Classes Offered · USC Schedule of Classes

General Education Seminar (GESM)

Instructions on how to obtain department authorization (d-clearance) for GESM courses are available at dornsife.usc.edu/2015ge/gesm-registration/. Course descriptions are available at dornsife.usc.edu/2015ge/course-descriptions/

GESM 110g: Seminar in the Arts (4.0 units)

The multifaceted history of the creative act, its analysis, production, and context as a representation of human experience. (Satisfies GE-A, The Arts) Open only to Freshmen.

Restriction: Registration open to the following class level(s): Freshmen
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location	Syllabus
Portrait, Icon or Idol?
35260D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	6 of 15	Andrew Griebeler	VKC255
Passing and Performance in American Identity
35261D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	12 of 15	Danzy Senna	VKC255
Privacy and Interiority in Visual Arts
35262D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	10 of 15	Amy Powell	THH308
Questions of Documentary
35263D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	John Alexander	VKC200
Creating Art from Real Life
35272D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	13 of 15	Michael Bunn	WPH201	Word (23929 KB)
Performing Race
35273D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	8 of 15	Dorinne Kondo	GFS210	Word (34003 KB)
World Arts, Cultures, and Empires
35274D	001	Lecture	11:00-11:50am	MWF	15 of 16	Indra Mukhopadhyay	GFS223
Medieval Art and Christian Ritual
35275D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	11 of 15	Carolyn Malone	VKC154
Classic and Contemporary Fairy Tales
35276D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Aimee Bender	WPH201
Digital Literature
35277D	001	Lecture	12:00-12:50pm	MWF	11 of 15	Mark Marino	LVL3Y
Poems, Plays and Politics
35278D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Brighde Mullins	THH106
Exile and Identity--Israeli and Palestinian Artists
35279D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Yaffa Weisman	WPH101
Looking at Language
35280D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	14 of 16	Alice Gambrell	VKC211
Poetics of the Grotesque
35281D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	12 of 15	Anna Journey	VKC203
The Poetry of Translation
35282D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	15 of 16	Marci Vogel	VKC200

GESM 111g: Seminar in the Arts (4.0 units)

The multifaceted history of the creative act, its analysis, production, and context as a representation of human experience. Offered by a USC professional school.

Restriction: Registration open to the following class level(s): Freshmen
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location	Syllabus
The Actor at Work
35300D	001	Lecture	8:00-9:50am	Tue, Thu	8 of 15	Kathy Dunn-Muzingo	MCC111	PDF (460440 KB)
Images of the Self in Music of the Romantic Era
35301D	001	Lecture	10:00-11:50am	Tue, Thu	7 of 15	Leah Morrison	KDC241
Stages of Healing -- The World of Theatre and Therapy
35302D	001	Lecture	10:00-11:50am	Tue, Thu	15 of 16	Brent Blair	MCC102
Masks, Puppets, and the Manipulation of the Human Form
35303D	001	Lecture	10:00-11:50am	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Christina Haatainen-Jones	DRC105	Word (273419 KB)
From Bebop to Doo Wop to Hip Hop
35304D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Mon, Wed	15 of 15	Ron Mc Curdy	MUS303
Jazz--America's Music
35305D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Mon, Wed	8 of 15	John Thomas	MUS204	PDF (219576 KB)
L.A. Culture Behind the Scenes -- Process Storytelling
35306D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	16 of 16	Sasha Anawalt	ANN209
California's Modern Masters of Housing Design
35307D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	14 of 16	Victor Regnier	VKC206
Health and Fitness through Dance
35309D	001	Lecture	4:00-5:40pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Margo Apostolos	KDC236

GESM 120g: Seminar in Humanistic Inquiry (4.0 units)

Interpretation and analysis of works of the imagination, exploring language, thought, and cultural traditions in relation to one another. (Satisfies GE-B, Humanistic Inquiry) Open only to Freshmen.

