Students in conversation outside First Nations Longhouse. Image by Paul H. Joseph/UBC Brand & Marketing.
Place yourself “inside the story” to learn about the systems of power, social relations, structures of inequality, and diversity of cultural identities at play in Indigenous communities here and around the world.
Below is a list of Winter Session 2024/25 Arts courses you can take to learn more about Indigenous history and culture. These courses are open to all Arts students without prerequisites, and also fulfil the Place and Power credit requirement for BA students who started in 2024/25 or later. The course add/drop deadline for Winter Term 1 is September 16, 2024.
Term 1
ARTH 343: Inventing Canada Through Art
Study the institutions and art movements that constructed a view to the country now known as Canada, from colonial contact, to Confederation, through the mid-1900s, with emphasis on the significance of locality and situated approaches to understanding the land.
Taught by Dr. Erin Silver
CENS 203: Arctic Art & Activism
In the face of new and unprecedented environmental and economic challenges in the Arctic, Indigenous peoples have mounted resistance efforts both inside and outside their communities to retain sovereignty over their lands and ways of life. This course explores the neocolonialism of circumpolar regions, and looks at the ways Indigenous peoples have engaged in resistance and revitalization through collective action and art.
Taught by Dr. Tim Frandy
HIST 107: Global Indigenous Histories
An introduction to the experiences of Indigenous peoples and the nature of colonialisms around the world since 1500, and an introduction to historical practices and perspectives. This course is available in both Winter Term 1 and 2.
Taught by Dr. Coll Thrush
HIST 400: The Practice of Oral History
Explore the practice, ethics, and politics of oral history. Provides research training, where you can design and complete projects based on oral history interviews.
Taught by Dr. Anne Murphy
Term 2
ARTH 377: Arts of the Northwest Coast Peoples: The South
Learn about the histories, historiography and cultural diversity of the Southern Northwest Coast region; persistence and innovation in the arts in communities, and in cross-cultural and market spheres.
Taught by Dr. Alexandra Peck
ASTU 399: Indigenous Stories of Hydro Power in Quebec and BC
Explore how Indigenous writers, filmmakers and artists in Quebec and BC engage with the impact of resource extraction on their lands. Study a wide variety of storytelling mediums used by Indigenous artists.
Taught by Dr. Isabella Huberman
CRWR 220U: Introduction to Creative Writing with an Indigenous Focus
Explore three genres from fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, radio drama, radio feature, or stageplay.
Taught by Dr. Billy-Ray Belcourt
GEOG 328: Constructing Canada
Learn about the construction of Canadian political space after Confederation, aboriginal-newcomer relations, regional development and conflict, industrialization, urbanization, and war.
Taught by Dr. Desirée Valadares
GEOG 355: Geographies of Urban Indigeneity
Examine the geographies of urban Indigenous communities in settler colonial contexts, with a focus on urban Indigenous communities within Canadian cities.
Taught by Dr. Michael Fabris
NORD 340: Sámi Histories and Cultures
Explore the diverse histories and cultures of Sámi people—the Indigenous peoples of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola peninsula of Russia. From reindeer to religion, from folklore to Frozen II, this course examines Sámi traditional culture, the impacts of settler colonialism upon it, and the ways revitalization and activism work as agents of decolonization today.
Taught by Dr. Tim Frandy
Discover more Arts courses with an Indigenous focus:
