D198 Global Arts and Humanities is a Western Governors University general education course that invites you to see the world through the humanities and ask what connects people across cultures and time.
WGU describes it as a three-module course: seeing the world through the humanities, the humanities in the Information Age, and the global origins of music. It carries three competency units and appears in many WGU bachelor's programs, including nursing, accounting, marketing and health information management.
The guide estimates 30 to 40 hours of content for someone new to the subject. The challenge is less the reading and more the analysis: moving from "I liked this song" to explaining how a work reflects and shapes the culture around it.
Course at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| University | Western Governors University (WGU) |
| Course code | D198 |
| Level | Undergraduate general education |
| Competency units | 3 |
| Structure | Three modules with readings, videos, audio and practice activities |
| Typical work | Practice checks with feedback, then a final assessment of the three competencies |
What D198 Covers
| Competency (summarized) | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Analyze diverse voices, ideas and cultural interactions through the humanities | Reading art, literature or philosophy as evidence of how people think and meet each other |
| Analyze the humanities during the Information Age | How digital technology changes how culture is made, shared and preserved |
| Analyze how music shapes and is shaped by cultures | Tracing musical forms back to their origins and the communities that carried them |
Key Concepts Explained
Analysis Versus Description
Description says what a work is. Analysis says what it does and why it matters. Most marks in humanities work come from the second step: linking features of the work to a context, a perspective or an effect on an audience.
Example: Description: "The blues often uses a repeated first line." Analysis: "The repeated line (AAB form) gives the singer time to improvize the answer and invites listeners to anticipate it, reflecting the call-and-response traditions that traveled with enslaved Africans to the American South."
Cultural Exchange
Few cultural forms are pure. Instruments, scales, stories and styles move with trade, migration and conquest. A strong answer shows that movement in both directions instead of treating one culture as the source and another as the borrower.
The Information Age
Streaming, social media and digitized archives make culture easier to reach, but they also change who controls it and which voices are amplified. Good analysis weighs both access and loss.
Typical Assignments and How to Approach Them
| Task type | What it tests | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Practice checks | Recall of module ideas | Use feedback to spot weak modules before the final assessment |
| Analyzing a cultural work | Linking features to context | Describe briefly, then spend most words on meaning and impact |
| Comparing cultures | Recognizing exchange and difference | Use a short table of similarities and differences before writing |
| Digital culture question | Reasoned judgment | Give one benefit and one cost, each with an example |
Writing About a Cultural Work
Whatever form your D198 work takes, a simple structure keeps analysis on track. It works for a painting, a poem, a film scene or a piece of music.
- Identify: title, creator (if known), place and period, in one sentence.
- Observe: two or three specific features, such as a repeated rhythm, a color choice or an image.
- Interpret: what those features suggest about the values, struggles or beliefs of the people who made it.
- Connect: how the work traveled, changed or influenced others across cultures or through digital media.
Keep the "observe" step short and concrete; the "interpret" and "connect" steps are where the competencies are actually met. Use the words of the competency (diverse voices, cultural interaction, Information Age) only where they genuinely fit, rather than repeating them mechanically.
Where Students Get Stuck
- Summary instead of analysis. Limit description to two sentences per point, then explain significance.
- Vague claims about culture. Name the place, period and community rather than "people back then".
- Music without vocabulary. A few terms (rhythm, melody, form, instrumentation) make analysis precise.
- One-sided views of technology. The Information Age module rewards balanced arguments.
Study Tips for D198
- Keep a running list of the works and examples each module uses; they make ready evidence.
- After each lesson, write one sentence that answers "what does this show about being human?"
- Listen actively: play a piece twice, once for enjoyment and once taking notes on form and instruments.
- Use the practice activities as a mock assessment and revisit any module where you score low.
How We Help with D198
Send the task or practice prompt, the work you are writing about and any feedback. A humanities tutor explains the module ideas, helps you outline an analysis, or edits your draft for clarity and argument. For a step-by-step method, see our critical analysis essay guide.
GradeEssays is independent of Western Governors University. Everything we provide is study and reference material written from scratch: use it to learn the approach, then write and submit your own work under WGU's academic integrity policy. Revisions within the scope of your original request are free.
Turn a Cultural Work into a Strong Analysis
Share the D198 instructions and your chosen work. A humanities writer helps you plan, draft and refine your own analysis.
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Frequently Asked Questions
WGU describes D198 as a three-module course: the humanities as a lens on the world, the humanities in the Information Age, and the global origins of music.
The program guide estimates 30 to 40 hours of content for a learner with no prior knowledge. Your pace depends on your background and schedule.
It appears in many WGU bachelor's degrees as general education, including the B.S. Nursing (RN to BSN), B.S. Accounting, B.S. Marketing and B.S. Health Information Management.
No. A few basic terms help you describe what you hear, but the course focuses on how music relates to culture, not technical theory.
State a clear point, support it with specific features of the work, and explain how those features connect to the work's culture or audience.
No. We tutor, explain and edit, and we can write a custom analysis on a different work, but the assessment itself must be your own.