USC Schedule of Classes

A broad survey, covering some 8,000 years and focusing on the material culture of the ancient world in a historical and social context.

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

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

Political, ethical, and ideological aspects of classical WesternAttitudes towards human diversity. Relationship between classicaltradition and contemporary discussions of diversity and unity.

Democratic Institutions and practices, empire building, and cultural innovations of fifth and fourth century B.C. Athens using historical, rhetorical, dramatic, philosophical, and artistic sources.

A broad introduction to the great works of Western culture from antiquity to 1800.

A comparative study of the Asian aesthetic heritage of poetry, painting, music, and drama; of literary themes, trends, and myths.

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.

Systematic reasoning about values and ways of living; close reading of major texts within the Western Tradition; Biblical and classical through contemporary sources. Students may not take this course on a P/NP basis.

An issues-based introduction to critical theory in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, especially as it relates to philosophy, art, design, and visual culture.

A critical history of art, design, visual culture, and visual theory since 1960, addressing through a postcolonial/decolonial lens the concepts and practices of "global" art.

Fundamentals course on the elements of scene writing, story structure, and character development.

Exploration of dance as an art form in its artistic, political, and socio-cultural climate. Studies of the continuum of dance within its historical context.

Introduction to the civlization, art and literature of pre-modern China through the lens of the cultural products of identity.

Examination of the transnational production and circulation of Chinese-language cinema. Analysis of the larger sociocultural significance of films by engaging their historical context.

Japanese literature from the earliest times to the present; development of prose, poetry and the novel; evolution of theatre; Japanese literature under Western influence. Conducted in English.

Characteristics and aspects of Chinese civilization;interpretation of philosophy, literature, religion, art, music.Conducted in English.

Introduction to the pleasures and power of poetry, exploring elements drawn from high-points of English poetry, and the lives and works of major poets. (Duplicates credit in ARLT 101g)

An exploration of the culture, vibrance, heritage, mythology, variety, and pathology of a city that was born in hopes and captured the worlds imagination. Duplicates credit in ARLT 101g.

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.

An introduction to the close reading of fiction and the understanding of the genre as an aesthetic and historical phenomenon.

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

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

Selected British, Irish, and American drama from the post World War II period (1945 to the present).

Study of African migration to Europe and the formation of 'black'/African communities in Europe, focusing on France and Italy. Conducted in English.

Patterns of American development from Colonial times to the present. Duplicates credit in former HIST-200.

The social, political, religious, intellectual and cultural landscapes of Europe and the Mediterranean, c. 300 to c. 1400.

Political, intellectual, and cultural developments in Europe,1300-1815. Renaissance and Reformation; absolute monarchy,scientific changes, and Enlightenment; French Revolution andNapoleon.

The Enlightenment, French Revolution, industrialization, Darwinism, socialism, nationalism, technological revolutions, mass culture, imperialism, race, fascism, communism, world wars, genocide, migration, the Cold War, terrorism.

Japan from the earliest times to the present; social, cultural,and political dimensions.

Introduction to Latin American history and cultures, providing tools to grasp the importance of the region within the larger Americas and the world.

A thematic approach to California history from precontact to present; focus on peoples, environment, economic, social, and cultural development, politics, and rise to global influence.

Overview of the history of the Ottomans and their imperial subjects.

Major ideas, personalities, and movements in Jewish history from antiquity to the present in light of the interaction of the Jews with the general culture.

History and contexts of anti-Semitism, racism and other discourses about difference examined through religious, national and cultural forms in Europe and in the US.

Examines contemporary Arab state-society relations using literature to illustrate how people construct meanings and portray issues of national, social, and cultural significance.

A topical study of critical issues and cultural relationships found in music from antiquity to the present and across musical genres and styles.

Introduction to the central philosophical works that have shaped western thought. Includes ancient, early modern and contemporary writings.

Explores writings of ancient philosophers who first raised, and continue to influence our thinking about, fundamental questions concerning nature, knowledge, justice, happiness, and death. (Duplicates Credit in PHIL 115)

Critical study of controversial social issues such as abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, war and terrorism, sexual morality, affirmative action and economic justice.

How does science differ from pseudo-science? When is it rational to accept a scientific theory? And do such theories provide genuine knowledge of reality?

A study of existentialist philosophy and its influence in 19th and 20th century culture, including both literature and film. Focus on works by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre, Beauvoir, Dostoevsky, Godard, and others.

Explores various conceptions of morality and what makes actions right or wrong, together with the implications of these views for concrete ethical issues.

Introduces and explores philosophical and ethical questions and theories related to technology, including biomedical technologies, internet applications and artificial intelligence.

The Hebrew Bible in the cultural setting of the ancient Near East; the formation of theological and ethical concepts which have shaped Western culture.

History of Jerusalem as a window onto the nature of the three Abrahamic faiths.

Historical investigation of New Testament characters, events, ethics and theology in relation to its social, intellectual, and religious contexts in the Jewish and Greco-Roman world.

Historical and thematic survey of Chinese religious history from earliest times to the present.

Key moments in the development of Russian culture since its westernization in the early eighteenth century to the present day. Focus on works of literature, art and other products of the culture that have significantly influenced Russian self-understanding as well as the ways in which Russians perceive the rest of the world.

Dostoevsky's novels as psychological and philosophical analyses of modern alienated man. Readings in Dostoevsky and selections from Gide, Kafka, Camus, and Sartre. Conducted in English.

Introduction to the cultural history of Spain, Portugal and Latin America with a focus on literature and visual works from the early-modern period to the twenty-first century.

Emergence of feminist thought from the Enlightenment to the present; historical development of female subjectivity; advancement of womens rights; feminisms from alternative ideological perspectives.