Choice 评论
In this ambitious and necessary work Thornton and 16 contributors, nine of whom are Native Americans, tackle the past, present, and future of Native American studies. The collection is divided into four thematic sections: "Native America Today," "The Development of Native American Studies," "Native American Studies and the Disciplines," and "Topics for Native American Studies." The authors maintain three basic premises: Native American studies requires an indigenous perspective; it (not "they") must be interdisciplinary, even as traditional disciplines shift form and focus; and understanding the dynamics of postcolonialism is necessary for both Native Americans and Native American studies. The volume has only two major limitations. First, as Thornton points out in one of his own essays, "Native American Studies arose out of politics and pressure and polemics, and it has yet to escape this heritage." Studying Native America still lapses into polemics at too many places. Second, a few of the chapters depend too much on social science jargon. That said, the volume provides a solid overview of who is now doing what in the field. Kidwell and Nabokov's "Directions in Native American Science and Technology" in particular adds interesting breadth. Upper-division undergraduates and above.