A survey of dances from different cultures, their histories, and their influences on contemporary dance and society. Cultural origins, significance, motivations and techniques will be explored experientially. No previous dance experience necessary.

Credit Hours: 3 credit hours. This is a 16-week course. Students should expect to commit 4 hours/week to this course. 

ACC’s DANC-1305 fulfills the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s 040 Language, Philosophy, and Culture Core Curriculum requirement.

This course requires that students complete the following:

• There will be a series of five (6) quizzes covering the content of each unit.
• There will be a series of five (6) short unit focused papers.
• There will be five (6) weekly discussion board posts.
• There will be one (1) recorded cultural presentation.
• There will be one (1) comparative paper.

Description:

1. Unit Quizzes: The first element will be a series of quizzes including multiple choice and/or true or false questions covering the content of each unit. Quizzes happen online through Blackboard.
2. Unit Papers: The second element will be a series of short unit focused responses based on the student’s personal observations of ideas we have explored in lectures, videos, discussion board, readings, and cultural interactions. Papers should be submitted through Blackboard.
3. Discussion Board Posts: The third element is weekly participation in discussion board posts with other students. Students are required to post one question regarding the week’s subject and post two responses to other students’ posts.
4. Cultural Presentation: The fourth element included in evaluation is a recorded presentation of a cultural dance form which is a part of the students’ personal heritage or a cultural movement form we have not addressed in class.
5. Comparative Paper: The fifth element is a comparative paper. The comparative paper is either a comparison between two units, using the previous unit papers as a starting point, OR the examination of one theme and how it is seen across all of the units we explored. The comparative paper should be submitted through Blackboard.

COURSE LEVEL STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this course, students will:

• Evaluate and discuss the influence of culture on dance movements. 
• Recognize and appreciate cultural diversity through the aesthetics of movement. 
• Compare and contrast musical accompaniment to cultural dances. 
• Discuss the history and cultural relevance of world dance forms. 
• Apply cross-cultural analysis to the study of dance

GENERAL ED

Students completing this language, philosophy, and culture core curriculum course will meet the following objectives: 

• Communication Skills: Develop, interpret, and express ideas and information through written, oral, and visual communication that is adapted to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.
• Critical Thinking Skills: Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking.
• Personal Responsibility: Identify and apply ethical principles and practices to decision-making by connecting choices, actions and consequences
• Social Responsibility: Analyze differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.
• Teamwork: Consider different points of view to work collaboratively and effectively in pursuit of a shared purpose or goal.

PROGRAM LEVEL

Students will demonstrate, through speaking and/or writing, the ability to clearly articulate aesthetic concerns in dance, including analysis of choreography.

We will be covering the following Units in this course

Unit 1: India

Unit 2: Egypt, Turkey, Spain, and North Africa

Unit 3: The Americas

Unit 4: Japan & Korea 

Unit 5: Cambodia & China

Unit 6: Pacific Islands

Final Projects: Cultural Presentation and Comparitive Paper

There are no prerequisites for DANC-1305 World Dance.

The course text is World Dance Cultures by Patricia Leigh Beaman. This book is available in the ACC bookstore as both a hardcopy and an eBook. Other non-textbook readings and movement labs will be posted in Blackboard. Students are responsible for all reading assignments prior to posting to the discussion board. 

Beaman P. (2018). World Dance Cultures: From Ritual to Spectacle. Routledge.