POSC 3310U – Indigenous Peoples, Sustainability and Development: A Global Perspective

This course takes a global perspective on the relationship between Indigenous peoples, sustainability and development. Students will explore concepts such as Indigeneity, Indigenization, decoloniality, sustainability and development as they relate to Indigenous cultures and communities throughout the world. We will ask whether “Western” concepts such as “sustainability” and “development” can or should be “Indigenized” or, alternatively, should a more thorough “decolonial” approach be used. Case studies will explore indigenous movements against westernizing “development” and toward Indigenous concepts of well-being from around the world. Theory and case-studies will be examined in the context of historical colonialism and current neocolonialism. Focus will be on understanding Indigeneity as a locally-rooted, global social movement that seeks to push back against Western imperialism and neo-imperialism while defining Indigenous alternatives to the current global consumer capitalism paradigm and its allied concept: sustainable development. Students will engage these concepts in various ways, many of which are rooted in Indigenous pedagogy. Students will also learn how to undertake research in partnership with Indigenous communities and organizations as opposed to doing research “on” Indigenous groups.
Credit hours: 3.0
Lecture hours: 3.0
Prerequisite(s): SOCI 1000U, INDG 1000U, or POSC 1000U
Cross-listed: INDG 3310U