Native American Studies Major

Major Requirements

The major in Native American Studies consists of nine courses and includes the following requirements:

North American (N) and Latin American (L) Courses

Seven elective courses, at least two courses must be taken in each of these areas:

North American (N) and Latin American (L) courses for Native American Studies 

One of the Following

• ANTH 358 - Native American Cultures
• HIST 358 - Conquest and Colony: Cultural Encounters in the Americas (TR)
• NAST 356/HIST 356 - Global Indigenous History (TR) 

400-Level Course

An approved 400-level course or an approved 400-level independent study project

Additional Electives (with permission)

With prior permission of the director of Native American Studies, the following courses may also be counted among the North and Latin American electives when they have appropriate course content or a research paper is undertaken in one of these areas:

• ALST 309 - Latin America: Critical Landscapes of Development (L)
• ANTH 103 - Introduction to Archaeology (L)
• ANTH 205 - Archaeology of Warfare (L)
• ANTH 228 - Women and Gender in Prehistory (N)
• ANTH 361 - Ancient Environments and Human Legacies (L)
• CORE 171C - Mexico (L)
• CORE 172C - California (N)
• CORE 177C - Peru (L)
• CORE 193C - Brazil (L)
• CORE 199C - Bolivia (L)
• GEOG 309 - Latin America: Critical Landscapes of Development (L)
• HIST 209 - The Atlantic World, 1492 - 1800 (LAC) (L, N)
• HIST 231 - Resistance and Revolt in Latin America (LAC) (L)
• MUSI 221 - World Music (H&A) (L)
• SPAN 468 - Visions and Re-visions of the Spanish Conquest: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (L)
• UNST 350 - Interdisciplinary Methods Seminar (L, N)

Recommended Engagement in Archaeological or Anthropological Fieldwork

Students are strongly encouraged to participate in archaeological or anthropological fieldwork (e.g., ANTH 253) and/or first-hand curricular contact with a Native American community (e.g., NAST 303).

With the advice and consent of the director, students are encouraged to enroll for a summer or term in field schools in archaeology or social anthropology, or Native American community colleges. Such approved programs may earn Native American Studies course credit.

Students are further encouraged to participate in non-curricular opportunities such as summer archaeological fieldwork with a Colgate faculty member or hands-on research with Native American collections in the Longyear Museum of Anthropology.

Honors and High Honors

Students interested in pursuing honors can find the additional requirements on the Native American Studies program page.

Native American Studies Program

For more information about the department, including Faculty, transfer credit, awards, etc., please visit the Native American Studies program catalogue page.