By Rebecca Wyatt, OU Web Writer

The College of Arts and Sciences is kicking off the 2006-2007 academic year with its theme, Global Citizenship. Through special classes, lectures and other events, the OU community can take a closer look at the idea that the world is becoming more connected as well as the sociological, cultural and economic impact that globalization has on the world.

Plans for events throughout the year are ongoing, but a number of events are coming up beginning with a unity mural orchestrated by OU Student Congress, which begins Sept. 5.

“This mural will show the students’ commitment to human issues, global citizenship and their concern for people around the world,” Jameelah Muhammad, chair of the OUSC Legislative and Multicultural Affairs committee said.

Using three four-by-eight-foot display boards, Muhammad plans to display the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Students are invited to draw, sign and help decorate the board throughout the semester. Muhammad hopes to display it in the Oakland Center throughout the Global Citizenship theme year.

Organizations who want to donate supplies or time to the unity mural can contact Muhammad at (248) 370-4290 or jmmuhamm@oakland.edu.

A Constitution Day discussion panel, “Immigration, Citizenship and the Constitution,” will take place on Sept. 19 from noon-1 p.m. in the Oakland Center Fireside Lounge. The event is part of the Global Citizenship and Hispanic Celebration 2006.

The Department of Music, Theatre and Dance will present five productions this year that support the Global Citizenship theme. The first, “The Lesson,” is about an American student who travels to Europe to prepare for doctorate exams. He visits a professor noted for her progressive methods of fast learning. The student follows the path of the previous student and the professor strives for complete victory. “The Lesson” runs Sept. 14 at 8 p.m., Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. and Sept. 16 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the Varner Studio Theatre.

MTD also will present the Bernard Woma Trio with “Virtuoso of the African Gil Xylophone” in October and the Lafayette String Quartet in April. For more information, contact MTD at (248) 370-2030. A discount of 20 percent is available when tickets to all MTD Global Citizenship performances are purchased.

The Oakland University Art Gallery presents “Teragloba,” an exhibition that will confront issues of globalization in contemporary art through new media, drawing, installation and video featuring artists from North and South America. The exhibition will run from March 10 through April 15 at the art gallery.

A number of speakers are planned throughout the year, including political columnist and commentator George Will, who will give an informal student talk, followed by a more formal lecture open to the public on Oct. 26.

First-year rhetoric classes and many others will incorporate Thomas Friedman’s book, “The World is Flat,” the community book chosen to support the theme. The Department of Modern Languages and Literature is planning a film series that will provide a look at global citizenship through movies.

Courses through the CAS will incorporate the theme into the curriculum, including those from political science, anthropology, sociology, international studies, art history, communication, rhetoric and courses within The Honors College. Students who sign up for courses with this theme will be exposed to multinational corporations, political institutions, economic institutions, global migration patterns, trans-national flow of goods, services and technologies. Some courses also may emphasize the critique of globalization, offering alternative conceptualization and institutional networks.

"The theme is really the articulation of what a liberal arts education is all about," said Michelle Piskulich, CAS associate dean. "Very little in our world can be understood from a single disciplinary perspective. We achieve a much deeper understanding about life when we can examine it from many different points of view."

This is the fourth year the College of Arts and Sciences is offering a Celebrating the Liberal Arts theme, which gives the OU community a broader understanding of the liberal arts.