ORBIS

1. ORBIS CIRCLE THE WORLD, THE GLOBE STUDY OTHER LANDS, CULTURES, AND STATES

2. THEMES HUMAN RIGHTS “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Article 1 of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING As reasoning citizens of the world, we should strive for a deeper knowledge of the issues, processes, and structures that affect all humans.

3. goals and objectives • Integrate learning across the disciplines of history, literature, and composition • Gain an understanding of our place within the global community and our relationship to that community • Learn to understand that different disciplines provide different perspectives on cultural issues • Connect the classroom with the global community through service • Appreciate the importance of Human Rights in the global community

4. Courses Fall 2016

5. Shaping of the Modern World Instructor: Dr. Philipp Stelzel • Themes: In this class, we will study major developments in 20th century global history. You will first learn about the origins of political ideologies such as conservatism, liberalism, socialism, and nationalism. We will then trace the rise and decline of Europe in the world since the late 19th century, by focusing on imperialism, the World Wars, the Cold War, and decolonization. Throughout the semester, we will look at the many ways in which different parts of the world were connected. We will also compare societies across the globe, in order to understand their similarities and differences. In order to understand these issues, we will read and discuss a variety of texts: for example, you will read how a famous Austrian novelist remembered life in Vienna before the outbreak of World War I, how a Russian revolutionary planned a successful revolution, how Hitler thought about foreign policy, how Nehru and Gandhi envisioned an independent India, how Mao Zedong encouraged his fellow Chinese to remember history, and how an Iranian religious leader rejected Western ideas.

6. Thinking and Writing Across the Curriculum Instructor: Dr. Rebecca May • Themes: In the Orbis sections of Thinking and Writing Across the Curriculum, you will reach the common goals of UCOR 101 by improving critical reading and thinking skills and by developing basic rhetorical knowledge. You’ll become a better writer by thinking about argument and process, and you will write four major papers standard to the structure of 101: a rhetorical analysis, an argument of definition, an argument of evaluation, and a proposal paper. • Orbis’ theme of studying other lands, cultures, and states determines the subject matter for our reading and writing assignments. You will read about Japanese Lolita subcultures, about how women of Arab Gulf nations utilize the abaya-as-fashion to articulate their individuality in culturally acceptable ways, about how some South Koreans fear “fan death,” about why the misuse of Native American war bonnets constitutes disrespect, and about – to assist in our community outreach on campus – the issues international students face in adapting to life on an American college campus. Finally, we’ll use our experiences to discuss whether or not our campus is truly cosmopolitan. • At all times you will gain a greater awareness of issues related to cultural literacy and cross-cultural communication. You will be come adept at articulating your point of view through responsible research and supported argumentation and will further gain experience in communicating with peers for whom English is a second language.

7. World Literature 103: New Voices, Questions, Realities Instructor: Dr. Mark Frisch Themes: This course draws on fictional, dramatic, and poetic works of the late 19th and 20th centuries, as well as some film, and on authors from various countries in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa, and highlights the issues of Human Rights, pluralism, and diversity, and the cultural shift from high modernism to the postmodern. As formerly marginalized writers move in toward the center, it emphasizes the expressions of new voices, the raising of new questions and the affirming of new representations and visions of “reality.”

8. SERVICE LEARNINGIn the Fall of 2016 and Spring of 2017, Orbis service learning will assist English as a Second Languages Students • Help ESL Students learn English • Learn from ESL students about their cultures • Participate in intercultural programs • Trips to various intercultural sites around the city of Pittsburgh • Pilot Program in Towers Global Diversity Floor