Faculty Syllabus

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. 3 lecture hours + 1 lab hour. This is a 16-week course. Students should expect to commit 8-12 hours/week to this course.  

This section of DANC-1305 relates World Dance topics to the diversity, complexity, and interdependence of the world community and current global issues. It is part of ACC's Global Studies (GS) program but is open to all students and counts as a standard DANC-1305 course.

This course requires that students complete the following: 

• Consistent and active participation in learning activities
• Completion of all reading and video viewings on time and with a readiness to discuss the key points and ideas 
• One introductory discussion board post with peer responses 
• Twelve unit discussion board posts with peer responses 
• Six movement reflections 
• Six unit quizzes
• Six short unit papers 
• One presentation 
• One comparison paper

The course text is World Dance Cultures 2nd edition by Patricia Leigh Beaman. This book is available in the ACC bookstore as both a hard copy and an eBook. Other, non-textbook, readings will be posted in Blackboard and may be emailed upon request. Students are responsible for having read the text/article before the class for which it is listed. See the attached Course Schedule for reading assignments. Students are responsible for all course readings even if we do not discuss the readings in class. Video will be used frequently in DANC 1305 and we will have active dance labs.

Unit 1 - India

Unit 2 - North/West Africa, Spain, Turkey

Unit 3 - The Americas 

Unit 4 - Japan  

Unit 5 - Cambodia and China 

Unit 6 - Pacific Islands 

Final Projects - Historical Presentation and Comparison Paper 

Course Level – Student learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will: 

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

Program Level – Student learning outcomes

PSLO4: Students will demonstrate, through speaking and/or writing, the ability to clearly articulate aesthetic concerns in dance, including analysis of choreography. Assessment criteria include:

1. Observations: Communication of relevant and thorough observation
2. Analysis: Descriptive analysis of choreography
3. Evaluation: Clear articulation of aesthetic values

Program Level - Interdisciplinary Studies learning outcomes

PSLO 1 Cultural Values: Demonstrate a heightened and more critical awareness of one’s own cultural assumptions, ethical judgments, and implicit biases (e.g. ethnocentrism, racism, ageism, sexism) to interact effectively and ethically across cultures.

PSLO 2 Interdependence: Identify the interrelated nature of the actions and impacts of individuals, groups, and institutions at the local, regional, national, and global levels.

PSLO 3 Globalization: Analyze the interrelated impact of global structures (such as social, cultural, religious, environmental, political, and/or economic) on aspects of nations, regions, communities, and individuals.

PSLO 4 Social Justice: Evaluate existing structures of the world (e.g. at national, global, organizational, and cultural levels) through the application of human rights and human security principles in areas such as food, health, education, climate, gender equity, clean water and energy, technology, etc.

PSLO 5 Global Responsibility: Students will explain how they can integrate GS concepts into aspects of one’s own life in order to build equitable and sustainable change in the world.

General Ed Student learning outcomes 

Students completing this Language, Philosophy, and Culture core curriculum course will meet the following objectives: 

1. Communication Skills: Develop, interpret, and express ideas and information through written, oral, and visual communication that is adapted to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.
2. Critical Thinking Skills: Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking.
3. Personal Responsibility: Identify and apply ethical principles and practices to decision-making by connecting choices, actions, and consequences.
4. 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.
5. Teamwork: Consider different points of view to work collaboratively and effectively in pursuit of a shared purpose or goal.

Grading Breakdown

Grading Scale

All assignments are due at 11:59 pm. Please note that schedule changes may occur during the semester. Any changes will be announced in class and posted as a Blackboard Announcement.

Assignments are due at the posted deadline. Work submitted after the deadline will receive reduced credit: 1 point (1%) per day late. 

If a personal, medical, or family issue arises, please communicate with me as possible and we can work together to set a reasonable deadline extension.

Austin Community College values academic integrity in the educational process. Acts of academic dishonesty/misconduct undermine the learning process, present a disadvantage to students who earn credit honestly, and subvert the academic mission of the institution. The potential consequences of fraudulent credentials raise additional concerns for individuals and communities beyond campus who rely on institutions of higher learning to certify students' academic achievements and expect to benefit from the claimed knowledge and skills of their graduates. -ACC's Academic Integrity Process

ACC Generative AI Policy - Dance Department

• Introduction: In this course, the use of generative AI (GAI) technologies is strictly prohibited to preserve academic integrity and ensure the development of student competencies. Using generative AI tools to substantially complete any assignment is not permitted. Using instructive generative AI to assist, edit, review, etc. any written assignments is on a case-by-case basis and under SAS guidelines.

• Rationale: The prohibition is in place to encourage original thought, manual problem-solving skills, and to maintain equity in educational opportunities and assessments. In this section of "World Dance,"  the student's personal perspectives, opinions, and insights are explored and centered in written assignments. All writing must reflect these elements through the student's unique use of subjective writing in active voice with personal insight clearly provided, unless the assignment states otherwise.

• Definition of GAI: Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can generate text, images, or other content based on minimal input. This includes chatbots, image generation tools, and code assistants that require some form of text or visual input in order to generate an output. Alongside generative AI are instructive GAI systems and programs. These systems and applications include Grammarly, Quillbot, Packback, Microsoft WORD Editor. Some programs have less obvious GAI elements that may rely on automated tools that correct and rearrange all human-written sentences, thus removing the need for students to think critically, individually review and edit their own spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. alongside the traditional proofreading markers and suggestions. Further, these tools tend to edit and suggest text generations that are primarily objective and in passive voice, effectively eliminating the personal out of the content that a student is attempting to edit/proofread. However, these tools can also serve as examples of instructive AI that support student learning. This is where faculty discretion and SAS guidelines will come into play. GAI in the academic world is an ever-changing field with complexity for all involved; for more resources on the matter, see:

  • ACC's TLED GUIDE TO GENERATIVE AI

  • NYU's Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs)

  • TXST's Library Guide to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Please see the link here