Restriction: Registration open to the following class level(s): Freshmen
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location	Syllabus
Conquest and Revolution in 20th-Century Mexican Literary and Visual Texts
35327D	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	16 of 16	Liana Stepanyan	THH217
Brazil and Its Others in Literature and Film
35328D	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	13 of 15	Brenno Kaneyasu Maranhao	WPH205
Nature, Environment, and Asian America, 1850-Present
35331D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Ashanti Shih	LVL3V
Strangers at Home
35333D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	9 of 15	Natalie Belisle	VKC200	PDF (105146 KB)
Mindfulness in Cultural Practices
35334D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	18 of 19	Thomas Ward	GFS229
A Sea of History Writing the Caribbean
35336D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	14 of 15	Ronald Mendoza-De Jesus	WPH202
Kings and Heroes, Villains and Saints
35338D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	17 of 18	Hani Khafipour	VKC254
Science in Western Philosophy
35339D	001	Lecture	10:00-10:50am	MWF	14 of 15	Zlatan Damnjanovic	VKC254	Word (39823 KB)
From NAFTA to Narcos-- Globalization in Contemporary Latin American Literature and Film
35340D	001	Lecture	11:00-11:50am	MWF	14 of 16	Jamie Fudacz	VKC254
Technology and the Pursuit of Power
35341D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 18	Layne Karafantis	SOSB37
Modern Russian Culture
35342D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	14 of 15	Colleen McQuillen	GFS212
Women and Revolution in the Middle East
35343D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Sarah Gualtieri	VKC207
The Problem of Evil in Literature and Film
35344D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	13 of 15	Candice Levy	VKC258
Cleopatra's World
35345D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Christelle Fischer-Bovet	VKC256	PDF (534767 KB)
Crime and Punishment in Los Angeles
35346D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Christopher Freeman	VKC200	Word (138415 KB)
Women, Power, and Public Memory
35349D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Julia Lewandoski	VPD107
The Apocalypse in Literature, Art and Film
35350D	001	Lecture	12:00-12:50pm	MWF	17 of 17	Michael Du Plessis	THH119
Divine Women in the West: Their Rise and Fall
35351D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Kathryn Dickason	KAP164
Masterpieces of the Short Story
35352D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Alexander Zholkovsky	VKC252
Representing the Holocaust
35353D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Sharon Gillerman, Leah Hochman	VKC258
Thai Literature and Popular Culture
35354D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Brian Bernards	VKC256	PDF (637151 KB)
Eastern European Crime Stories--Legal Fiction from Crime to Punishment
35355D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Anna Krakus	VKC200
Human Reason--Its Scope and Limits
35356D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 18	Janet Levin	VKC255
The Ethics in Islamic Thought and Literature
35357D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 19	Arjun Nair	GFS228
The Stories We Tell
35358D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Daniel Richter	VPD107
Classics in Greek Literature and Philosophy
35360D	001	Lecture	12:00-12:50pm	MWF	15 of 15	Kevin Robb	VKC201
From NAFTA to Narcos: Globalization in Contemporary Latin American Literature and Film
35361D	001	Lecture	1:00-1:50pm	MWF	16 of 16	Jamie Fudacz	THH214
The Power of Stories--Tribal Identity in Contemporary America
35363D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 19	Antonio Idini	WPH203	Word (37593 KB)
Women, Writing, and Visuality in Modern China
35364D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	19 of 19	Geraldine Fiss	VKC210	PDF (178334 KB)
Engineering California: Technology from Sutter's Mill to Silicon Beach
35365D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	16 of 16	Peter Westwick	VKC257
Italianisms: Introduction to Modern Italy
35366D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	13 of 16	Jonathan Mullins	VKC256
Conquest and Revolution in 20th-Century Mexican Literary Visual Texts
35367D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	15 of 15	Liana Stepanyan	VKC200
Free Will and Determinism
35368D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	16 of 17	Kadri Vihvelin	GFS205
Gender, Sexuality and Islam
35370D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	12 of 10	Sara Haq	KAP145
A Sea of History Writing the Caribbean
35371D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Ronald Mendoza-De Jesus	SOSB37
Anime, Comics, and the Japanese Experience of the Second World War Y
35372D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Benjamin Uchiyama	VKC155
The Romantic Hero(ine) in Russia and the West
35373D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	14 of 15	Kelsey Rubin-Detlev	VKC258
Jewish Identity in Literature and Film
35374D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	8 of 15	Leah Hochman	WPH202
Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Magical Realism
35375D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Marjorie Becker	WPH106
On Beauty
35376D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	13 of 15	Daniel Tiffany	GFS229
Humans and Animals in Classical Literature and Beyond
35377D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	13 of 15	Lucas Herchenroeder	GFS228
Genocide and Human Experience
35378D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 17	Mehmet Polatel	VKC158
Philosophy and the Emotions
35380D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	15 of 15	Jacob Ross	GFS229
Ultra-close Readings of Hebrew Scriptures
35381D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	11 of 15	Bruce Zuckerman	GFS228
Transforming Italy: Italian Literature Today
35382D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	16 of 16	James Fortney	VKC257
Democracy, Diplomacy, and Duels -- Party Politics from the English Revolution to the Age of Hamilton
35383D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	17 of 17	Amy Watson	VKC255
Messiah--The History of an Idea
35384D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	16 of 16	Joshua Garroway	VKC254
On Beauty
35387D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	14 of 15	Daniel Tiffany	GFS229
Crime Fiction - Hard-Boiled and Noir
35390D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Mon, Wed	12 of 15	Edwin Hill	VKC254	PDF (1209503 MB)
Vampires and Other Monsters in World Literature, Film and Art
35391D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Mon, Wed	14 of 16	Ellen Oliveira	LVL3Y
Language, Law, and Literature
35392D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Tue, Thu	11 of 15	Sandra Disner	VKC254	PDF (126882 KB)
Writing About Place
35393D	001	Lecture	6:00-7:20pm	Tue, Thu	13 of 15	Chris Hawthorne	THH214
Trouble As Their Business: Mid-20th Century Noir and Detective Fiction
35394D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Mon, Wed	6 of 15	Ben Levine	VKC255	Word (20900 KB)
Vampires and Other Monsters in World Literature, Film, and Art
35395D	001	Lecture	6:30-7:50pm	Mon, Wed	16 of 17	Ellen Oliveira	LVL3Y

