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
Songs of Resistance
35269R	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	1 of 2	Jim Clements	DMC202
Los Angeles Plays Itself--Art and Visual Culture in the City
35270R	001	Lecture	8:00-9:20am	Tue, Thu	1 of 2	Isabel Wade	WPH201
Looking at Language
35271R	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Alice Gambrell	DMC254
Los Angeles Plays Itself--Art and Visual Culture in the City
35272R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Isabel Wade	WPH201
Questions of Documentary
35274R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	John Alexander	DMC108
Los Angeles Plays Itself--Art and Visual Culture in the City
35276R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	1 of 2	Isabel Wade	WPH201
Listening and Making--Poetry and Its Forms
35278R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	1 of 2	Molly Bendall	DMC200
Passing and Performance in American Identity
35279R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Danzy Senna	DMC107
Mixtape--Explorations Across Genre
35282R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Marci Vogel	GFS205
Through the Viewfinder--Literature and Photography
35290R	001	Lecture	12:00-12:50pm	MWF	0 of 2	Catherine Theis	LVL3B
Green Worlds--Ecopoetry
35291R	001	Lecture	1:00-1:50pm	MWF	2 of 2	Catherine Theis	LVL3B
Green Worlds - Ecopoetry
35292R	001	Lecture	2:00-2:50pm	MWF	1 of 2	Catherine Theis	LVL3B
Writing Stories from Real Life
35293R	001	Lecture	1:00-1:50pm	MWF	0 of 2	Michael Bunn	GFS105

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
Making Drawings
35306R	001	Lecture	12:00-1:50pm	Mon, Wed	1 of 2	Marisa Mandler	WAH102A
I Too, Am American--Theatre and Cultural Literacy
35307R	001	Lecture	12:00-1:50pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2		MCC102
Jazz--America's Music
35309R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	John Thomas	MUS204
Eco-Theatre--Art, Science and Bioregionalism in Contemporary Plays
35310R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2		MCC102
Music and Performance Art
35311R	001	Lecture	8:00-9:50am	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Camae Dennis	KDC236
The Theatre SCene
35312R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Tue, Thu	1 of 2	Emily Roxworthy	THH203
Performing Revolutions--Global History of Theatre and Social Change
35313R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Brent Blair	MCC102
Health and Fitness through Dance
35314R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Margo Apostolos	KDC236
Asian and Asian American Culture on Stage and Film
35315R	001	Lecture	3:00-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2		MRF206
Making Drawings
35316R	001	Lecture	3:00-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Ruben Ochoa	WAH102A
China Goes Un-Pop--Contemporary Chinese Performance
35317R	001	Lecture	4:00-5:50pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2		MCC102
Exploring Shelter - How and Why We Make Meaningful Architecture
35318R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Lauren Matchison	GFS113

