Spring 2024

Critical approaches to social and cultural changes stemming from disruptive innovations in the arts, science, technology, communications, new media, politics and business. Open only to Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation students.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Introduces students to anthropological inquiry into human relationships with the environment and provides foundational training in qualitative research methods to investigate environmental issues.

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

An intensive study of local systems of belief and knowledge in selected societies in the Pacific, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America with emphasis on ideas of the spirit world.

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.

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

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.

How psychologists study thinking, memory, emotions, personality, and behavior, and how people change in these throughout adulthood to old age.

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.

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.

Achievements of the near East, Greece, and Rome with emphasis on the development of ideas, arts, and institutions which have influenced modern man.

Surveys the social, economic and political lives of Africans since the imposition of European colonial rule in the late nineteenth century.

Examines the origins of the idea of race and how this idea influenced the development of the United States from the colonial period to the present day.

U.S. motion pictures as both a response to and comment upon major events, problems, and themes in 20th century America.

Comparison of national and international differences in health status as influenced by cultural practices and lifestyles within geographic, economic, and political environments. (Duplicates Credit in former HP-400m)

Basic concepts of world affairs for non-majors. Development ofcompetency to understand and critically evaluate global relationsand international events, stressing empirical approaches. Not available for major credit.

Comprehensive introduction to contending theoretical and analytical approaches; development of critical, evaluative, cognitive, and analytical competencies regarding historical and contemporary issues.

Jewish beliefs, practices, and history from the biblical period to the present; Judaic contributions to Western civilization.

Historical background and responses to the Holocaust, withspecial emphasis on ethical implications.

Discourse patterns among diverse social groups in institutional and interpersonal settings; interrelationships among language practices and gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity; social structures and cultural values as reflected in language policies and practices.

Explores the modern Middle East by focusing on the process of globalization.

Critical perspectives on U.S. relations with the Middle East, including the discourses surrounding democracy and globalization.

Explores business-government-society interaction. Examines how diverse interests and identities (social class, race, nationality and gender) affect the conduct and organization of business.

Modern political ideologies; their assumptions, perceptions, and prescriptions regarding political stability and social injustice:anarchism, communism, socialism, liberalism, conservatism, and fascism.

Overview of human rights controversies across the globe. Introduction to techniques of analysis for social issues, interdisciplinary research methods, and interpretation of complex political problems.

Review of legal and ethical traditions of citizenship withemphasis on the latter; consideration of implications for currentpractice of public policy-making and management.

The urban context for planning and policy decisions. Socioeconomic, physical and spatial structure of cities; and the underlying demographic, economic and social processes that drive their ongoing transformation.

Scientific perspective of close relationships: intimate relationships, friendships and others, evolutionary and biological bases of attraction and love, historical, social , cultural influences. Prerequisite: PSYC 100. (Duplicates credit in PSYC 359)

Introduction to psychological, biological and behavioral processes affecting physical health, including stress, coping with disease, health behaviors and socioeconomic and cultural influences on health.

Examination of the immigrant experience in the United States. Comparative analysis of social context of migration, formation of immigrant communities, and social integration of immigrants.

Basic concepts of sociology with special reference to group life,social institutions, and social processes.

Science and technology change society and how we understand ourselves. In turn, social struggles influence science. We will explore the interplay between these forces.

Migration policies worldwide are negotiated by different stakeholders and create different contexts of reception that differently impact the everyday lives and livelihoods of migrants.

Sociological and demographic concepts focusing on the causes of disease, health and wellness. Empirical analysis of population composition and its connection to health.

Theory and history behind the ideal of "the local, grassroots volunteer": a direct link between theory and research using Los Angeles as a case study.

Historical and contemporary approaches to sociological theory; analysis of conceptual frameworks applied to the study of society and social interaction.

The influence of sustainability science on public policy and vice versa in the context of social/ethical theories, analytical methods and solutions.

Introduction to the complex relationship between human development and natural hazards, which are increasingly causing damage and displacement to human populations throughout the world.