Documents

Bring a Goddess to a Party

Students were expected to have researched one goddess from the ancient Near East as described in several primary and secondary sources. The description of the activity on the syllabus is as follows: Choose a female deity or demon from the ancient Near East that you find captivating. Now imagine you have just invited her to a party at Smith College. Describe what she looks like and what she will wear to the party. How will you introduce her to your friends? Tell them where she is from, what her interest are, and explain her special talents, as well as any personality traits that might make for awkward social interactions.

smith_syllabus.docx

Baroque Gestures Activity

Students learn about the importance of gestures in baroque opera through viewing and practicing them.

Goals:

to teach students that baroque opera involved body movement as well as music, and that physical motion and musical material were intimately linked in the 17th and 18th centuries
to demonstrate how stage gesture can affect one's interpretation of an opera scene.

Class: Music 97a: Music History and Repertory: Medieval to Baroque

Introduction/...

roule_email_instructions_part_1.docx

roule_email_instructions_part_2.docx

French and the Community

In French 59: French and the Community, undergraduates teach French to Haitian immigrant children in order to improve their own French skills and to both serve and learn about the Haitian-American community.

World Music YouTube Culture Show

Dr. Michael Heller created this project for a World Music Class for International Students taught at University of Massachusetts, Boston. Students were encouraged to develop traditional academic skills and new media skills in this World Music YouTube Culture Show Project, by incorporating written word, public speaking, and storytelling tools like Zeega, Powerpoint, or Meograph in this project.

midterm_presentation.docx

Sounding China

This was a semester long project. Throughout the semester, graduate students (many of whom had little previous exposure to the course material) studied the history of Chinese music theory, the Jesuit missionaries who transmitted it back to western Europe, and the reception of Chinese culture there in the 18th century. The website commemorating the exhibit and giving more information can be found at hcs.harvard.edu/soundingchina

... Read more about Sounding China

Ancient Novels Sales Pitch

After reading all the novels, students split into groups and "pitch" their favorite novel to the instructor who plays the role of a publisher.... Read more about Ancient Novels Sales Pitch

Leading Swedish Class

In Swedish Ba, Ursula Lindqvist has students lead discussion on a current topic relevant to children's issues. This course focuses on children's literature and culture.... Read more about Leading Swedish Class

Off on a Tangent Pre-Texts Activity

This language activity asks students to bring a literary, scientific, historical or artistic page that they can relate to the common text and which has new vocabulary. They present these texts and use it to build vocabulary and analyze the text.... Read more about Off on a Tangent Pre-Texts Activity

Bible Adaptations and Imitations

In his Bible in the Humanities section, David Weimer had students present a modern object that makes an allusion or reference to the Bible. This activity allows students to explore modern-day understandings of the Bible as they relate to the original text.... Read more about Bible Adaptations and Imitations

Exploring Medieval Chinese Religions

In this activity, students discuss three religious traditions of medieval China to consolidate knowledge and bring out the similarities and contrasts.... Read more about Exploring Medieval Chinese Religions

Reactions to Revolution?

How did race, gender, employment, and other characteristics condition people's responses to revolutionary activities during the American Revolution? In this activity, students take on different personas and consider whether they would support a boycott of British goods.... Read more about Reactions to Revolution?

One-Minute Musicals

In gen ed course, Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding 31: American Musicals and Culture, students in Luci Mok's section present one-minute summaries of musicals to engage with the main plot and show that they have seen it.... Read more about One-Minute Musicals

Live String Quartet Performances

In Anne Shreffler's freshman seminar on Beethoven's String Quartets, students in the class perform excerpts from the music being studied in practically every class.... Read more about Live String Quartet Performances

beethovens_string_quartets_syllabus.doc

Visual Essays and Makeover Parodies

Students in Caroline Light's general education course, Sex and the Citizen, create five-minute visual essays in response to Brenda Weber's, Makeover Nation. In order to do this assignment, students must complete the assigned reading and gain familiarity with iMovie, Prezi, or PowerPoint. These visual essays or makeover parodies are meant to address issues of identity and citizenship central to the course.... Read more about Visual Essays and Makeover Parodies

project_instructions.docx

guidelines_on_form_and_content.docx

German Language Puppet Show

The instructor in a beginning German class wrote and filmed a puppet show for the class, who then created their own puppet shows using the vocabulary they had learned. This exercise fostered comprehension and decreased students’ inhibitions about speaking in public.... Read more about German Language Puppet Show

waldner_exercises_krok_widener.pdf

waldner_vocab_krok_widener.pdf

Final Project Video Presentations

Students created videos describing their final projects on language and identity in Latin America so that their peers could view them outside of class and provide feedback.

durayappah_harrison_presentation_email.docx

Religion & Climate Simulation

A three day simulation of the Parliament of World Religions teaches students about the role of faith groups in addressing climate change.

Goals:

to provide an opportunity to study religious teachings related to nature and the environment
to investigate ways these teachings might contribute to practical policies and actions by persons and communities of faith in the face of destructive climate change
to intensify the learning experience by simulating the work of delegates to a real world...

queen_relie1525_syllabus.docx

From Text to Hypertext

As part of their Spanish exam, students role play a literary character and create an oral presentation on a mobile application they have designed.... Read more about From Text to Hypertext

spanish_50_exam.pdf

Foreign Language Dialogue - Four Days in September

Overview: Students watch an excerpt of a foreign language film without sound and work in groups to craft a sample dialogue utilizing new vocabulary and grammar concepts.

Student Paper Workshop

In Jerusha Achterberg's first and second Expos workshops of the semester, she chooses two paper drafts from the section and all the other students read and comment on those two papers. The authors also serve as the moderators for each other's discussion.... Read more about Student Paper Workshop

1-15_workshops_paper_1.pdf