POL377H1F L5101

Topics in Comparative Politics I

Global Indigenous Resistances

Themes

This course focuses on the diversity of global Indigenous experiences shaped by the specific socio-cultural, political, and economic contexts in the past and present, and is intended to introduce and provide a greater understanding of Indigenous histories, worldviews, and perspectives. This course particularly focuses on the diversity of Indigenous demands for self-determination, identity, rights, and territory through various resistance philosophies and activities. The students will learn and discuss the global case studies of Indigenous resistances, analyzing their contexts, strategies used, and outcomes. Specifically, this course will address the following questions: How is Indigeneity articulated and expressed in different contexts? How are governments responding to Indigenous resistance movements? The students will learn and interrogate concepts (such as Indigeneity, race, gender, environment, land, activisms, feminisms, colonialisms, capitalism, globalization, decolonization, etc.), theoretical and praxis approaches significant to understanding contemporary Indigenous realities and Indigenous agency involved in shaping them.

Texts

All course texts (journal articles, articles from edited volumes, chapters from books) will be available through the University of Toronto Library. (Some sources might change.)

Format and Requirements

The course requirements consist of Participation (10%), 5 Reading Quizzes (5x5%=25%), 2 Reading Responses (2x15%=30%), Discussion Facilitation (5%), and Final Paper (30%).

Prerequisites

1.0 credit in POL/ JPA/ JPF/ JPI/ JPR/ JPS/ JRA courses