Dr. Lawson's research focuses on Indigenous film, digital media, and literature and has a particular emphasis on the activist and pedagogical implications of such work. She has worked with scholars in other countries such as New Zealand, Finland and Norway examining the intersections of global indigenous film and media.
keywords
American Indian and Indigenous literature, film, digital media, and art. American Indian language revitalization, digital storytelling, Indigenous youth media, IndigenousI activism, theoretical foundations in American Indian studies, theory and methodology in American Indian literary and film criticism, ethnic literature, race and representation
Teaching
courses taught
CINE 2203 - American Indians in Film
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023
Surveys the image of American Indians in American (especially Hollywood) film with an emphasis on "revisionist," or �breakthrough� films. It follows the creation of "the Hollywood Indian" from early literature to contemporary motion pictures. Films are analyzed within historical, social, and artistic contexts, and examined in terms of the impact their images have exerted upon American society at large, as well as Native communities. Near the end of the course we will look at what happens when Native Americans write, direct, and act in their own independent films. Same as ETHN 2203.
ENGL 2717 - American Indian Literature
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2020
Surveys historical and contemporary North American Native American literature. Examines the continuity and incorporation of traditional stories and values in Native Literature, including novels, short stories and poetry. Same as ETHN 2713.
ETHN 2203 - American Indians in Film
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023
Surveys the image of American Indians in American (especially Hollywood) film with an emphasis on "revisionist," or �breakthrough� films. It follows the creation of "the Hollywood Indian" from early literature to contemporary motion pictures. Films are analyzed within historical, social, and artistic contexts, and examined in terms of the impact their images have exerted upon American society at large, as well as Native communities. Near the end of the course we will look at what happens when Native Americans write, direct, and act in their own independent films. Same as CINE 2203.
ETHN 2713 - American Indian Literature
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2020
Surveys historical and contemporary North American Native American literature. Examines the continuity and incorporation of traditional stories and values in Native Literature, including novels, short stories and poetry. Same as ENGL 2717.
ETHN 3103 - Selected Topics in American Indian Studies
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2019 / Fall 2023
Examines a particular topic, theme, issue, or problem in American Indian Studies. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours on different topics. Recommended prerequisite: ETHN 2001 or ETHN 2203.
ETHN 4717 - Native American and Indigenous Studies Capstone Seminar
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2023
Engages a wide range of NAIS methodologies with a series of case studies. Focuses on print, visual, and digital texts encompassing wide swathe of Eurowestern disciplines, while seeking to recuperate and restore Indigenous epistemic practices within our scholarship. Refines students' skills in intellectual debate in the spirit of shared inquiry and challenges research and writing skills. Same as ENGL 4717.
ETHN 4951 - Senior/Graduate Seminar in Ethnic Studies
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2022
Capstone experience in Ethnic Studies. Includes an independent research project and public presentation. Same as ETHN 5951.
ETHN 6103 - Indigenous Thought and Theory: Foundations in NAIS
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022
Introduces the theoretical landscapes of Native American and Indigenous Studies. Explores debates, methodologies and concerns that ground the field and provides critical engagement with Indigenous communities and knowledges. Teaches standards for evaluating scholarly sources based on criteria derived from the most outstanding recent scholarship in the field. Requires writing and thinking critically about issues of concern for global indigenous communities.
FILM 2203 - American Indians in Film
Primary Instructor
-
Fall 2018
Surveys the image of American Indians in American (especially Hollywood) film with an emphasis on "revisionist," or 'breakthrough' films. It follows the creation of "the Hollywood Indian" from early literature to contemporary motion pictures. Films are analyzed within historical, social, and artistic contexts, and examined in terms of the impact their images have exerted upon American society at large, as well as Native communities. Near the end of the course we will look at what happens when Native Americans write, direct, and act in their own independent films. Same as ETHN 2203.
