Languages: English

Part 2 of 2: Thomas King (Cherokee/Greek) has been described as a “Native American Kurt Vonnegut” and a “darkly funny Mark Twain”. He is a former photo-journalist and currently works as a university professor, scriptwriter, novelist, and author of children’s books. Topics covered in theses classes include King’s description of the differences between print and film media, comments on the making of this course’s video, the definition of “meta-discourse”, a discussion on stereotypes, a discussion on the uniquely feminist nature of Mr. King’s work, and the nature of “Tricksters”.

Part 1 of 2: Mr. Carr (Laguna/Navajo) is an author and successful filmmaker. Short segments of his documentary Laguna Women are used in these two class sessions. A few weeks after this telecourse was made, Navajo Code Talkers, a National Geographic documentary produced by Lena and Aaron Carr, won an Emmy for best documentary. Other topics include a discussion on the issue of “identity”, a discourse on the impact of using a white protagonist in an Indian novel, and Carr’s point of view with respect to the writer’s “responsibility to build upon what other authors have done.”

Part 2 of 2: Mr. Carr (Laguna/Navajo) is an author and successful filmmaker. Short segments of his documentary Laguna Women are used in these two class sessions. A few weeks after this telecourse was made, Navajo Code Talkers, a National Geographic documentary produced by Lena and Aaron Carr, won an Emmy for best documentary. Other topics include a discussion on the issue of “identity”, a discourse on the impact of using a white protagonist in an Indian novel, and Carr’s point of view with respect to the writer’s “responsibility to build upon what other authors have done.”

Part 1 of 2: Gerald Vizenor is Professor of Native American Studies at the University of California (Berkley). He has been described by LaVonne Brown Ruoff as a “compassionate trickster”, a “formidable warrior in the word wars”, a superb storyteller, and a keen observer of our often hypocritical modern society. Topics covered include further discussion on the “Trickster”, the nature of violence, “shadow words”, Vizenor’s definition of what constitutes a meaningful question, and why an author’s response to a question often takes the form of a story.

Part 2 of 2: Gerald Vizenor is Professor of Native American Studies at the University of California (Berkley). He has been described by LaVonne Brown Ruoff as a “compassionate trickster”, a “formidable warrior in the word wars”, a superb storyteller, and a keen observer of our often hypocritical modern society. Topics covered include further discussion on the “Trickster”, the nature of violence, “shadow words”, Vizenor’s definition of what constitutes a meaningful question, and why an author’s response to a question often takes the form of a story.