World Dance and Cultures Syllabus

 

Course Syllabus: Dance 105 on-line syllabus spring 2018-1.pdf

Here is a PDF to download. The information is the same as what you see below with the addition of Course requirements and evaluations and Outline of the semester. I recommend reading both to get a thorough overview of the course.

 

Meet Your Instructor: 

Hi everybody! Prof Suarez here. This is my third year teaching Dance 105 and my fourth semester teaching it online.  I am a Los Angeles-based choreographer, performer, educator, and community activist. I am inspired by making dance in unexpected places, with unexpected people about unexpected things. I passionately believe in the power of dancing and creating that connects us to each other as human beings. I have an Masters in Fine Arts from UCLA and have been studying world dance and cultures for over ten years. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela and grew up in Baton Rouge, LA. I'm a taurus. I love to cook, bike and swim. I am also the mom of a nine year old boy.

Course Description: 

“Dance around the world is studied in its cultural/social context. Emphasis on the different ways dance is used to express ideas about religion, cultural identity, myths, and social ideals. Includes cultures from Africa, Asia, Europe, India, Latin America, Middle East and North America, plus a focus on Southern California.” – SAC Catalogue

This course meets the following requirements:

• General Education Requirements for the Associate Degree: D2 – International Perspectives
• CSU General Education Breath: C1 – ARTS
• Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC): Area 3, Group A: ARTS

Textbook Information:  

Dancing: The Pleasure, Power and Art of Movement by Gerald Jonas – This book is also on reserve at the SAC library. All videos links and supplemental reading will be posted within our Canvas course.

Course Learning Objectives: 

In Dance 105: World Dance and Cultures covers over a dozen different dance forms. We will be cultivating skills as an ethnographer, one who studies people and culture. We will be engaging in critical thinking as we examine each dance form in relation to the historical and cultural context. We will be asking questions like: How does this dance reflect the values of the culture? How does this dance embody the social, religious or political practices of a culture? The class is structured according to dance type:

• Religious dances
• Royal Court dances
• Social dances
• Classical dances
• Globalization/Merging dances

 

 Student Learning Objectives: 

Through this course students will be honing real life necessary skills of communication and investigation through clear writing, in depth research and collaborative projects. ­­­­­

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify major cultural traditions of dance in communities around the world.
• Analyze and understand the many different ways dance is used to express aspects of a culture, including the historical, socio-cultural and political significance.
• Have insight into own culture through comparisons of different rituals, celebrations and performances.
• Through written and verbal analysis, be able to interpret and identify world dance traditions.
• Gain analytical skills to view contemporary cultural events and they reflect values, history, gender roles and socio/political constructs.

• Have proficiency in how to thoroughly research with use of print material, technology and effectively apply and evaluate the information.
• Use technology learning tools and applications to fulfill the requirements of this course. Including Blackboard assignments, word processing, image and video research on-line.

 

Course Information: 

Course Site: This course is entirely on-line. Our course can be accessed at http://rsccd.instructure.com You need reliable internet access from home, the library or the student labs at SAC. When you are officially enrolled in the class and the class has been made available to students, you will have access to our class on the college Canvas site. You are expected to monitor the Canvas web site and complete all assignments in a timely manner. Students are expected to login at least every two-three days.

Communication: I am committed to your success in this class. If you are receiving low grades on tests and papers or are falling behind, please contact me early in the semester. Please email me through the email tool on Blackboard! That will ensure I will get back to you within 24 hours Monday-Friday Please be sure to have a current working email address in your Canvas profile. 

• Personal Issues: For questions regarding personal issues such as a grade on a specific assignment, please communicate with me via the inbox feature in Canvas. I can more easily and quickly respond to you.
• I will respond to emails within 24 hours between Monday 9am and Friday 4pm if they have the section number in the subject line. Emails received over the weekend will be answered on Monday. Responses to emails without the proper subject information will be delayed. I am invested in each of your success, thank you for helping me by following these guidelines!
• Assignment and Course Questions: For questions about specific assignments, course or Canvas, please post a question on our course discussion board. Students are encouraged to post answers to each other’s questions. I will check the board at least once each day to post answers during the school week (see above).

 

Deadlines: This course is NOT a self-directed course. Students are expected to complete weekly assignments (discussion boards, wikis, journals, blogs, quizzes, tests and writing assignments) by the set deadlines. All initial discussion board, blog, journey and wiki entries are due by the end of the day on Saturdays. The rest of the week's assignments including the required responses to other students' posts are due by the end of the day on Mondays (of the following week).

• LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY: Due to the nature of this course, it is not possible for me to accept late assignments, tests, or papers.
• Please submit all writing assignments via the assignment in Canvas. I will not accept any papers via email.

