COR 3340 Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Place-based Wisdom and Pedagogy

This course will examine epistemological (i.e., knowledge) frameworks from Indigenous traditions around the world, especially focusing on Indigenous groups that were affected by European colonization in North America and Australia. Additionally, this course will explore how these frameworks can be incorporated into pedagogical methods, making the course especially useful for students studying education. Indigenous epistemology is place-based, meaning all knowledge emerges from and refers back to a specific area of land. We begin by exploring the key philosophical concepts and values in Indigenous ways of knowing, including place, space, the particular, relationship, kinship, experience and learning from Elders. The class will then examine Native American pedagogies: place-based learning, all-senses experiential learning, and storytelling as well as the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning. The class then explores how these pedagogies could be applied and incorporated into educational practices in contemporary society, including making use of some of the practices in the classroom. This course will include experiential learning in the form of trips to the Sanctuary Shamanic Healing Center in Callicoon, NY, and the Shinnecock Nation in South Hampton.

Credits

4

Distribution

Academic