GESM 121g: Seminar in Humanistic Inquiry (4.0 units)

Critical appreciation of various forms of human expression, evaluating works of literature, philosophy, and the arts to enable informed opinions about ideas and values. Offered by a professional school.

Restriction: Registration open to the following class level(s): Freshmen
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location
Ethics of Science and Technology
35400D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 18	Elisa Warford	GFS228
Science, Literature and Ethics
35401D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 17	Amy Schroeder	GFS228

GESM 130g: Seminar in Social Analysis (4.0 units)

Individual and collective human action as it shapes and is shaped by economic organizations, political institutions, and broad social and cultural settings. (Satisfies GE-C, Social Analysis) Open only to Freshmen.

Restriction: Registration open to the following class level(s): Freshmen
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location	Syllabus
Music and Class in American Society
35424D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 17	Daniela Levy	LVL3Y
Central American and Mexican Immigration
35426D	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	14 of 16	Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo	VKC255
Spy Novel Diplomacy-Propaganda and International Relations
35427D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Patrick James	VKC258
Drunk History, or How Beverages Changed the World
35428D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Lindsay O'Neill	VKC256
Sociology of Youth, Culture, and Society
35429D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Elaine Bell Kaplan	GFS228
Consuming Each Other: Food and Relationships
35430D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	14 of 16	Xochitl Ruiz	GFS229
Anthropologies of Climate Change
35432D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	9 of 15	Sayd Randle	VKC254
Early Gay History in L.A.
35435D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 16	Joseph Hawkins	VKC254
Who Owns the Past? Cultural Heritage in the News
35436D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 18	Kirby Farah	LVL3Y
Race, Empire, and Immigration
35437D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	14 of 15	Katrina Quisumbing King	LVL3V	PDF (207981 KB)
Culture Dectectives--Historical Archaeology in the Americas
35438D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Tracie Mayfield	VKC254
Race, Empire, and Immigration
35439D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Mon, Wed	10 of 15	Katrina Quisumbing King	LVL3V	PDF (207981 KB)
Food--Then and Now
35440D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Jessica Kanoski	LVL3V

