Reading and Writing Workshop

The Southwest in Art, Literature, and Popular Culture
Session 1: Southwestern Motifs in Art
Focus Topics:

• Georgia O’Keeffe’s representations of the Southwest (bones, flowers, landscapes)
• Native American crafts (pottery, weaving, sand painting)
• Pueblo, Navajo, and Hopi artistic traditions

Readings (Public Domain):

1. "Indian Basketry" by George Wharton James (1903)
   • Explores Native American basket-making in the Southwest.
   • https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16612
2. "Indian Blankets and Their Makers" by George Wharton James (1914)
   • Covers Navajo weaving traditions and designs.
   • https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64050

Writing Activity:

• Write an analysis of how specific visual motifs (such as the desert, animals, or geometric patterns) express cultural identity in Southwestern art.
• Option: Create your own visual motif inspired by O’Keeffe or Native American craft and write an artist’s statement.

Session 2: The Southwest in Literature
Focus Topics:

• Leslie Marmon Silko and Native American storytelling traditions
• Rudolfo Anaya and Chicano identity
• Oral traditions and the landscape as character

Readings (Public Domain):

1. "American Indian Stories" by Zitkala-Ša (1921)
   • While focused on Sioux culture, it provides insight into Native storytelling traditions similar to Southwestern oral narratives.
   • https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10376
2. "The Trail Book" by Mary Austin (1918)
   • Mary Austin wrote extensively on the American Southwest and desert spirituality.
   • https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12410

Writing Activity:

• Write a short story or reflective essay where the landscape of the Southwest plays a key role in shaping character or plot.
• Compare themes from Mary Austin’s work with later authors like Silko or Anaya.

Session 3: Depictions in Film and Media
Focus Topics:

• The Western genre and myth-making (Hollywood Southwest)
• Modern reinterpretations (deconstruction of the cowboy narrative)
• Indigenous representation in media

Readings (Public Domain):

1. "The Virginian" by Owen Wister (1902)
   • A foundational Western novel that shaped the genre’s portrayal of the American West.
   • https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12949
2. "The Log of a Cowboy" by Andy Adams (1903)
   • A realistic counter-narrative to romanticized Westerns.
   • https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4367

Writing Activity:

• Watch a classic Western film (e.g., Stagecoach or The Searchers) and compare its themes with The Virginian or The Log of a Cowboy.
• Write a media critique on how the Southwest is mythologized or challenged in Westerns and modern films.

Session 4: Festivals, Foodways, and the Cultural Significance of Place
​Focus Topics:

• Southwestern festivals (e.g., Zuni Shalako ceremony, Santa Fe Indian Market)
• Foodways (e.g., Navajo fry bread, green chile traditions)
• The Southwest as a crossroads of Indigenous, Spanish, and Anglo cultures

Readings (Public Domain):

1. "The Book of the Navajo" by Raymond Friday Locke (1976)
   • Offers background on Navajo ceremonies and foodways (note: in the public domain due to author release).
   • https://archive.org/details/bookofthenavajo00lock
2. "The Spanish Pioneers" by Charles F. Lummis (1893)
   • Discusses Spanish influence on Southwestern culture.
   • https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47125

Writing Activity:

• Create a personal narrative about a festival, meal, or location that holds cultural significance, drawing parallels to the Southwest’s layered cultural history.
• Research and write about a specific festival or foodway in the Southwest and its roots.