Undergraduate Concentration

Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies Concentration

As of Spring of 2023, undergraduate students can now declare a concentration in Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies, an interdisciplinary concentration offered through the American Studies department and focused on the study of indigeneity within contemporary U.S. borders, extending across the Americas to Oceania and to other parts of the world. The concentration also builds on Brown University's history of engagement with critical theory, studies and pedagogy, and with topics such as social justice, inequality, power structures and structural violence. Courses, research projects and engagement opportunities seek to move students, faculty and researchers toward learning how to center Native American and Indigenous peoples, knowledges, perspectives and cultures while simultaneously engaging in the constructive critique of Native American and Indigenous Studies to further its development in the academy and as a mechanism to respond to the needs of Native and Indigenous peoples today.

Concentration Requirements

1. ETHN 1200K Introduction to American Indian Studies

2. Four (4) courses at the 1000-level related to a focus area of study (determined by the student, in consultation with the NAIS DUS and faculty advisor), also serving to prepare for the capstone requirement; these courses may be from different breadth areas.

3. Four (4) Elective Courses from across the Concentration Breadth Areas:

  • Creative Expressions (Arts, Literature and Language)
  • History, Politics and Policy Issues
  • Language and Identity
  • Systems of Knowledge and Belief: Fundamentals of Indigenous Living, Society and Wellness (Environment, Medicine, Biology, Health, Psychology, Public Health, Philosophy, Religion)

These courses must be at the 1000-level. At least two breadth areas must be included in the overall course of study, with a minimum of two courses in a breadth area outside of the focus area of study (if that is connected to only one breadth area); electives provide an opportunity for expansion beyond the focus area. No more than two Independent Study Project (ISP or GISP) courses counting towards fulfillment of the concentration. Courses that are not NAIS designated (in the list of concentration courses) may count toward the concentration if agreed upon by the department faculty advisor and NAIS DUS and closely connected to areas of study.

4. NAIS 1900 Critical NAIS Capstone Course

To declare the Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies concentration, visit Advising Sidekick.

Contact Rae Gould ([email protected]) for additional information and advising. Dr. Gould serves as the CNAIS Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) for the 2023/24 Academic Year.