USC Schedule of Classes

The description and analysis of various forms of visual culture, including both mass media and "high" art representations, both Western and non-Western images.

European art and its legacy in the Americas. Painting, sculpture, architecture and other visual media considered in relation to social and cultural history.

Consideration of various categories of "The Modern" as they have been constructed in Western art of the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Analysis of race and the economic, political, gender, and social dimensions of contemporary Los Angeles including topics such as residential segregation, economic inequality, and city politics.

An introduction to cultures and people in the Americas; the social, historical, economic and cultural formations that together make up the Latino/a American imaginary.

Examination of the ways that different nations and cultures have remembered the Vietnam War or the American War as it is called in Vietnam. (Duplicates credit in former AMST 377)

Introduction to American studies and ethnic studies. Provides an overview of major theories, concepts, and issues.

Overview of Native American studies, including Indigenous intellectualism and resistance through language revitalization, film-making, and the recognition of one another.

Examines the relation between U.S. national culture, race, and popular culture.

Examines political and cultural change in the United States during the decade of the 1960s.

Explores how the proliferation of sexual cultures, identities, politics shape everyday lives in the United States and beyond.

Historical, social, and cultural analysis of (East, South, and Southeast) Asians in the United States. Theme examined: immigration, race and gender relations, ethnic culture, community, and identity.

History, political-economy and aesthetics of the African Diaspora with emphasis on Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.

Examines history of popular cultural forms such as literature, music, dance, theater, and visual arts produced by and about African Americans.

Introduction to an interdisciplinary study of American political, cultural and social life with a particular emphasis on the Western United States as a region. Recommended preparation: HIST 200, ENGL 263

A survey of narratives accounting for the global dimensions of Black migratory experiences between Africa, Europe and the Americas, from early modern trajectories to contemporary times.

The body, illness and healing from a cultural perspective, including comparative studies of folk healing systems, curing rituals and Western biomedical practices.

An exploration of the nature and contributions of pre-Columbian high civilizations (Maya, Aztecs, etc.) and their descendants as they resist and assimilate to the modern world.

Archaeology as the means of investigating our shared human past, from the origins of humanity to the foundations of current civilization.

Cultural differences and social processes examined in global and regional networks. Issues are studied ethnographically, using materials from several disciplines.

Concepts of social anthropology using filmic representations ofsocieties throughout the world in contrast to written ethnography.

Survey of the performance of healing in cross-cultural perspective. The course culminates in field research to Spiritist centers outside the United States.

Indigenous peoples of North America: major cultural themes, contemporary issues, language revitalization, native sovereignty, environmental issues, decolonization.

Youth gang dynamics and their effects on institutions. Comparative analysis of Asian, African, and Mexican American gangs.

Survey of the universe: planets, satellites, comets, stars, nebulae, galaxies. Practical component includes planetary observations and dark-sky field trip. Not available for major credit.

Survey of the prospects for life in our solar system and beyond, based on the evolution of life on Earth.

An examination of the physical and biological laws that influence agriculture, pollution, population dynamics (including humans), climate, biodiversity and ecosystem structure and function. Not available for major credit.

Study of common skills in biology, including basics of evolution, systematics, ecology, genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology, physiology, and anatomy.

Introduction to the scientific method; basic instruction in molecular biology with emphasis on how biological research advancement has impacted medicine, commerce and society in general.

Exploration of molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, nutrition and the history of biology through the study of food, focusing on food's relationship to the biological world.

In-depth survey of key topics related to advances in our knowledge of the diversity of life and evolution; origin of life; eukaryotes/prokaryotes; ecology.

The human organism; the nature of inherited and acquired diseases;the biological and societal basis for the AIDS epidemic; therapy,drug design and the future. Not available for major credit.

Changes in the physical and biological universe over time; origins of life, dinosaurs, human evolution. Implications of evolutionary mechanisms and mass extinctions for human survival.

In-depth survey of key topics related to advances in our knowledge of cellular biology and physiology; cell composition/metabolism; gene action; organism structure and function. Recommended preparation: high school chemistry; BISC 120L or BISC 121L.

Equivalent to 220L, but taught at a higher level for exceptionally well-prepared students. Admission to the course by departmental approval only.

Exploration of the unique properties of brain cells that allow complex perceptions and behaviors; examination of structure and activity of brain cells that underlie function.

Statistical methods in biological science and medicine, including populations and samples, random sampling, confidence intervals, paired samples and regression.

Fundamental principles and laws of chemistry; laboratory work emphasizes quantitative procedures. Prerequisite to all more advanced courses in chemistry. Lecture, 3 hours; laboratory and discussion, 4 hours. Quiz, 1 hour.

