
Field trips
Field trips will include museum visits, visits to pueblos, reservations, and archaeological sites. There will be several one or two-day outings to nearby places, such as Bandelier, Taos and Acoma pueblos, Quarai, Abiquiu, and Chaco Culture National Historical Park; and an extended seven-day camping trip to the Four Corners Area of the Colorado Plateau, which involves visits to Mesa Verde National Park, Canyon de Chelly, Hopi, Zuni, as well as a raft trip down the San Juan River.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisite courses for the study group. However, students should have some background in Native American Studies and/or anthropology (SOAN 102, in particular, is recommended). During the spring, the study group participants will meet for informal discussions and at the end of the semester will receive a list of suggested readings for the summer.
Extracurricular opportunities
The extracurricular opportunities in the Santa Fe area are particularly good for hiking, fishing, camping, skiing, rafting, rock climbing, horseback riding, Hispanic cuisine, and museums, as well as theater, chamber music, and local craft fairs. Students may wish to go to Santa Fe early for Indian Market in mid-August, or for the Corn Dances at Santo Domingo, Zia, and other pueblos whose Corn Dances take place before the start of the program. During the semester students will have access to the City of Santa Fe Fort Marcy/Mager's Field Sports Complex, which is directly behind Ghost Ranch. This athletic facility houses a gym, aerobics room, weight room, outdoor track, squash/racquetball courts, and indoor pool.
Living arrangements
All students will reside at Ghost Ranch in Santa Fe; Ghost Ranch is a no-smoking and no-pet facility. Four apartments have been reserved. Each apartment contains two bedrooms (sleeping four-five students), a living area, a full kitchen, two bathrooms, a shower. A washer and dryer are available in the main building. Students may sign up for lunches and dinners at Ghost Ranch; breakfast is gratis. Parking at Ghost Ranch also is free.
Costs
Costs above Colgate’s tuition include lodging and meals, travel to and from the study group site, local transportation, and books. On the average students can expect to spend $500-$1,000 more than a semester on campus. These increased costs are used in calculating the aid packages of students who receive financial aid, provided this is their first study group experience.
Estimate of student expenses
Further information
Information sessions will be held on:
Thursday, October 23, 4:00 p.m. at 110 Alumni Hall; and
Wednesday, November 5, 4:00 p.m. at 110 Alumni Hall
or by appointment.
For more information, please contact Professor Chris Vecsey, Chair, Native American Studies at 12 Hascall or Professor Mary Moran, Chair, Sociology and Anthropology at 416 Alumni Hall.
Deadlines
Applications are due on Monday, November 24, 2008 to Prof. Chris Vecsey or Prof. Mary Moran.
Fall 2009 calendar
Students Arrive at Ghost Ranch: Saturday, August 29
First Day of Classes: August 31
Mid-Term Recess: November 2-3
Thanksgiving Recess: November 25-29
Last Day of Classes: December 11
Final Exams: December 12-14
Students Depart Ghost Ranch: December 15
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