 

Academic Honesty Policy: You should be familiar with the Academic Honesty Policy at Santa Ana College. There is absolutely NO tolerance for cheating in this class. Academic dishonesty or cheating is defined as an intentional act of fraud in which a student seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization. This includes assisting other students in acts of dishonesty or coercing students into acts of dishonesty, whether it is in coursework or on exams. Any student caught cheating or assisting another student in the act of cheating, will receive an F in the course and not allowed to drop the course. Students will be reported to the Dean of Student Development upon a second breach of the Academic Honesty policy. If you have any questions regarding this policy or application of this policy, please let me know. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Please refer to the current Santa Ana Catalog to review the policy on plagiarism. 3-2015 <Please NOTE: cutting and pasting from the internet is PLAGIARIZING. This happens a lot in on-line courses. At least one person every semester is found to be plagiarizing – they receive an F and are reported to the Dean. And let me tell you I can tell when it your own language or language from the internet. Please don’t engage in this behavior. Read and process information and write it in your OWN WORDS!!!!>

 

COURSE POLICIES

Attendance Policy: In accordance with the college drop policy, students who do not access the class web site or submit the “first assignments” by the due date may be dropped as a NO SHOW. Students who fail to turn in the weekly assignments and or participate in the discussion boards for TWO consecutive weeks will be considered “absent” and may be dropped from the class for “excessive absence.” Students are responsible to officially drop the class or they will receive a letter grade based on their performance.

 

Accommodations for Disabilities: Disabled Student Programs & Services Statement
Your success in this course is important to me. Santa Ana College and I are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all individuals with disabilities. If you have a disability that may have some impact on your ability to do well in this course, I encourage you to speak with me as soon as possible. Also, please contact Disabled Student Programs & Services so that we can all collaborate on your classroom accommodations in a timely manner. DSP&S is located in U-103, and their phone number is 714-564-6264. The DSP&S office requires documentation of your disability in order to receive reasonable accommodations. If you do not have documentation, they will work with you to acquire it. I look forward to supporting you to meet your learning goals. Most of our videos are captioned. If you need further assistance please contact me.

 

SPECIAL NOTES FOR ONLINE STUDENTS:

1. Update your Email: Login to WebAdvisor, click on “Address Change”, Enter your Email Address, Click “Submit”, and “Log out” to exit. Please see the Distance Education website for further details: http://sac.edu/disted
2. Questions: If you have any trouble logging in, or with Canvas, please contact the instructor. As a secondary means of contact, you may use the Distance Education Student Help and Frequently Asked Questions page (http://sac.edu/disted). If necessary, contact them directly at (714) 564- 6725, or A-101. If you have trouble with navigating Canvas itself: there is 24/7 help! Call (844) 612-7428.
3. Preparation: Are you ready for Online Learning? Do you have the necessary Canvas skills?

• This course is geared for students who are self-directed, manage their time and have basic computer skills.
• It is mandatory to be able to use the Internet and type all assignments.
• Start with the Course Information module to familiarize yourself with the Canvas format. 

4. Expectations:

• This is a college level course. Many students expect that an online course will be easier, or entail less time. This is not true. This online class will take just as much time as a traditional classroom course. College credits are based on the Carnegie Unit, the structure of the US Education system, for a system of “units”. One semester unit represents one lecture hour of required classroom time and two hours of student preparation time. Thus, our three unit course requires, 3 lecture hours and 6 hours of student preparation, or approximately 9 hours total, per week that you will need to spend on this course.
• To keep up with course assignments and communication, students are encouraged to log on to Canvas every two-three days.
• Weekly assignments include: video viewing-discussion forums, blog posts (both written and video) group wiki creations, reading and writing assignments, research paper, fieldwork and on-line tests.
• For all reading assignments: please read carefully. Look at the pictures and read the captions.
• Visual information is as important as the written and verbal information.
• Actively watch the videos. Take notes on what you see to help you on the assignments. After viewing please answer all the prompts and respond to at least two other students’ posts.
• Most importantly please be open-minded. We will be examining a wide range of cultures and dances throughout the semester. Each culture has a unique historical context and system of values. Let’s view each other and the cultures we are going to study together free of any ethnocentric bias.

5. What active participation looks like:

• Completing weekly assignments are critical to our course. I track your progress by monitoring everything on Blackboard. You will be dropped if you do not complete the 3 required assignments the first week or for not completing 2 or more consecutive weekly assignments.  Specific circumstances may allow exceptions with appropriate documentation. Please contact me as soon as you can if this is the case for you.

6. Netiquette: I aim to create a safe and nurturing learning environment. This objective is particularly crucial to on-line course. I expect all communication to be respectful and thoughtful. It is super hard to “read” the tone of what one writes on-line. In order to facilitate this open, learning environment, please follow these guidelines:

• Do not use all capital letters in online communication, as doing so indicates you are yelling. Limited use of capitalized words is acceptable when you need to emphasize a point.
• Use a descriptive subject line in forum postings.
• Remember there is a real person communicating with you and only say things online that you would say to them in person.
• Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life.
• Know what you are talking about and make sense. Make sure your notes are clear and logical.
• Spelling and grammar are important for clarity of messages. Only use appropriate vocabulary and avoid profanity.
• Assume the best in people. If you feel someone has written something that is offensive or derogatory, seek to understand before jumping to conclusions. If you continue to be concerned, please contact the faculty privately