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The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.
Here are the teacher pack items for The International Dominance of American Culture:
Overview In this experience, students consider the role of American culture in society by watching a video of a jazz performance that displays traits of American popular culture. Then, they examine and report on the influence of American culture in eight specific fields. Next, they explore and evaluate why American culture is so popular. Finally, they reflect on how cultural diffusion is a complex phenomenon. Students will collaborate in small groups in scene 2. Each group will research eight cultural forms and write a group report. Objectives
If you ask people throughout the world what comes to mind when they think of American culture, they are likely to mention forms of popular culture, such as our music, films, television, fast food, and social networking. In this experience, you’ll explore the worldwide influence of American pop culture.
Objectives
As you work through this scene and the rest of the experience, emphasize that this experience is about U.S. cultural dominance, not political dominance. American culture in forms such as music, movies, and fashion has retained a dominant influence throughout the world despite changes in presidential administrations and in world opinion of U.S. policies.
What looks and sounds distinctly American about the music?
Possible responses include, but are not limited to: Trumpeter Miles Davis (1926–1991) was one of the most influential musicians of the second half of the 20th century, radically advancing jazz style several times in his career, including combining jazz and rock as “fusion.” He has influenced contemporary hip hop, as well, as shown in Happy Birthday Miles Davis! Check Out 10 Hip Hop Songs that Sample Work by the Jazz Legend, included in the Teacher Pack. (Because of profanity in some of the hip-hop songs, the article is not appropriate for the Student Pack.)
