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The
International Social Studies Project |
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The
International Social Studies Project |
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Click to Read the Endeavors Magazine article on GlobalArts |
The GlobalArts Initiative is the newest component of the ISSP. Through this program, we will present dramatic works that focus on regions of the world covered by the Southern Center's World in Transition materials. The primary objective of the GlobalArts initiative is the objective of all programs of the ISSP and, indeed, of all social studies education: to increase awareness of international issues, to enhance understanding of cultural diversity, to provide a global context for the social studies student. We believe that a theatrical presentation is a particularly effective means of imparting to students the human issues at work in international affairs, combining as it does the engaging qualities of narrative with the vivid human presence of the actors. There is no intervening |
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 Dante Walker, Beverly Bryant, Sharlene Thomas, and John Murphy in the ISSP GlobalArts production of "Rainshark." (Photo by Steve Whitsitt) |
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technology—and precious little space—separating the living, breathing
individuals on stage from those in the audience; the separation is a matter of values, of
culture, of politics. The audience member is free to sympathize or disagree with the
human beings on stage, to admire, detest, or pity them, but she must contend with them as
people. The theater provides an arena for that struggle to understand people, on their
terms as well as our own. The genesis of the GlobalArts Initiative came in May 1998, during the preparation of a seminar for master teachers on Russia and the other former Soviet Republics. We chose to present a play, Lee Blessing’s "A Walk in the Woods," about a series of meetings between two arms negotiators, one Russian and one American. The play, we felt, would provide some personal perspectives on the political precepts we were to cover earlier in the seminar, and it might also provoke discussion about similarities and differences between the two countries, between the current situation and the one in which the play was written, between our individual perspectives and that of the playwright, etc. |
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We presented the play in the format of a staged reading, meaning that the
actors read from their scripts in performance, the staging was minimal, the
set was made up
of some gathered pieces of furniture, and a narrator provided a running description of the
action and setting. Nevertheless, the teachers responded warmly to the performance, and
the conversation that followed was spirited, with the teachers demonstrating an engagement
with the presentation and an aggressive processing of the information they’d received
throughout the seminar. Scripts of the play were provided to the ISSP master
teachers for use in their own workshops and classrooms across the state. |
| In November of 1999, the ISSP was awarded a $10,700 grant by the North Carolina Humanities Council (NCHC) for the GlobalArts Initiative. The NCHC uses federal money made available by the National Endowment for the Humanities and gifts from private sources in the state. It makes grants to non-profit organizations for humanities programs and supports projects that draw upon history, literature, and languages to examine issues and illuminate cultural dimensions of American society through the exchange of ideas between people. The NCHC is made up of volunteer citizens who meet three times a year to review proposals submitted by non-profit community organizations and institutions. |
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Our inaugural presentation was a full production of our earlier reading, "A Walk in the Woods," followed by the American premiere of the South African comedy "Rainshark," by Neil McCarthy, first produced by South Africa’s famed Market Theatre. We are considering a number of plays connected with the regions covered by our materials, including: "Waiting Room Germany," a series of monologues adapted by German playwright Klaus Pohl from transcripts of interviews with German citizens discussing the impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and "Via Dolorosa," David Hare’s description of his personal engagement with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which recently enjoyed an acclaimed limited run on Broadway. The plays we present are not likely to be produced by any other venue in the state. Too often, plays such as these are considered only of interest to a niche market; a play about the fall of the Berlin Wall, in this cynical reasoning, would only have appeal to German-Americans or students of that particular |
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| era of history. Our initiative would provide a unique
opportunity for students, teachers, parents and others to see these acclaimed
dramatic
works by writers from across the globe. Consistent with
the ISSP objectives for the
GlobalArts program, the Project promotes a wide variety of instructional strategies to
edify textual and didactic instruction about world regions. We are also excited by the opportunity the GlobalArts Initiative affords us to further enhance the work of local teachers. We will provide teachers with copies of the scripts we produce, enabling them to make use of the text in their classes most effectively. A scholar will lead a discussion after each performance, providing a model and a starting point for additional classroom activities. The ISSP will provide teachers with information regarding each play, highlighting in particular the connections with North Carolina’s Standard Course of Study as well as with the "World in Transition" materials, as well as information about Paideia techniques to facilitate their own discussions. We envision these productions not as ends in themselves but as catalysts for activities and discussion when the students return to the classroom. 
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2000 Global Arts Productions Earn Year-End Raves!
One of the Top Ten Triangle Productions of 2000
One of the Best Productions of 2000 |
International Social Studies Project
UNC-CH School of Education, Peabody Hall,
CB #3500, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500
Voice: 919-962-7879 FAX: 919-962-1533
Email: issp@unc.edu
