240522 SE MM3 Indigeneity - Identity, Politics and Culture in a globalized World (2024S)

The course will explore the processes of construction and transformation of indigeneity among a particular group of population of the world - indigenous peoples, in the context of rapid culture change, (post)colonialism and globalization. It will focus on several topics related to locally and ethnically rooted indigenous identities. First, we will explore how indigenous identities are legally constructed in international law, identity building politics and indigenous rights movements in different nation states. Then we will analyze the interrelations between traditional knowledge, land use, environmental ethnics and indigeneity, esp. vis-à-vis development and resource extraction projects. Finally, we will focus on the roles of native cultures, languages, and religious beliefs in the reproduction and sustaining of identities in every-day life, as well as in indigenous activism. The aim of the course is to demonstrate that indigenous identities, similarly to other social identities, are rather cultural and legal constructs than primordial categories. Methodologically, the course is informed by anthropological and social science literature on indigeneity and identity, as well as by some readings from the field of critical indigenous studies. While we will strive to include case studies from all over the world, many of our examples will come from the circumpolar North, including the regions where our empirical research is conducted.

The course will explore the processes of construction, translation and transformation of indigeneity among a particular group of population of the world - indigenous peoples, in the context of rapid culture change, (post)colonialism and globalization. It will focus on several topics related to indigenous, and in wider terms - ethnic and territorial identities. First, we will explore how indigenous identities are legally constructed in international law, identity building politics and indigenous rights movements in different nation states. Then we will analyze the interrelations between traditional knowledge, land use, environmental ethnics and indigeneity, esp. vis-à-vis development projects. Finally, we will focus on the roles of native cultures, languages, and religious beliefs in the reproduction and sustaining of identities in every-day life, as well as in indigenous activism. The aim of the course is to demonstrate that indigenous identities, similarly to other social identities, are rather cultural and legal constructs than primordial categories. Methodologically, the course is informed by anthropological and social science literature on indigeneity and identity, as well as by some readings from the field of critical indigenous studies. While we will strive to include case studies from all over the world, many of our examples will come from the circumpolar North, including the regions where our empirical research is conducted.

The course will have primarily a seminar character: the first session will serve as the general introduction and provide the literature overview, while during the following sessions lectures on the main topics will be intermingled with the discussions of the relevant literature in the seminar format.