What was life like for the ancient Maya people who inhabited what is now Central America? This course examines one of the best-known pre-Columbian civilizations in the New World: Ancient Maya civilization. The course will focus on the achievements of the ancient Maya - considered one of the most advanced civilizations in history - prior to the Spanish conquest in ca. 1500 AD. We will look at the archaeology - from temples and cities to farmers' homes and fields - to explore ancient Maya daily lives. We will examine the Maya hieroglyphic writing system which gives us insight into Maya beliefs, religion, and worldview. Major topics will include the rise of ancient Maya civilization and the ancient Maya social, economic, and political systems, subsistence, and religion. The course concludes with an in-depth study of daily life in the ancient Maya world. We will explore what it was like to be a Maya farmer living in the small Maya farming community of Chan in Belize, and discover the lessons of sustainable lifestyles that we can learn from ancient Maya farmers.
Sesipâskw'pêskân is Nehiywewin (Cree language) for a maple sugar camp. It's the time in between late winter and early spring when families gather to collect maple sap, and to harvest fish, beavers, and early spring plants, or at least it used to be. As the earth's climate changes, maple trees and the subsequent maple syrup industry in the U.S. and Canada are being affected, in both good and bad ways. To compound this, the demand for maple syrup on the global market has risen. The class will cover these effects, their impact on Native American communities, food sovereignty movements, the maple syrup industry, and maple species themselves.
Utilizing the framework of a sugar camp, student will be introduced to field data collection methods and analysis. Working in groups, students will conduct radial observations of selected trees in study areas across campus. The observations will cover a wide range of information including tree size, tree health, tapping techniques and equipment, interspecies relationships, climate data, sugar ratios, light, and taste. The data that will be collected will be as base-line data to understand how maple and other sap producing trees are affected by climate change in the Northwestern University area and to explore the possibility of developing a regional predictive model for tapping maples as the climate changes throughout the following years. The final assignment for the class will be a group report that will act as an ongoing yearly record of sap flow and quality, overall tree health, and climate effects on tree behavior. A copy of the report will go to facilities management to be added to their campus tree inventory.
GBL_HLTH 301 Introduction to International Public Health
This course introduces students to pressing disease and health care problems worldwide and examines efforts currently underway to address them. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the course identifies the main actors, institutions, practices and forms of knowledge production characteristic of what we call "global health" today, and explores the environmental, social, political and economic factors that shape patterns and experiences of illness and healthcare across societies. We will scrutinize the value systems that underpin specific paradigms in the policy and science of global health and place present-day developments in historical perspective. We will focus on social determinants of health, settler colonialism, colonialism, health and human rights, global health ethics, ecological determinants of health, and an overview of public health disciplines.
GBL_HLTH 301 Special Topics in Global Health: Native Nations, Healthcare Systems, and U.S. Policy
Healthcare for Native populations, in the what is currently the U.S., are an entanglement of settler colonial domination and the active determination of Native nations to uphold their Indigenous sovereignty. This reading-intensive, discussion-based seminar will provide students with a complex and in-depth understanding of the historical and contemporary policies and systems created for and by Native nations. We will focus on the legal foundations of the trust responsibility and fiduciary obligation of the federal government outlined in the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court decisions. To gain a nuanced perspective, students will study notable federal policies including the Snyder Act, the Special Diabetes Programs for Indians, Violence Against Women Act, and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Additionally, state policy topics will include Medicaid expansion and tobacco cessation and prevention.
Provides an overview of the culture and history of Native groups and how these histories influence modern Native America. Explores the current economic and social experiences of Indians and tribes.
