Larry J. Zimmerman, Ph.D., RPA
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Papers and Projects
(preliminary information only)
Papers: Undergraduates will prepare a 10-15 page research paper on the theme of your annotated bibliography. Graduate students will do a 15-20 page paper. This paper is meant to be a critical analysis of the topic in relation to Native Americans, discussing the key issues that have been and are now being considered by scholars of American Indians, both Native and non-Native. We will discuss details in class; see the web site for additional details. Up to 20 points may be awarded for the mechanical aspects of the paper such as organization, spelling and grammar, and references. Up to 50 points may be awarded for the clarity of your logic, selection of arguments and thesis, and conclusions. Up to 30 points may be awarded for your selection and presentation of examples to support your ideas.
Collaborative Project: You will work on a collaborative project analyzing American Indian (including Eskimo/Inuit) materials in the Eiteljorg Museum that demonstrate some notion of Contact. These may be as simple as incorporation of small themes or items of non-Indians into traditional Indian materials (or vice-versa) or as complex as examining the intrusion of whole complexes of ideas going either direction (such as the impact of Indian agriculture on non-Indians). As a member of the group you will prepare a report on the Museum’s collections, essentially an illustrated catalog of materials with some analysis and provenance information on each item. Up to 30 points will be assigned to you by others who choose this project. Up to 30 points will be a self-assessment, consisting of a page stating what you contributed and what you learned. Up to 40 points will be instructor assigned, with every participant receiving the same number of points based on assessment of the project as a whole. As a graduate student, you will act as coordinator of the group to which you are assigned.
Movies and documentaries: You will work on an examination of documentaries and movies dealing with issues of Contact. You will be assigned 4 documentaries or movies and write a report and review of each. The reports will contain essential information about production, cast/interviewees, and plot/theme. The review will consist of your assessment of the Contact issues within it. Each report-review will be worth 25 points. Up to 10 points will be assigned for presentation of the production and other technical information, and up to 15 will be assigned for the review. Each report-review will be 2-3 pages in length, but quality, not length, is the key issue.
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