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The American Indian Studies Program (AISP) at Michigan State University offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate specialization that broadens students' understanding of Native cultures, history, and current issues with an emphasis on Native peoples of the Midwest
Enrollment in the specialization, which is open to all undergraduates, requires the written approval of the AISP director. The specialization is completed while a student is enrolled in a separate degree-granting program. If you are interested in the AISP specialization, please contact the AISP program to set up an appointment with the director to plan your coursework.
Students accepted into the program must complete 19-24 credits that meet the following distribution requirements:
- Bezhig - general core courses: twelve credits from at least two different academic departments. Two of these courses must be at the 300 level or above from the "Selected Course Listings"
- Niizh - electives: six credits from courses that have a focus on Native American subject matter chosen from the "Selected Course Listings," or from courses within the College of Arts and Letters or the College of Social Science that have significant Native American content.
- Niswi - internship: complementing the general core courses and electives is an internship or research project that requires students to visit, study, and participate in local Native American communities. Students enroll in AL 493 (2-8 credits) for a one-semester internship with a Michigan Indian reservation project, a local Native American community project, or an approved research activity. Students will work under the guidance of an AISP faculty member. An internship plan must be approved in advance by the AISP director for the student to receive credit toward the specialization.
Some of the organizations our students have interned with include:
- Lansing School District Indian Education Program
- Nokomis Learning Center
- Michigan Indian Leadership Program
- Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Health
- Norton Sound Health Corporation
- Anishnabek Community and Family Services
- MSU Extention's Head Start Program
- MSU School of Social Work
Current AISP Course Offerings for Fall '08 and Spring '09
SELECTED COURSE LISTINGS
College of Arts and Letters
AL 446: American Indian Rhetorics
AL 493A: Arts and Letters Internship (1-6 credits)
* AL 491: Special Topics (1-4 credits)
American Studies Program
*AMS 491: Perspectives in American Studies (3 credits)
*AMS 492: Seminar in American Studies (3 credits)
Department of Anthropology
ANP 411: North American Indian Ethnography (3 credits)
ANP 432: American Indian Women (3 credits)
ANP 433: Contemporary American Indian Communities (3 credits)
ANP 438 Great Lakes Indians (3 Credits)
ANP 452: North American Archaeology (3 credits)
Department of English
ENG 354: Native American Literature (3 credits)
*ENG 490: Independent Study (1-4 credits)
Department of History
HST 378: Native Americans in North American History to 1830 (3 credits)
HST 379: Native Americans in North American History from 1830 (3 credits)
*HST 490: Independent Study (1-4 credits)
Department of Family and Child Ecology
FCE 442 Ethnic Familes in America (3 Credits)
Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities
*IAH 211C: Area Studies and Multicultural Civilizations: The Americas (4 credits)
Department of Linguistics and Languages
LL 151 and LL 152: Begining Ojibwe (4 credits each)
LL 251 and LL 252: Intermediate Ojibwe (4 credits each)
LL 351 and LL 352 High intermediate Ojibwe (4 credits each)
Department of Religious Studies
REL 306: Native American Religions (3 credits)
Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures
*WRA 125: Writing: The American Ethnic and Racial Experience (4 credits)
*WRA 150: Writing: The Evolution of American Thought (4 credits)
*WRA 290: Independent Study (1-4 credits)
WRA 446 American Indian Rhetorics (3 credits)
*Course will count toward the specialization only when it has appropriate content focusing on Native cultures or history. The prior written approval of the AISP director is necessary.
Substitutions for courses on this list can be made with prior written approval of the AISP director.
Students wishing to have completion of the specialization noted on their transcripts must indicate that in their application for graduation.
Congratulations to our 2008 Graduate:
Michele Zanskas completed a BA in Anthropology with an AISP specialization. She has gone on to graduate school in Anthropology and American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
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