Spring 2025

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)

Examines the relation between U.S. national culture, race, and popular culture.

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

A survey of narratives accounting for the global dimensions of Black migratory experiences between Africa, Europe and the Americas, from early modern trajectories to contemporary times.

Introduction to the culture of ancient Greece and its influence on contemporary ideas, institutions, values, and literary and artistic works of the imagination.

Political, ethical, and ideological aspects of classical WesternAttitudes towards human diversity. Relationship between classicaltradition and contemporary discussions of diversity and unity.

Tragedies and comedies of the ancient world; later influences.

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.

A comparative study of the Asian aesthetic heritage of poetry, painting, music, and drama; of literary themes, trends, and myths.

Studies of the presence and influence of Zen Buddhism and Daoism in Asian literature, with a focus on China and Japan.

Study of the structures through which we shape our experience in religion, philosophy, literature, music, and the visual arts, and of competing theories of interpretation. Students may not take this course on a P/NP basis.

An issues-based introduction to critical theory in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, especially as it relates to philosophy, art, design, and visual culture.

A critical history of art, design, visual culture, and visual theory since 1960, addressing through a postcolonial/decolonial lens the concepts and practices of "global" art.

Representations of marginalized groups in digital media, and how they have shaped conversations, altered public discourse and policy, and impacted the lives of underrepresented people.

Exploration of dance as an art form in its artistic, political, and socio-cultural climate. Studies of the continuum of dance within its historical context.

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.

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.

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.

Introduction to issues in visual and popular culture, focused on critical and historical interpretation of words and images in comic books and graphic novels.

Study of Francophone womens narratives combined with practice of editing personal narratives. Conducted in English.

Study of African migration to Europe and the formation of 'black'/African communities in Europe, focusing on France and Italy. Conducted in English.

An exploration of cultural haunting in post-Revolutionary France, grounded in critical approaches to literature, with a focus on collective memory, loss and historical violence.

18th- and 20th-century debates around the idea of equality and the notion of difference. Relevance of the Enlightenment to contemporary discussions of identity, citizenship, and human rights. Conducted in English.

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.

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.

Political, intellectual, and cultural developments in Europe,1300-1815. Renaissance and Reformation; absolute monarchy,scientific changes, and Enlightenment; French Revolution andNapoleon.

Japan from the earliest times to the present; social, cultural,and political dimensions.

A thematic approach to California history from precontact to present; focus on peoples, environment, economic, social, and cultural development, politics, and rise to global influence.

Overview of the history of the Ottomans and their imperial subjects.

An interdisciplinary introduction to the literary, artistic, and political movements which contributed to the shaping of modern Italy. Taught in English.

Interdisciplinary exploration of gender and sexuality in Italian renaissance literature and visual arts by male and female authors and artists from the fourteenth through the sixteenth century.

Major ideas, personalities, and movements in Jewish history from antiquity to the present in light of the interaction of the Jews with the general culture.

Explores Jewish participation in the social, cultural, political and economic life of the modern Middle East.

Exploring the Hebrew Bible, the world in which it arose, and influential texts, including work from Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Southern Levant.

Investigates contemporary conflicts in the discovery of the ancient world. Students will ask essential questions about the power of discovering and showcasing specific narratives.

Examines contemporary Arab state-society relations using literature to illustrate how people construct meanings and portray issues of national, social, and cultural significance.

The philosophical foundations of modern political and economic thought, including economic rationality, neoclassical economics, free-market vs. socialist economies and behavioral economics.

The study of the nature and role of professionals in life and society, forces that shape and direct them, foundations and applications of professional ethics.

Exploration of the philosophical and religious implications of major scientific revolutions, such as those of Copernicus, Galileo, and Darwin. (Duplicates credit in former PHIL 220g)

Explores various conceptions of morality and what makes actions right or wrong, together with the implications of these views for concrete ethical issues.

Introduces and explores philosophical and ethical questions and theories related to technology, including biomedical technologies, internet applications and artificial intelligence.

Key works that have shaped the European and American cultural inheritance, with a special focus on the nature of love.

The Hebrew Bible in the cultural setting of the ancient Near East; the formation of theological and ethical concepts which have shaped Western culture.

Examination of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in their origins and their development in relation to Western civilization.

Focus primarily on works of Buddhist literature written in a variety of genres. Introduction of basic teachings that link Buddhist traditions across time and space.

Historical and thematic survey of Chinese religious history from earliest times to the present.

Congregational and individual expressions of religion in Los Angeles.

Examines various topics in the process of rapid modernization and globalization in Buddhism including environmentalism, gender, nationalism, social activism, and war and peace.

Key moments in the development of Russian culture since its westernization in the early eighteenth century to the present day. Focus on works of literature, art and other products of the culture that have significantly influenced Russian self-understanding as well as the ways in which Russians perceive the rest of the world.

Tolstoy's major works in the context of his ethical views.Readings and lectures in English.

Examines the representation of gender and sexual discourses and the intersection with wider social, political and theoretical issues in Latin American and Spanish cinema. Taught in English.

Principal writers and their works from Colonial times to the present. Non-majors may write assignments in English. Recommended preparation: advanced comprehension of oral and written Spanish.

Examination of how gender and sexuality have been constructed, experienced and legislated.

Emergence of feminist thought from the Enlightenment to the present; historical development of female subjectivity; advancement of womens rights; feminisms from alternative ideological perspectives.

Genealogies of queer theory, from psychoanalytic theories to feminism and post-structuralism; evolving concepts of gender; relation to social justice, resistance and power.