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  8. Seminar 9 - Humour against injustice

'Go cry over somebody else's tragedy' Using humour against injustice and misrepresentations of Indigenous communities - Jeff Berglund (24 May 2016)

Jeff discussed American Indian literature & film, North American Indigenous popular music, and his research: '"Go cry over somebody else's tragedy": Using humour against injustice and misrepresentations of Indigenous communities'. Jeff shared his analysis of the American Indian comedy troupe, The 1491s, whose name honours the year prior to the onset of the European colonisation of the Americas. This performance group's YouTube videos and live performances enact humorous critiques of colonization and intracultural dynamics of tribal communities in order to stage interventions against on-going misrepresentations and injustices that are the result of neo- and para-colonialism.

The seminar was followed by a chance to 'Yarn' with Jeff over lunch. This gave the opportunity for attendees to talk informally to Jeff about his research, his plans and his academic and research background.

View slide presentation (663Kb PDF)

Links to 1941s Youtube Videos used in this presentation

Professor Jeff Berglund, Professor of English and Director Liberal Studies, Northern Arizona University, USAProfessor Jeff Berglund is a Professor of English and Director of Liberal Studies at Northern Arizona University in the United States. He is a President's Distinguished Teaching Fellow and affiliate staff member of Ethnic Studies and Applied Indigenous Studies. He teaches Native American literature, comparative Indigenous film, and U.S. multi-ethnic literature. He is the author of articles on a Native American punk band, Diné/Navajo filmmakers, the poet Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo), poet Esther Belin (Diné/Navajo), the pedagogy of American Indian literature, and a co-authored article in The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education on Indigenous terminologies. His books include Cannibal Fictions: American Explorations of Colonialism, Race, Gender, and Sexuality (2006) and the editor and contributor of essays to Sherman Alexie: a Collection of Critical Essays (2010) as well as his newest edited book, Indigenous Pop: Native American Music from Jazz to Hip Hop (2016). In addition to serving as the treasurer of the Association of Studies in American Indian Literature, Berglund is a member of the Forum for Indigenous Research Excellence (FIRE) and The Working Group on Emergent Indigenous Identities.