Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies (AB)

About this programme

Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) is an interdisciplinary concentration offered through the American Studies department focused on research, teaching and engagement with the social, cultural, artistic, ancestral, heritage, legal and political aspects of Native American and Indigenous peoples in the historical and contemporary periods. It emphasizes the integrated study of indigeneity within contemporary U.S. borders, also extending across the Americas, to Oceania and to other parts of the world. This concentration builds on Brown University’s strengths and history of engagement with critical theory, studies and pedagogy, and with topics of social justice, inequality, power structures and structural violence. Through courses across four breadth areas (Creative Expressions; History, Politics and Policy Issues; Language and Identity; Systems of Knowledge and Belief: Fundamentals of Indigenous Living, Society and Wellness) and including foundational and capstone courses, concentrators explore topics and research projects focused on further supporting the interests, concerns and needs of Indigenous peoples in the Western Hemisphere and globally.