Example Assignment: 100-level Intro to Humanities
Course: “Intro to Humanities,” a freshman-only course taught with a music focus
This is a course limited to first-year college students, and the exact theme of the course varies by instructor. I teach it with classical music as a unifying theme, but with many interdisciplinary assignments. Each week, students write a two-page reflective paper after exploring a piece of music and/or completing a reading or watching a video.
Terra Nostra was the last of these assignments, in week 10 of a 10-week quarter, as it involved the most challenging listening reflection prompt I had asked of these students. This assignment utilized the version of the film without poetry, and took advantage of the “chapters” that the composer has provided (more about this in the prompt below).
Prompt:
For this final reflective paper, we will explore a new piece of classical music written for the purpose of engaging people in social action, specifically around the topic of climate change. Please begin by visiting the Terra Nostra website, where you can learn more about the origin and purpose of the piece.
Then, experience the piece in its entirety, first just by listening to the audio, and then again while watching the images on screen.
As we have explored in this class, when applying the practice of close listening, it is vital to listen to a musical example multiple times to give yourself the opportunity to hear more details in the music. That said, some pieces are too long to reasonably expect that you could listen to them multiple times. I am especially thankful to Christophe Chagnard for his work to create distinct chapters of Terra Nostra, each just a few minutes in length, which you can explore in depth. The composer has provided a brief program note for each chapter, explaining what is being depicted:
Chapter 1
Title sequence and pre-Big Bang leading to the event that created Earth. A pulse is established as the beginning of time for our planet.
Light and water appear as fundamental elements towards life. Animals are described in various habitats.
Chapter 3
The appearance of mankind and its flourishing through various civilizations.
This sequence uses various quotes from famous composers to travel through time towards the turning point: The industrial Revolution!
The Industrial Revolution begins with rapidly expanding large-scale industries. It describes over-production and over-population, leading to drought and fires.
Hurricanes, floods, massive population displacements, politics, waste, impact on animals.
Temperature rising and arctic ice-melting on a massive scale, including a short excerpt from James Balog’s “Chasing Ice” documentary.
This section is about human resilience and ingenuity with a focus on solutions. It features a 3 short, 3 long, 3 short brass motive which signifies S.O.S. as we admire the magnificence of our precious planet from space (NASA footage).
Chapter 9
The Coda: Time, conveyed by a dotted rhythm played on timpani, is running out. This section conveys all that is wonderful and hopeful about our species and how much is at stake. It concludes with a violin duet symbolizing the need for a return to a state of harmony between humans and nature.
After reading the program notes for each chapter, choose a chapter that intrigues you. Listen to it once with just audio, then watch again, taking in the video element as well as the music. Finally, listen a third time, and address the following questions in your paper:
- How does the composer create the scene he intended to depict?
- Identify and describe one specific musical element that made you picture a specific scene or feel a particular emotion.
- How did the video complement the music?
- Did this listening experience impact your understanding of the issue of climate change, or inspire you to take any action? Why or why not?
