Faculty Directory
Interview with Carol Minugh
Recent Teaching History
Indigenous Peoples: Identities and Social Transformations; 2000-1
The Quickening of Nations: Indigenous People Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; 1999-2000
Regeneration: Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast; 1998-99
Participatory Research; Spring 1998
Culture and Behavior; Fall 1997 - Winter 1998
Reservation Based Program; 1996-97; 1995-96
Recent and Current Areas of Interest
"I am working on a book about tribal administration in terms of federal-tribal administration. My current academic work is with incarcerated youth and basically looking at the question: will it make a difference for recidivistic, incarcerated youth if there is hope for them to go to college? An issue I have remained involved with is protecting bio-diversity on third world Indian Country land. I usually ask students to read varied material from the American Indian Law Institute, and books by Vine Deloria, Susan Guyette, Michael Dorris, Paulo Freire and Ira Shor, to name a few."
Key Qualities of Student Work:
"I value the interactive student, the one who makes connections between experiences, reading, and discussions; I watch the link between participation and willingness to be helpful to others in class. Students who use critical thinking strategies are my priority. I think it is important to apply what one is learning in the community and other environments. I use an evaluation tool regularly, ie students are given an assessment form at the beginning of each quarter. The students and I are able to then plan accordingly and to write our narrative evaluation based on evaluation tools and reviews, participation in class, journals, and seminars as well."
Teaching Style:
"I am a teacher/learner and rarely lecture but will if it is my perception that students have not grasped a text. Students who have internalized stereotypes about their learning ability do well with me because I challenge internalized stereotypes. I think its important for students to rewrite the scripts that limit ones performance. The type of student who does not do well in my program are the ones who think they can get by without learning (minimum effort). Of course, students who feel they are superior to someone else and act out that role, ie take over class, typically don't do well in my class. Students have used phrases like "whine proof" and "will kick butt a lot" to evaluate me at the end of quarters. Students have credited me with helping them work through their problems with financial aid, tuition, deadlines, etc."
Expectations About Contracts:
"I like working with students who have a contract topic in which I have an interest. The student must be self-motivated and have a good idea about what they want to learn. It helps when the student has a full range of plans and has a willingness to see the full picture. I am especially helpful with guidance about participatory research. By participatory research I mean recognizing the knowledge base that people have and working with them to understand what they already know and helping to facilitate action based on their collective understanding."
Interviewer: Yvonne Peterson