2007-2008 Academic Catalog

Course descriptions


Course descriptions index


Alaska Native Studies

ANS 100      1 Credit
Preparing for College and Student Success
(Cross-listed with RD 100)
Presentations on time and financial management, test-taking strategies, study techniques, UAF and community resources, GPA calculation, UAF catalog information, core requirements, goal-setting and personal choices. Provides students with the information and skills necessary for a successful UAF experience. Instruction by the staff of Rural Student Services. Native leaders will be invited as regular guest speakers. (1 + 0) Offered Fall, Spring


ANS 101      3 Credits
Introduction to Alaska Native Studies (h)
Introductory information on the Alaska Native community. Overview of significant Native issues. Review of pertinent literature and resources. (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 102      2 Credits
Orientation to Alaska Native Education
(Cross-listed with ED 102)
A seminar in issues related to Alaska Native and rural education. Through weekly meetings held both on campus and in Fairbanks schools, students examine and discuss issues with Alaska Native educators on topics related specifically to rural and urban Alaska Native education. Issues include: Native ways of knowing, local control, curriculum development for small/multi- graded/rural schools, cultural differences in teaching and learning, and bilingual programs. (Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.) (2 + 0) Offered Fall, Spring


ANS 111      3 Credits
History of Alaska Natives (s)
(Cross-listed with HIST 110)
The history of Alaska Natives from contact to the signing of the Land Claims Settlement Act. (3 + 0) Offered Fall


ANS 160      1 Credit
Alaska Native Dance (h)
Traditional Native Alaskan dancing, singing and drumming of songs from Alaska's major indigenous groups taught by guest Native elders and dancers. If there is sufficient interest, a dance group will be assembled using class members for spring presentations primarily in the Fairbanks area, including the Festival of Native Arts. (0 + 2) Offered Fall, Spring


ANS 161      3 Credits
Introduction to Alaska Native Performance (h)
(Cross-listed with THR 161)
For Native and non-Native students with no prior acting or theatre experience. Includes both academic and practical components to examine traditional Alaska Native theatre mythology, ritual, ceremony and performance methods. Application of exercises and developmental scenes drawn the Alaska Native heritage. (2 + 3) Offered Fall


ANS 202X      3 Credits
Aesthetic Appreciation of Alaska Native Performance (h)
Understanding and application of the cultural principles of Alaska Native oral narrative performances. Topics are arranged by the five broad Alaska Native regions and include lectures on culture, principles of visual arts analysis of oral narratives, musical expression and hands-on involvement in Alaska Native theatrical arts. (3 + 0) Offered Fall


ANS 223      3 Credits
Alaska Native Music (h)
(Cross-listed with MUS 223)
Eskimo and Indian dance and song styles in Alaska. Emphasis on the sound, effect and purpose unique to each and the collection methods, analysis and the development of a broad musical perspective. (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 242      3 Credits
Native Cultures of Alaska (s)
(Cross-listed with ANTH 242)
The traditional Aleut, Eskimo and Indian (Athabascan and Tlingit) cultures of Alaska. Eskimo and Indian cultures in Canada. Linguistic and cultural groupings, population changes, subsistence patterns, social organization and religion in terms of local ecology. Pre-contact interaction between groups. Also available via Independent Learning. (3 + 0) Offered Fall, Spring


ANS 250      3 Credits
Current Alaska Native Leadership Perspectives (s)
Prominent leaders in the Native community are brought into direct classroom contact with students to discuss important issues in rural Alaska and the larger Native community. (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 251      1-3 Credits
Practicum in Native Cultural Expression
Provides individual supervised activities in the formal organization, promotion and expression of Alaskan Native cultural heritage. May be repeated to a maximum of 3 credits. (Prerequisite: Permission of the department head.) (0 + variable) Offered Fall, Spring


ANS 268      3 Credits
Beginning Native Art Studio (h)
(Cross-listed with ART 268)
Understanding and applying traditional designs and technologies of Native art. Materials fee: $50. (Prerequisite: ART 105 or permission of instructor.) (1 + 4) Offered Fall, Spring


ANS 275      3 Credits
Yup'ik Practices in Spirituality and Philosophy (h)
Exploration of the processes in Yup'ik natural religion and the underlying philosophy that is the basis for Yup'ik existence in the spiritual realm. Wholeness of Yup'ik existence as it integrates into Western religion and philosophy. (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 300W         3 Credits
Alaska Native Writers Workshop (h)
Rhetorical methods of creative expression of the Alaska Native experience. Emphasis on the student's development of expressive abilities in a variety of Native and Western forms. Publication of student work a possibility. (Prerequisite: ENGL 111X, ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X and permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 310      3 Credits
The Alaska Native Lands Settlement (s)
Native corporation goals and methods as they implement the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and establish themselves within the larger political economy. Also available via Independent Learning. (Prerequisites: ANTH 242 or PS 263 or HIST 110; ECON 101, 137; or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 315      3 Credits
Tribal People and Development(s)
(Cross-listed with RD 315)
Impact of socioeconomic development processes on tribal peoples in less developed world societies. Implications of these processes for Alaska Native people. (Prerequisite: Junior standing or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2007-08) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Spring