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
Telling Animals
35322R	001	Lecture	11:00-11:50am	MWF	2 of 2	Mia Du Plessis	THH117	PDF (259112 KB)
Telling Animals
35323R	001	Lecture	12:00-12:50pm	MWF	2 of 2	Mia Du Plessis	THH119	PDF (259112 KB)
Tell Me A Story--Novels that Made a Difference
35324R	001	Lecture	1:00-1:50pm	MWF	0 of 2	Jessica Cantiello	THH119
Voices of Afro-Latin America
35327R	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Natalie Belisle	DMC107
Representing the Holocaust
35331R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Benjamin Ratskoff	GFS202
From Persia to Rome: Ethnicity in Ancient Empires
35332R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	1 of 2	Tal Ish Shalom	GFS113
Novel Approaches to Identity
35334R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Charles Russell-Schlesinger	GFS111
Pity and Fear
35335R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Margaret Russett	DMC255
Moving Stories from China
35337R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Li-Ping Chen	DMC202
Science in Western Philosophy
35340R	001	Lecture	10:00-10:50am	MWF	0 of 2	Zlatan Damnjanovic	DMC208
Free Will and Determinism
35341R	001	Lecture	11:00-11:50am	MWF	2 of 2	Kadri Vihvelin	DMC208
Women and Revolution in the Middle East
35344R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	1 of 2	Sarah M.A. Gualtieri	DMC108
The Golden Age of Catherine the Great
35345R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Kelsey Rubin-Detlev	VPD107
Contemporary Korean Film and Culture
35348R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Youngmin Choe	DMC254
Moving Stories from China
35349R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Li-Ping Chen	DMC202
Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Magical Realism
35353R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Marjorie Becker	WPH202
City and Country in the Roman World
35354R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Madeline Thayer	LVL3B
Reading Black Love
35355R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Lanita Jacobs	KAP158
Transforming Italy-- Italian Literature Today
35357R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	1 of 2	James Fortney	DMC261
Women in Ancient Literature
35358R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Kristine Garroway	DMC254
Vampires and Other Monsters in World Literature, Film and Art
35359R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Ellen Oliveira	LVL13
Jewish Identity in Literature
35361R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Leah Hochman	DMC108
Mindfulness in Cultural Practices
35362R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	2 of 2	Thomas Ward	GFS204
St. Petersburg--The City of Myth
35363R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	1 of 2	Ellina Sattarova	DMC105
Voices of Afro-Latin America
35365R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Natalie Belisle	GFS112
Yesterday's Tomorrows
35366R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Rick Berg	GFS111
Arab Cityscapes in Literature and Film
35367R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Brady Ryan	DMC255
Envisioning Afterlives--Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory in Literature and History
35369R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	2 of 2	Lori Meeks	WPH201
Climate Fiction--Speculative Fiction for a Broken World
35370R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Stephanie Bower	GFS113	Word (33488 KB)
Race Against the Robots--The Past and Possible Futures of Artificial Intelligence
35371R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Salem Elzway	SOSB37
The Power of Stories--Tribal Identity in Contemporary America
35374R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Antonio Idini	DMC254
Moving Stories from China
35375R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Li-Ping Chen	DMC202
Daughters of Africa--Black Women in U.S. History
35378R	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	2 of 2	Francille Wilson	DMC255
Los Angeles Stories
35379R	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	2 of 1	Christopher Freeman	DMC202
Christianity in the Roman Empire
35380R	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Sheila Briggs	LVL3Y
Plants Attack! Botany in Fiction, Film and Ecological Thought
35381R	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Antonia Szabari	LVL3V	PDF (235997 KB)
Ghost Stories--Throughout Time and Around the World
35393R	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Tok Thompson	GFS202

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
Science, Literature and Ethics
35401R	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Amy Schroeder	GFS202
Climate Change, Technology and Environmental Value
35403R	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	2 of 2	Elisa Warford	WPH201

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
Global Youth Culture
35422R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Fiori Berhane	LVL3V
Asian Pacific America--Migration, Multiracial Society, and Global Relations
35423R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Lon Kurashige	SOSB48
Sociology of Youth, Culture and Society
35427R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	1 of 2	Elaine Bell Kaplan	DMC105
Intersectional Sociology
35429R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Elisabeth Shimada	DMC105
Jewish Language in the 21st Century
35430R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	1 of 2	Sarah Benor	LVL3B
Unlocking the Multilingual Multiverse
35431R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	1 of 2	Francesca Ricciardelli	THH205
Intersectional Sociology
35432R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Elisabeth Shimada	DMC106
Anthropology and Climate Change
35434R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Eduardo Romero Dianderas	GFS202
The Sociology of Love
35435D	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Elisabeth Shimada	DMC107
Language Contact and Language Acquisition
35436R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Zuzanna Fuchs	GFS114
Food--Then and Now
35437R	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Mon, Wed	2 of 2	Jessica Kanoski	GFS202
Sociology of Youth, Culture and Society
35443R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Elaine Bell Kaplan	DMC207

