Spring 2024

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

An introduction to the major art forms and monuments of religious art in India, Southeast Asia, China and Japan from prehistory to1300.

Analyzing a wide range of case studies, this course provides a roadmap to analyze and interpret the built environment in many different eras and contexts.

Explores the visual, material and performative aspects of Italian culture in the expression of power and the construction of identity in the Renaissance.

Studies the art and visual culture of the United States from nation formation to the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.

Questions of social engagement and political structure address this examination of major international movements in art since 1940.

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.

Interdisciplinary survey of theory and borderland site cases, national sentiment, linguistic and cultural conflicts, exploration of local, regional, and national identities in cultural contact zones.

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.

Examines the socio-historical and political imperatives of multi-disciplinary scholarship foundational to the study of African Americans.

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

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

An examination of how Hollywood representations of the Middle East have changed over the last 100 years, focusing on how representations influence perceptions and policies.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Perspectives on nature and the natural world in cultures of the ancient Mediterranean from survey of sources in literature, art, philosophy and the history of science.

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.

Introduction to African cultural history by way of a comparative study of major literary works and intellectual thought from representative regions and countries in Africa.

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.

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

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

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.

The history of Korean literature and culture from the ancient to the modern era. Recommended preparation: HIST 105g.

An introduction to Sinophone literatures and cultures (in English translation) from the Asia-Pacific region, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Southeast Asia, and North America.

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.

A study of literature and literary theory through the themes and theories of wonder, magic and the uncanny in English literature before 1800.

Women as writers and as subjects, with special emphasis on feminist and liberationist traditions and on changing female images after 1800.

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

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

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.