ANS 320W         3 Credits
Language and Culture: Applications to Alaska (s)
(Cross-listed with ANTH 320W)
Language, ethnicity and their interrelationships. Communicating ethnic identity. Patterns of language use which affect communication between ethnic groups. Applicability of these concepts to Native/non-Native communication patterns. (Prerequisite: ENGL 111X, ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X or permission of instructor, and LING 101.) (3 + 0) Offered Spring


ANS 325      3 Credits
Native Self Government (s)
(Cross-listed with PS 325)
Indigenous political systems, customary law and justice in Alaska emphasizing the organization of Native governance under federal Indian law and Alaska state chartered local government. Comparisons between Alaska Native political development and those of tribes in the contiguous 48 states and northern hemisphere tribal people. (Prerequisites: HIST 110, PS 263.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 330      1-3 Credits
Yup'ik Parenting and Child Development (h)
Processes, methods and evaluation of Yup'ik child rearing including how it is affected by other cultures and how these can be integrated into the process. Only offered at Kuskokwim Campus. (Prerequisite: PSY 240 or permission of instructor.)


ANS 335      3 Credits
Native North Americans (s)
Interdisciplinary examination of the ecological, cultural, historical and political experiences of Native Americans. Includes archaeological evidence, ethnographic data and indigenous accounts. Readings selected from all of North America with an emphasis on Alaska Natives. (Prerequisites: ANS 101, 242, or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 340      3 Credits
Contemporary Native American Literature (h)
(Cross-listed with ENGL 340)
Contemporary Native American writing in English, including novels, short stories, poetry and plays. Examples of Native American film when related to a written work. Works discussed in relation to cultural contexts and interpretations. (Prerequisite: ENGL 111X or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered Fall


ANS 347      3 Credits
Voices of Native American Peoples (h)
(Cross-listed with ENGL 347)
Exploration of the forms by which Native American peoples have narrated their life experiences. Includes oral narratives, written autobiographies, memoirs and speeches, and an introduction to the social, historical and cultural content surrounding these texts. Readings selected from all of North America with an emphasis on Alaska Natives. (Prerequisite: ENGL 111X. Next offered: 2007-08) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Spring


ANS 348W     3 Credits
Native North American Women (s)
(Cross-listed with WMS 348W)
Interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between Native American women and their social settings and cross-cultural experiences. Includes issues of political, economic and social solutions as employed by women in a large multi-ethnic nation-state. (Prerequisites: ANS 101, ANTH 100X, ENGL 111X, ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X, SOC 100X, or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 349      3 Credits
Narrative Art of Alaska Native Peoples (h)
(Cross-listed with ENGL 349)
Traditional and historical tales by Aleut, Eskimo, Athabascan, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian storytellers. Bibliography, Alaska Native genres and viewpoints, and structural and thematic features of tales. (Prerequisite: ENGL 111X or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2008-09.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Fall


ANS 350W, O       3 Credits
Cross Cultural Communication: Alaskan Perspectives
Culture influences on communication patterns. Examines how misunderstandings may develop from differently organized ways of speaking and thinking when cultures come in contact. Focus on Alaska, with its diversity of cultures and languages, as a microcosm for examining these issues, particularly as they affect Native and non-Native communication in institutional settings. (Prerequisite: COMM 131X or 141X; ENGL 111X, ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered Fall


ANS 351      1-3 Credits
Practicum in Native Cultural Expression
Individual supervised activities in advanced organization, promotion and expression of Alaskan Native cultural heritage projects (Festival of Native Arts leadership, Tuma Theatre, Theata magazine, etc.). Continuation of ANS 251. (Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.) (0 + variable) Offered Fall, Spring


ANS 360      1 Credit
Advanced Native Dance
Advanced dance techniques with emphasis on the cultural meanings of the performance. (Prerequisite: ANS 160 or permission of instructor.) (2 + 0) Offered Spring


ANS 361      3 Credits
Advanced Alaska Native Performance (h)
(Cross-listed with THR 361)
In-depth study of Alaska Native theatre techniques and tradition, including traditional dance, song and drumming techniques, mask characterizations and performance application and presentation of a workshop production developed by the students during the semester. (Prerequisite: ANS/THR 161.) (2 + 3) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 365      3 Credits
Native Art of Alaska (h)
(Cross-listed with ART 365 and ANTH 365)
Art forms of the Eskimo, Indian and Aleut from prehistory to the present. Changes in forms through the centuries. (Prerequisite: Advanced standing or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered Fall


