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
Form and Power in African American Art
35271D	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	Ellen Macfarlane	ONLINE
Questions of Documentary
35273D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	John Alexander	CPA210
World Arts, Cultures and Empires
35274D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Indra Mukhopadhyay	GFS210
Love and Sex in Renaissance Art
35275D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Emily Anderson	CPA207
Looking at Language
35276D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Alice Gambrell	CPA211
Soundscapes
35277D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Eric Rawson	WPH103
Looking at Language
35278D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Alice Gambrell	CPA211
Questions of Documentary
35279D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	John Alexander	THH108
The Protest Song
35283D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Jim Clements	CPA155
The Relief
35284D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	Ruth Ezra	WPH104
Poems, Plays and Politics
35285D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	Brighde Mullins	KDC236
Pioneers of the Impossible: New Borders and Boundaries in Poetry and Fiction
35288D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Mon, Wed	15 of 15	Mark Irwin	THHB10

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
Images of the Self in Music of the Romantic Era
35300D	001	Lecture	12:00-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Leah Morrison	TMCG156
Asian and Asian American Culture on Stage and Film
35301D	001	Lecture	12:00-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Velina Hasu Houston	MCC102	PDF (668716 KB)
Jazz--America's Music
35302D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Mon, Wed	16 of 16	John Thomas	MUS204
Performing Gender--Centuries of Dramatic Cross Dressing
35303D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Mon, Wed	17 of 17	Melinda Finberg	MCC102
The Holocaust and the Creative Impulse
35304D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Nick Strimple	MUS204
Health and Fitness Through Dance
35305D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Margo Apostolos	KDC241
The Theatre SCene
35306D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Tue, Thu	15 of 15	Els Collins	KAP134	PDF (402524 KB)
Performing Revolutions--Global History of Theatre and Social Change
35307D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Brent Blair	MCC102
China Goes Un-Pop--Contemporary Chinese Performance
35308D	001	Lecture	4:00-5:50pm	Mon, Wed	17 of 16	Meiling Cheng	GFS222
Making Drawings
35309D	001	Lecture	12:00-1:50pm	Mon, Wed	17 of 16	Osvaldo Trujillo	WAH102B
Eco-Theatre
35310D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Mon, Wed	13 of 11	Oliver Mayer	SOSB43	Word (281850 KB)
Making Drawings
35311D	001	Lecture	3:00-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	15 of 16	Osvaldo Trujillo	WAH102A
Shelter
35312D	001	Lecture	10:00-11:20am	Mon, Wed	17 of 17	Lauren Matchison	WAH212

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
Water and the Imagination
35327D	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	16 of 17	Jackie Wang	CPA111
Laughter and the Transformation--From Ancient Athens to Modern Standup
35332D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Devon Harlow	WPH107
Vampires and Other Monsters in World Literature, Film and Art
35333D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Ellen Oliveira	THH215
Feminist Science Fiction Studies
35334D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Atia Sattar	THH110
Modern Russian Culture
35337D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Natalia Dame	WPH203
Being Muslim in America
35338D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	18 of 18	Arjun Nair	CPA256
The Uncanny in Medieval and Renaissance Europe
35339D	001	Lecture	10:00-10:50am	MWF	18 of 17	Thea Tomaini	THH115
Science in Western Philosophy
35340D	001	Lecture	10:00-10:50am	MWF	17 of 17	Zlatan Damnjanovic	GFS201
Envisioning Afterlives: Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory in Literature and History
35341D	001	Lecture	10:00-11:50am	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	Lori Meeks	SOSB41
Poetry Across Media
35342D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 17	Bruce Smith	ONLINE
Labor in the Greco-Roman World
35343D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	12 of 12	Steven Gonzalez	THH106
Contemporary Korean Film and Culture
35344D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Youngmin Choe	CPA258
Biblical Protagonists
35345D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Kristine Garroway	GFS113
Climate Fiction--Speculative Fiction for a Broken World
35346D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Stephanie Bower	WPH106
Modern Russian Culture
35347D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Natalia Dame	WPH107
St. Petersburg--City of Myth
35348D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Colleen McQuillen	CPA205
Reason and the Unbearable Lightness of Being
35349D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 18	Sally Pratt	CPA151
Language, Law and Literature
35350D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Sandra Disner	CPA256	PDF (170500 KB)
Classics in Greek Literature and Philosophy
35351D	001	Lecture	12:00-12:50pm	MWF	19 of 17		CPA255	PDF (555248 KB)
Reading "Black Love"
35352D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Lanita Jacobs	KAP166
Human Reason--Its Scope and Limits
35353D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	Canceled	Janet Levin
Kurosawa's Cosmos
35354D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Kerim Yasar	CPA256
Indian Traditions of Mind and Body
35355D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	James Mchugh	CPA210
Literature of Resistance
35356R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Yaffa Weisman	WPH101
Culture, Conformity, Revolt
35357D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 16	David Rollo	ONLINE
Masterpieces of the Short Story
35359D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	14 of 15	Alexander Zholkovsky	THH215 & ONLINE	Word (24191 KB)
The Dream of Poetry
35360D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	13 of 14	Carol Muske-Dukes	ONLINE	Word (72633 KB)
Ultra-Close Readings of the Hebrew Scriptures
35361D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	17 of 17	Bruce Zuckerman	THH217
Reading Scripture--The Hebrew Bible, New Testament and Qur'an in Dialogue
35362D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	17 of 17	Reuven Firestone	WPH101
Trouble As Their Business--Mid-20th Century Noir and Detective Fiction
35363D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	19 of 17	Ben Levine	CPA210
Messiah--The History of an Idea
35364D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	17 of 17	Joshua Garroway	WPH107
Mindfulness in Cultural Practices
35365D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	19 of 17	Thomas Ward	THH215	Word (180029 KB)
Plants Attack! Botany in Fiction, Film and Ecological Thought
35366D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	Antonia Szabari	THH112	Word (28329 KB)
Vampires and Other Monsters in World Literature, Film and Art
35367D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	17 of 17	Ellen Oliveira	THH110
Immigration and Assimilation -- the U.S. Catholic Experience
35368D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	James Lewis Heft	THH108	Word (33158 KB)
Slavery and Salvation
35369D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	17 of 17	Kelsey Moss	WPH203
Indian Images
35370D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 17	Ketaki Pant	ONLINE
Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Magical Realism
35371D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Marjorie Becker	WPH107
Christianity and the Roman Empire
35372D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	15 of 14	Sheila Briggs	CPA256
Eastern European Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
35373D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	Andrzej Brylak	WPH206	Word (380606 KB)
On Beauty
35375D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Daniel Tiffany	CPA109
Representations of Nature in the Roman Empire
35376D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Emily Brown	THH217
Transforming Italy--Italian Literature Today
35378D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	James Fortney	CPA206
Los Angeles Stories
35379D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	Christopher Freeman	THH217	PDF (611621 KB)
Christianity and the Roman Empire
35380D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	12 of 12	Sheila Briggs	CPA161
Daughters of Africa--Black Women in U.S. History
35381D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	19 of 17	Francille Wilson	CPA111
Trouble As Their Business--Mid-20th Century Noir and Detective Fiction
35382D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	Ben Levine	CPA106
On Beauty
35386D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 15	Daniel Tiffany	CPA109
Mindfulness in Cultural Practices
35388D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Mon, Wed	19 of 17	Thomas Ward	ONLINE	Word (182029 KB)
Anime, Comics, and the Japanese Experience of the Second World War
35391D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Benjamin Uchiyama	CPA254
Reading "Black Love"
35392D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Tue, Thu	14 of 17	Lanita Jacobs	KAP165
Ghost Stories-Throughout Time and Around the World
35393D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Tok Thompson	ONLINE	Word (54272 KB)