GESM 131g: Seminar in Social Analysis (4.0 units)

The causes and consequences of social phenomena; quantitative and qualitative methods of the social sciences; how people behave and influence the world through cultural forms. Offered by a professional school.

Restriction: Registration open to the following class level(s): Freshmen
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location	Syllabus
The Art and Science of Decision Making
35441D	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	18 of 19	Cheryl Wakslak	LVL3V	Word (247296 KB)
The Bilingual-Bicultural Experience in America -- A focus on Latinos
35443D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	14 of 15	Nasser Cortez	LVL13
The Educational Experience of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
35444D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Ruth Chung	LVL3Y
The Health of Populations -- Epidemics and Their Causes
35445D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 18	Richard Watanabe	LVL3Y
The Art and Science of Decision Making
35446D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	19 of 19	Cheryl Wakslak	VKC255	Word (247296 KB)
Introduction to Education Inquiry through the Study of Inequities in Education
35447D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 19	Briana Hinga	LVL3V
Witnessing -- Case Studies in Visual Culture, Memory, and Social Justice
35448D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Christopher Smith	ANN209
Food, Society and Health
35450D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Camille Dieterle	LVL3Y

GESM 140g: Seminar in the Life Sciences (4.0 units)

Scientific understanding of a full range of living systems from molecules to ecosystems, prokaryotes to humans, past and present. (Satisfies GE-D, Life Sciences) Open only to Freshmen.

Restriction: Registration open to the following class level(s): Freshmen
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location	Syllabus
The Physics of Life
35461D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	James Boedicker	WPHB36	PDF (117305 KB)
Language and the Age of the Internet
35462D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 18	Elsi Kaiser	GFS228

GESM 141g: Seminar in the Life Sciences (4.0 units)

Scientific understanding of living systems from molecules to ecosystems; how data is generated and interpreted; how scientific discovery spurs technological growth and impacts society. Offered by a professional school.

Restriction: Registration open to the following class level(s): Freshmen
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location
Personality Across the Lifespan
35465D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Mon, Wed	19 of 19	Min-Kyoung Rhee	GER224
The Mind and Body Connection Through the Lifespan
35466D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 18	Min-Kyoung Rhee	GER224

GESM 160g: Seminar in Quantitative Reasoning (4.0 units)

Analysis and manipulation of data and information related to quantifiable objects, symbolic elements, or logic; formal reasoning, abstract representation, and empirical analysis. (Satisfies GE-F, Quantitative Reasoning). Open only to Freshmen.

Restriction: Registration open to the following class level(s): Freshmen
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location
Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Infinity
35481D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	14 of 15	Larry Goldstein	GFS109
Mathematics and Arts
35482D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	8 of 15	Felicia Tabing	GFS210
The Mathematics of Secret Codes from Caesar to the RSA
35485D	001	Lecture	12:00-12:50pm	MWF	15 of 15	David Crombecque	VKC203

GESM 161g: Seminar in Quantitative Reasoning (4.0 units)

Logical or statistical inference, probability, or mathematical analysis used as tools to evaluate hypotheses, claims, questions, or problems within a formal mode of thought. Offered by a professional school.

Restriction: Registration open to the following class level(s): Freshmen
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location	Syllabus	Info
Statistics and Quantitative Literacy
35491D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	8 of 15	Ji Zhou	LVL3V	PDF (384685 KB)

Information accurate as of September 23, 2020 11:00 am.
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