Scientific principles underlying forensic approaches to the investigation of crimes and its societal impact on law, culture and media. Not available for major credit.

Ancient Roman values, ideas, and institutions of relevance to later periods of civilization.

The lives of prominent Greeks, Romans and others in their ancient historical and biographical contexts and in modern reevaluations through various written and visual media.

Joint introduction to classical music and classical literature through close study of works of music inspired by the Greek and Roman literary tradition.

Comparative study of works from a broad range of cultural traditions that originate from, and provide insight into, vital global locations outside the Western sphere.

Comparative study of Latin American cultures, especially vis-a-vis those of Europe and the U.S. Materials drawn from literature, but also film, opera, history, cultural theory.

Survey of literary and other cultural texts from the 19th to the 21st centuries, with emphasis on the individual and social change.

Introduction to works of major women writers from the Middle Agesto the 20th century in their literary, social, and cultural contexts.

Studies of the presence and influence of Zen Buddhism and Daoism in Asian literature, with a focus on China and Japan.

Study of the structures through which we shape our experience in religion, philosophy, literature, music, and the visual arts, and of competing theories of interpretation. Students may not take this course on a P/NP basis.

Critical problems in the development of scientific thought, studied as vehicles for understanding the content and structure of the sciences. Specific subject matter in selected scientific disciplines will be presented. Students may not take this course on a P/NP basis.

Analysis of historical change; social and political theory and revolutionary thought; introduction to competing images of future states of affairs; the continuing process of change. Students may not take this course on a P/NP basis.

An introduction to and overview of the contemporary cinemas of East Asia: China (Hong Kong, the People's Republic, and Taiwan), Japan, and Korea.

Introduction to the history of Chinese, Japanese and Korean ethical thought; perspectives on human nature, historical writing,and aesthetic implications. Conducted in English.

Survey of Korean film, the film industry, and critical issues from the colonial period to the present.

Advanced-level introduction to China and its relations with the wider world in historic and contemporary perspective.

Behavior of firms and consumers, functions of the price system, competition and monopoly, labor markets, poverty, government regulation, international trade, and the environment.

Unemployment, inflation and output determination and links.Effects of government taxation and spending on growth, investment,saving, consumption, and trade.

A study of emotional intelligence through literature, history and the arts with a focus on anger, happiness, love and empathy.

Close study of Shakespeare's plays and poems to introduce his language, stagecraft, literary "genius," social and literary contexts, precursors and rivals, and legacy.

Intensive reading of major writers to 1800.

Intensive reading of major writers, 18001950.

Intensive reading of representative writers.

Introduction to major forms, styles and theories of narrative, with attention to characterization, plot, genres, ethics, empathy, perspective, audience and social conditions.

Study of literary modes of narrative and their uses in medical understanding, character formation, social identity, and relations between mind and body.

Study of forms of nonfiction writing, focusing on craft and process: how it works and how to read, write and write about it.

Historical survey of the traditions of lyric poetry from Shakespeare to the contemporary, examining the genre's multiple forms of literary, visual, and aural expression.

Questions of gay and lesbian identity, expression and experience in a variety of literary and cultural forms; emphasis on sexual politics, equality and difference.

Novels, stories, essays, poems, and plays written in and about California from the Gold Rush to the present.

Literary travel using novels to explore regional culture and unify the study of literature, history, geography, politics and social studies.

Examination of legal problems and concepts in English and American literature. Recommended preparation: CORE-102 or ARLT-100; WRIT-140.

Study of prose written in English since 1945, principally fiction of the past two decades.

Study of poetry written in English since 1945, with special emphasis on the last two decades.

Literary studies in the relationship between fiction and drama and their adaptation as films.

Gateway to the majors and minors in environmental studies. Provides students with an overview of how government agencies and societal institutions address (or fail to address) the interrelated social and scientific aspects of environmental problems and policies.

Exploration of the major social, political, economic, religious, and philosophical disagreements that exist between scholars, leaders, and citizens concerning today's most serious environmental issues and problems. Not available for credit to environmental studies majors and minors.

An exploration of cultural haunting in post-Revolutionary France, grounded in critical approaches to literature, with a focus on collective memory, loss and historical violence.

Film-making in France from the earliest experiments to current trends. Emphasis on the political, social, historical context of French films. Taught in English. Reading knowledge of French recommended.

Physical, chemical, and geological character of the oceans andocean basins. Origin of the oceans. Ocean processes and agents.Economic value of the oceans. Lecture, 3 hours; laboratory, 2 hours. One all-day field trip required.