Summer 2005

Location: Navajo Nation, Arizona, USA
Title: Globalization: The Navajo Nation Case Study
Department: Social Work/Anthropology

Description: The Diné (Navajo) have a long history of migrations to their present location in the area now encompassing Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. They were drawn into an increasingly globalized system of economic, political and cultural relationships with the arrival of the Spanish in the southwest in the 1500s. This course traces the role that the Navajo Nation and its people have played in shaping these relationships and the effects of outside influences on their lives. Students will be introduced to ethnographic methods and data gathering techniques during the three weeks on location in Navajo Nation territory.

Dates: May 15-June 30

Instructors: Dr. Ginny Majewski, associate professor and chair of the Division of Social Work at WVU and Dr. Monica Frolander-Ulf, associate professor of anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown.

Credits: 6

Course cost: $2,950 (includes tuition, airfare, and all other program-related transportation costs, retreat, room and board, field trips and on-site instructional costs. The full cost of the course may be covered by conventional financial aid.)

Required Course Meetings:

Week 1 West Virginia University (Blackboard on-line)
Reading, lectures, on-line discussions, and reflections about Navajo nation history and contemporary affairs

Week 2-4 Diné College at Crownpoint, Navajo Nation
Service, field visits, lectures, documentaries, discussions, and reflections with Navajo hosts and instructors

Week 5 West Virginia University (Blackboard on-line)
Course summary, finishing up academic projects, and final reflections

Course Application