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	Syllabus	Info
Science, Literature and Ethics
35401D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 17	Amy Schroeder	GFS201

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
America at the Crossroads of Race and Science
35424D	001	Lecture	11:00-11:50am	MWF	19 of 17	Celeste Menchaca	WPH201
Wildfire in the American West
35425D	001	Lecture	8:00-9:20am	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Alice Baumgartner	CPA109
Asian Pacific America--Migration, Multiracial Society, and Global Relations
35426D	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	12 of 16	Lon Kurashige	WPH201
Sociology of Youth, Culture and Society
35427D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	16 of 17	Elaine Bell Kaplan	CPA200
Money, Punishment and Inequality
35429D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Brittany Friedman	WPH101
Ritual
35432D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Anne Goldgar	CPA158	Word (296496 KB)
Ritual
35435D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 16	Anne Goldgar	CPA209	Word (296496 KB)
Early Gay History in L.A.
35436D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Joseph Hawkins	THHB10
Pacific Beaches and the American Imagination
35437D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	19 of 17	Sean Fraga	CPA105	PDF (328735 KB)
Race and Class Inequality in Urban America
35438D	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 15	Leland Saito	ONLINE
Food--Then and Now
35440D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Jessica Kanoski	KAP137

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 Bilingual-Bicultural Experience in America -- A focus on Latinos
35445D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Nasser Cortez	CPA200
Media and Social Change
35446D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Daniela Baroffio	ANN209
Managing Stress for a Better Life
35447D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Elahe Nezami, Ginny DeFrank	THH215
Media and the Latinx Community
35448D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 17	Laura Castaneda	THH215	PDF (418829 KB)
Engineering Diplomacy--Fusing Engineering with Foreign Policy and International Development
35449D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Mon, Wed	18 of 17	Najmedin Meshkati	GFS204
Prosperity Across the Lifespan
35450D	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Min-Kyoung Rhee	GER124
Diversity in Hollywood--Social Inquiry into Causes, Constraints, and Change-Making Processes
35451D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Stacy Smith	ONLINE
Technology and Society
35452D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	John Slaughter	WPH203
Public Policy of Communication
35453D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	14 of 15	Mark Lloyd	ANNL115	PDF (344209 KB)

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
Contemplative Neuroscience
35460D	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	18 of 17	Laura Baker	CPA109	Word (39908 KB)
Language in the Age of the Internet
35461D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Elsi Kaiser	GFS210

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	Syllabus	Info
Aging and the Human Brain
35465D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Mon, Wed	19 of 17	Marc Vermulst	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, Sophomore
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.
Note: Instructions on how to obtain department authorization (d-clearance) for GESM courses are available at dornsife.usc.edu/2015ge/gesm-registration/.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location
Mathematics and the Arts
35480D	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	15 of 17	Felicia Tabing	ONLINE
The Logic of Events
35484D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	16 of 17	Alexis Wellwood	WPH206

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, Sophomore
General Education: This course satisfies the university's general education requirement.

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location	Syllabus
Mind, Belief and Behavior: Learning about Learning
35490D	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	19 of 17	Gale Sinatra	CPA207
The Perils of Prediction
35491D	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	17 of 17	Todd Brun	THH108	PDF (289739 KB)

Information accurate as of March 10, 2022 2:00 pm.
Download as a spreadsheet