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
Aging and the Media
35448R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Laura Castaneda,Caroline Cicero	ANN209
Public Policy for Aging Populations
35449R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Emma Aguila Vega	RGL209
Journalism and the Shifting Information Landscape
35450R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Laura Davis	DMC208
The Bilingual-Bicultural Experience in America -- A focus on Latinos
35451R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Eugenia Mora-Flores	LVL3V
Engineering Diplomacy--Fusing Engineering with Foreign Policy and International Development
35456R	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Najmedin Meshkati	GFS202
Prosperity Across the Lifespan
35457R	001	Lecture	5:00-6:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Min-Kyoung Rhee	DMC208
Media and Social Change
35458R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Daniela Baroffio	ASC328
Diversity in Hollywood--Social Inquiry in Causes, Constraints and Change-Making Process
35459R	001	Lecture	12:00-1:50pm	Mon, Wed	2 of 2	Stacy Smith	ANN211

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
Contemplative Neuroscience
35460R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Laura Baker	DMC158
Speech and Hearing in Health and Breakdown
35462R	001	Lecture	12:30-1:50pm	Tue, Thu	1 of 1	Dani Byrd	GFS202
Science of Mind -- Language
35463R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Hajime Hoji	GFS109

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
Aging and the Human Brain
35465R	001	Lecture	2:00-3:50pm	Mon, Wed	2 of 2	Marc Vermulst	DMC208
Diseases of the Brain--Why Haven't we won the Battle Yet?
35467R	001	Lecture	3:30-4:50pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Daryl Davies,Michael Jakowec,Liana Asatryan	DMC110

GESM 150Lg: Seminar in the Physical Sciences (4.0 units)

Analysis of natural phenomenon through quantitative description and synthesis; the processes by which scientific knowledge is obtained, evaluated, and placed in social context. (Satisfies GE-E, Physical 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.
Note: Register for one lecture and one lab listed immediately following that lecture

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location
Pollution and the Planet
35468R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Sam Silva	GFS202
Pollution and the Planet
35469R	001	Lab	2:00-3:50pm	Thursday	2 of 2	Sam Silva	ZHSB65
Climate and Natural Hazards--Understanding the Dynamics of Natural Disasters in a Changing Climate
35485R	001	Lecture	11:00-12:20pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Andres Sanchez	SOSB41
Climate and Natural Hazards--Understanding the Dynamics of Natural Disasters in a Changing Climate
35486R	001	Lecture	1:00-2:50pm	Tuesday	0 of 2	Andres Sanchez	ZHS258
Colonizing Mars--Challenges and Opportunities for Human Exploration
35487R	001	Lecture	6:30-7:50pm	Tue, Thu	0 of 2	Hamid Chabok	DMC208
Colonizing Mars--Challenges and Opportunities for Human Exploration
35488R	001	Lab	6:00-7:50pm	Wednesday	0 of 2	Hamid Chabok	KAP158

GESM 151Lg: Seminar in the Physical Sciences (4.0 units)

Natural phenomena analyzed through quantitative description and synthesis to demonstrate how scientific knowledge is obtained, evaluated and made socially relevant. A separate lab is required. 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.
Note: Register for one lecture and one lab listed immediately following that lecture

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location
Acoustics of Real and Virtual Spaces
35477R	001	Lecture	10:00-11:20am	Mon, Fri	1 of 2	Chris Kyriakakis	RTH217
Acoustics of Real and Virtual Spaces
35478R	001	Lab	11:30-1:20pm	Friday	1 of 2	Chris Kyriakakis	RTH217

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
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	Syllabus	Info
Mathematics and the Arts
35480R	001	Lecture	8:30-9:50am	Mon, Wed	0 of 2	Felicia Tabing	DMC208

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

Section	Session	Type	Time	Days	Registered	Instructor	Location	Syllabus	Info
Mind, Belief and Behavior--Learning About Learning
35489R	001	Lecture	9:30-10:50am	Tue, Thu	2 of 2	Helena Seli	SOSB52

Information accurate as of May 8, 2024 9:53 am.
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