ANS 366      3 Credits
Northwest Coast Indian Art (h)
(Cross-listed with ANTH 366 and ART 366)
Arts of the Northwest Coast Indians and the place of art in their culture. (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 367      3 Credits
Eskimo Art (h)
(Cross-listed with ART 367 and ANTH 367)
Eskimo art from Alaska, Canada and Siberia beginning with the earliest known pieces to the beginning of the 20th century. (Next offered: 2007-08) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Spring


ANS 368      3 Credits
Intermediate Native Art Studio (h)
(Cross-listed with ART 368)
Understanding and applying advanced traditional designs and technologies of Native art. Materials fee: $50. (Prerequisite: ART 268 or permission of instructor.) (1 + 4) Offered Fall, Spring


ANS 370      1 Credit
Issues in Alaska Bilingual and Multicultural Education
(Cross-listed with ED 370)
Current issues related to Alaska bilingual and multicultural education. Students must attend all three days of the annual Alaska Bilingual/Multicultural Education and Equity Conference and write a paper reflecting on how they will use information gained from the conference in their own multicultural education context. Course may be repeated for credit since the content of the conference changes each year. (Prerequisites: Prior course work at the lower-division level.) (1 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 375      3 Credits
Native American Religion and Philosophy (h)
Philosophical aspects of Native American world views. Systems of belief and knowledge, explanations of natural phenomena, relations of humans to natural environment through ritual and ceremonial observances. (Recommended: PHIL 102. Next offered: 2007-08) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Spring


ANS 381W         3 Credits
Alaska Natives in Film
Analysis of the portrayal of Alaska's Inupiaq and Yup'ik peoples (with some on Canada's Inuit) through select films and readings. Learning to critically analyze films and understanding how various film techniques are accomplished while focusing on feature films' treatment and use of Northern peoples in film, as well as looking at the social impact of such films. Also available via Independent Learning. (Prerequisite: ENGL 111X; ENGL 211X or 213X. Recommended: ART/MUS/THR 200X. Next offered: 2008-09.) (1.5 + 2-4) Offered Alternate Spring


ANS 401      3 Credits
Cultural Knowledge of Native Elders (h)
(Cross-listed with RD 401)
Study with prominent Native tradition-bearers in Native philosophies, values and oral traditions. Traditional knowledge elicited through the cultural heritage documentation process. Analysis of existing interactions between cultural traditions and contemporary American life as experienced by Native elders. (Prerequisites: HIST 110, ANTH 242 and upper-division standing.) (3 + 0) Offered Fall


ANS 420      3 Credits
Alaska Native Education (s)
(Cross-listed with ED 420)
School systems historically serving Native people, current efforts toward local control and the cross-cultural nature of this education. Field experience required. (Prerequisite: ANTH 242 or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered Fall


ANS 425      3 Credits
Federal Indian Law and Alaska Natives (s)
(Cross-listed with PS 425)
The special relationship between the federal government and Native Americans based on land transactions and recognition of tribal sovereignty. Federal Indian law and policy evolving from this relationship. Legal rights and status of Alaska Natives. (Prerequisites: PS 101 and HIST 110; or permission of instructor; PS 263 is recommended. Next offered: 2008-09) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Fall


ANS 450      3 Credits
Comparative Aboriginal Rights and Policies (s)
(Cross-listed with PS 450)
A case-study approach in assessing aboriginal rights and policies in different nation-state systems. Seven aboriginal situations examined for factors promoting or limiting self-determination. (Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or instructor's permission. Next offered: 2007-08) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 461      3 Credits
Native Ways of Knowing (h)
(Cross-listed with ED 461)
Focus on how culture and worldview shape who we are and influence the way we come to know the world around us. Emphasis on Alaska Native knowledge systems and ways of knowing. (Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.) (3 + 0) Offered Spring


ANS 468      3 Credits
Advanced Native Art Studio (h)
(Cross-listed with ART 468)
Advanced traditional designs and technologies of Native art. Use of contemporary materials to interpret traditional forms. Materials fee: $50. (Prerequisite: ART 368 or permission of instructor.) (1 + 4) Offered Fall, Spring


ANS 472W     3 Credits
Rural Alaska, Natives and the Press
Analysis of the historical role rural Alaska and Alaska Natives have played in the statewide press, including Native and non-Native journalists/publishers and their impact on Alaska history and the public mind. Analysis of the rural press, portrayal of rural Alaska in the urban press and the role of cultural journalism. (Prerequisite: ENGL 111X; 211X or 213X; or permission of instructor.) (1.5 + 1.5-4) Offered As Demand Warrants


ANS 475      3 Credits
Alaska Native Social Change(s)
Tradition and change in Native social institutions in contemporary society. Methods of identifying and analyzing significant Native social change processes for public understanding. (Prerequisite: ANTH 242 or permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered As Demand Warrants