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.

Explores key moments in the history of photography from its invention to the present. Issues include modernity and mass culture; photography as a fine art; technologies of vision.

Exploration of one or more major traditions of visual culture in Asia through cross-cultural, interdisciplinary perspectives.

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.

Examination of the constructions of American ethnicity/race in film.

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

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

The effects of globalization on social life in diverse communities, approaching related issues from an ethnographic perspective. Gateway course for the Global Studies Major.

Concepts of social anthropology, using filmic representations of societies throughout the world. Gateway course for the Anthropology major.

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.

Introduction to folklore as a discipline, including folklore research methods and theory. Core course for the minor in Folklore and Popular Culture.

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.

Interdisciplinary approach to understanding the effects of climate change on extreme weather, biodiversity and human societies; challenges with telling climate histories and predicting climate futures.

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.

Introduction to central works of mythology in classical Greek, Roman and Near Eastern traditions; emphasis on the relationship of myth, culture and the human imagination.

History and cultures of the ancient empires of southwest Asia, from Cyrus the Great to the establishment of Islam.

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.

Introduction to works of major women writers from the Middle Ages to 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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.

Study of health, the body and medicine through literature and culture in comparative fashion. Taught in English.

Geologic structure and evolution of planet earth. Principles ofplate tectonics, rocks and minerals, processes of mountainbuilding, continent and ocean formation, earthquakes, volcanism,development of landforms by running water and glaciers. Lecture, 3hours; laboratory, 2 hours. One all-day or two-day field triprequired.

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.