Dr. Judkins
ANTH 209
IROQUOIS CULTURE AND SOCIETY
SUNY Geneseo
Dr. Judkins
IROQUOIS CULTURE AND SOCIETY
This course involves study of the social organization and world-view of the various Northern Iroquoian groups, with special emphasis on the Seneca-Iroquois of western New York State during the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Particular attention is paid to the position of Iroquois culture in the Northeastern Woodlands, as well as to its adaptability and persistence. The cultural vitality and contributions of the Iroquois people are central themes. Special attention is given to world-view, knowledge and intellectual accomplishments of the Iroquois people.
TEXTS:
Jesse Cornplanter [Seneca], Legends of the Longhouse
Russell A. Judkins (ed.), Morgan’s League of the Iroquois [Morgan & ES Parker - Seneca]
James Seaver, A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison [adopted Seneca]
Frank G. Speck, (with Alexander General [Cayuga-Oneida]), Midwinter Rites of the Cayuga
Long House
Ted Williams [Tuscarora], Big Medicine from Six Nations
REQUIREMENTS:
*Midterm + Final Exam: each = 50% of the Final Grade; essay format
*A substantial project or paper may be submitted in place of one of the exams. All such
papers /projects must be approved by the instructor before Mid-semester and
each: (1) must be presented in class, as well as (2) be submitted in written, poster
PowerPoint, video, or other appropriate form during the final week of class.
OFFICE HOURS AND CONSULTATION:
Sturges 15
Tues & Thurs: 11:30-1:00; Wed: 11:12:30 (by appt. only on Wed.)
Phone: 245-5433
e-mail: judkins@geneseo.edu
LIBRARY RESEARCH NOTE:
Milne Library has a very useful Iroquois collection, housed in the Genesee Valley
Room, access to which is gained through the Reference Desk. Interlibrary loan
requests must be made well ahead of deadline needs; plan accordingly.
FINAL EXAM DATE: Wednesday, December 14, 3:30-6:30 PM
COURSE OUTLINE
Weeks 1 & 2 (Aug 29-Sept8)
1. History, the Media and Popular Culture: Placing the Iroquois within Western Frames-of-Reference
Historical Images: Indian Captives literature; “Savagery” in literature
Current Issues and Controversies: media images of the Iroquois; gaming;
tax-free gas & cigarettes; relations with New York State
READINGS: Seaver, A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison
VIDEO: POV Series: The Salamanca Lease (Seneca)
Weeks 3 - 5 (Sept 13-29)
2. Myth-Truth Cycles: Placing the Iroquois in Native American Frames-of-Reference
Iroquois Myth Cycles
- anthropological concepts: Culture vs. Society
- myth, ritual & symbol:
meaning and experience in Iroquois life and universe
- myth & folklore as cultural guides; myth as cultural truth
- A.C. Parker’s “Axiomatic Iroquoian Cultural Themes”
- essential pattern and summary of the Iroquois grand myth cycle
Iroquois Creation and Cosmological Myths
- Seneca Creation Myth: “The Myth of the Earth-Grasper”
- Bare Hill and the myths of autochthonous origin
READINGS: Cornplanter, Legends of the Longhouse
Weeks 6 - 8 (Oct 4-20)
3. Fundamental/Traditional Patterns of Iroquois Social Structure and Organization
Confederacy - Peacemanker -Deganiweda Myth
Horticultural Systems: fundamental logic, pattern, and organization
Kinship, Lineage, and Descent: rules, structures and organizational systems
Moiety Organization and Social Solidarity
Political Processes: pervasiveness of factionalism and alliance processes
Origins and Prevalence of Confederacies in the Northeast
Nature of Confederacy of the Five Nations Iroquois
Structure: change and continuity/adaptation and process
Function: change and continuity/adaptation and process
READINGS: Judkins, Morgan’s League of the Iroquois. (Intro - Book II)
VIDEO: “The Longhouse People” National Film Board of Canada
Week 9 (Oct 25, 27)
4. Morgan, Ethnography, Material Culture, and Maps
Morgan - Parker and the invention of ethnography
Morgan and the invention of Material Culture studies: Iroquois collections
Mapping Iroquoia - New York State
READINGS: Judkins, Morgan’s League of the Iroquois. (Book III & map)
Elisabeth Tooker (handout)
Midterm Exam: October 27
Weeks 10 & 11 (Nov 1-10)
5. Handsome Lake Myth and Revitalization: Cultural Renewal and Social Transformation
Iroquois League or Confederacy in the American Revolution
Revitalization Movements: social and cultural adaptation
Handsome Lake and the Longhouse Religion
Religious myth, ritual & symbols and cultural renewal
- Persistence of axiomatic Iroquois cultural themes, images,
knowledge, realities and interpretations of reality
“Explanation” by non-Iroquois: AFC Wallace and the problem of
“explaining” the Iroquois world by “explaining it away”
Seneca communities of the Genesee Valley 1750 - 1825
READINGS: Frank Speck, Midwinter Rites of the Cayuga Longhouse
VIDEO: “Oren Lyons the Faithkeeper” (PBS)
Weeks 12 & 13 (Nov 15-22)
6. Myths --–> Prophecies of Final Times, Final Renewals & Restorations: Completion of the Cycle
READINGS: Williams, Big Medicine from Six Nations
“Shining Serpents” literature + “Myth of the Earth Grasper” (handouts)
Week 14 & 15 (Nov 29 + Dec 1, 6)
7. A Tradition of Iroquois Intellectuals, Writers & Artists and Their Contributions
David Cusick
Ely S. Parker
Arthur C. Parker
Chief John Arthur Gibson
JNB Hewitt
Ernest Smith
Jesse Cornplanter
Stan Hill
Ted Williams
John Mohawk
Tom Porter
Oren Lyons
FINAL EXAM: (exam will be cumulative)
Wednesday, December 14, 3:30-6:30 PM