IDS 120: Global Village

Course Description

This course will focus on an overview of literature, art, music, religion, dance, film, and other humanities disciplines from several continents across the world. The emphasis is on a worldwide awareness of the humanities from 1945 to the present. (3 credits)

Prerequisite

• None

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. Master the basic vocabulary of the humanities domains included in the course:
   1. Music
   2. Story
   3. Religion
   4. Art, including sculpture
   5. Dance
   6. Architecture
2. Compare and contrast Western and non-western aesthetics
3. Understand the influences of cultures on each other across the globe
4. Acquire the tools for further research on humanities disciplines and cultures both in the US and abroad
5. Evaluate and use internet research with academic judgment and integrity
6. Improve understanding of their own cultural heritage through comparison and contrast with other cultures, and ways of life

Course Activities and Grading

Required Textbooks

Available through Charter Oak State College's Book Bundle

There are two books required for Lesson 14, both available in public libraries, and both worth purchasing:

• David Macaulay, Cathedral. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973.
• David Macaulay, Mosque. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.

Materials in the order required, listed by lesson. Students may have to subscribe to a streaming service (ex. Netflix, Prime, Hulu, etc.), to obtain the films:

1.5. Fantasia, directed by James Algar and Samuel Armstrong, Walt Disney Pictures, 1940. 

2.0 Graceland: The African Concert, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg,  with Paul Simon, Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mambaso, and Hugh Masekela, Warner Brothers,1987.

2.5 White Nights, directed by Taylor Hackland, with Gregory Hines and Mikail Baryshnikov, Columbia Pictures, 1985.

3.0  Black Orpheus, directed by Marcel Camus, Public Media Home Vision, 1958.

4.0 The Red Balloon, directed by Marcel Camus, Films Montsouris, 1956.
Ten Canoes, directed by Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr, Film Finance Corporation Australia, South Australian Film Corporation, and Palm Pictures, 2006.

4.5 The Fast Runner (original title: Atanarjuat), directed by Zacharias Kunuk, Canadian Film Board and Igloolik Isuma Productions, 2002.

5.0 Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon directed by Ang Lee,  Columbia Pictures, 2001.

6.0 Islam: Empire of Faith, directed by Robert H. Gardner, PBS Home Video, 2002.

6.5 Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough, Carolina Bank Films, 1982.

8.0 Cathedral and Mosque by David Macaulay, BOOKS AVAILABLE IN YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY OR THROUGH PURCHASE

Course Schedule

Each week of the course schedule is divided into lessons so that students can manage the required workload.

Additional Information

You can’t just read about the arts and humanities, you have to experience them for yourself. And if you can’t travel across the globe, you can experience other places through their arts and human endeavors—music, stories, religion, architecture. You’ll have a chance to read parts of the Bible and the Qur’an, the Gita and Buddha’s sermons. You’ll even plan a trip to the Antarctic. You’ll view films, listen to music, watch video clips and visit a museum. There is writing required for every lesson to respond to the arts you’ll experience, as well as vocabulary lists to submit. By the end of the course, you’ll be expected to visit an art museum with some specific questions to answer.

IMPORTANT: Time on task, per lesson:
While some lessons are short, others take a full nine hours, the designated time frame for a lesson at Charter Oak. Please plan to have extended periods available for reading, viewing, studying, research, and writing.

In the words of former students:

• "The globalization of the works of composers, directors, writers has broadened my ability to think beyond my own insights and be receptive to other cultures. I thought I was really open-minded, but I realized I had limited my own ability to see beyond my own world. And finally, every culture, whether rich or poor, cultured or uncivilized has something to offer. The ability to see that work for what it is extraordinary!"
• "Before I took Global Villages, I had confidence that I knew who I was and what I liked and appreciated. That has not changed but I definitely have grown and expanded in my sense of self. I learned. . . that though we don’t verbally speak a universal language, our arts of dancing, music and painting transcend the barriers. In the different types of dancing, music, and craftsmanship we viewed in the lessons we can tell much about the country, heritage, culture, and beliefs of the people. These arts tell as much a story as a verbal telling."
• "The title “Global Village” is the perfect name for this course and you will come out with a better, more complete understanding of the world as a whole. Those of us who feel uncomfortable with self-reflection, you cannot avoid it in this course but you will grateful for the lessons you learn about yourself."

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.