USC First Year Abroad Courses

 

USC First Year Friendly Courses – Fall 2024 (updated May 6, 2024)

• Click here for an addendum listing AUP courses which satisfy USC General Education categories and information about AUP courses with direct USC course equivalencies.

• If there are two different letter codes before the course number (i.e. AN/CM3060 - THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF FOOD, this means that the course is cross-listed in two different departments. However, it is still the same course)

 

AB1010 - ELEMENTARY ARABIC I 4 credits

This course is designed to familiarize beginners with the Arabic alphabet system and Arabic writing as well as provide the basis for limited conversation.

USC Transfer Note: FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEVEL 1

 

AB1030 - INTERMEDIATE ARABIC I 4 credits

After studying the principles of morphological derivation which makes the students able to structure their understanding of the vocabulary production system, the course focuses on producing small texts expressing the students’ opinion and description of the material seen during the sessions. AB 530 gives the opportunity to go beyond simple contact and to interact in Arabic within the fields covered by the different documents. The field covered by the didactic documents broadens out to short authentic texts, short articles and literary production, as well as authentic documents such as letters, cards, advertisings, announcements…

Prerequisite: AB1020

USC Transfer Note: FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEVEL 3 & MDES222

 

AH1003 - INTRO TO ART THROUGH PARIS MUSEUMS 4 credits

Uses the unsurpassed richness of the art museums of Paris as the principal teaching resource. The history of Western Art is studied through the close examination of a limited selection of major works in a variety of media. The works chosen illuminate the political, social and religious contexts of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Baroque and Rococo periods, and the modern epoch. The course has an extra course fee of 35 euros.

Course Fee: 25

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts & CATEGORY H: Traditions and Historical Foundations

 

AH1020 - INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF ART II 4 credits

Continues the study of selected monuments of painting, sculpture, and architecture, from the Renaissance to the 20th-century. Emphasizes historical context, continuity, and critical analysis. Includes direct contact with works of art in Parisian museums. The overall themes of the class may vary by semester.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts & CATEGORY H: Traditions and Historical Foundations

 

AH2000 - PARIS THROUGH ITS ARCHITECTURE I 4 credits

Investigates the growth patterns of Paris from Roman times through the Second Empire. Studies major monuments, pivotal points of urban design, and vernacular architecture on site. Presents the general vocabulary of architecture, the history of French architecture and urban planning, as well as a basic knowledge of French history to provide a framework for understanding the development of Paris.

Course Fee: 25

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts

 

AH2011 - ANCIENT ART & ARCHITECTURE 4 credits

We will study the visual arts from the Ancient Mediterranean in all media, including architecture, sculpture, vase painting, frescoes, mosaics, cameos, and jewelry. After a brief introduction about the legacy of Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian art, the first half of the course will cover Greek art from the Aegean Bronze Age through the Hellenistic era. The second half of the course will focus on Roman art from the Etruscans through the end of the Roman Empire. Themes we will consider include the ideal of beauty and the development of the “canon,” portraiture and representations of the human body, and ideas about youth and age. To understand the relevance of studying ancient art in modern times, we will also include questions about forgeries and looting, and the contentious issue of cultural heritage. Students are expected to engage closely with original objects of ancient art on view in Paris.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts & CATEGORY H: Traditions and Historical Foundations

 

AH2013 - RENAISSANCE ART & ARCHITECTURE 4 credits

This course will introduce you to the major works of the Italian and Northern Renaissance from 1300 to 1600. Emphasis will be placed on understanding artworks within their original cultural contexts, paying particular attention to the production and circulation of art in an age of exploration and discovery. Key themes and issues of consideration will include the idea of a classical revival and artistic self-fashioning, questions of imitation and style, courtly values, art collecting and the ethnographic print, as well as the religious debates of the period and the changing status of the sacred image.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts & CATEGORY H: Traditions and Historical Foundations

 

AN1002 - INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY 4 credits

Sociocultural anthropology is the comparative study of human societies and cultures.  This course is designed to introduce students to central areas of anthropological inquiry, a range of key theoretical perspectives and the discipline’s holistic approach.  Through field-based research projects, students will also gain familiarity with the discipline’s qualitative research methods (especially participant observation).   While students will encounter the works of key historical figures in the discipline, they will also discover current debates on globalization and transnationalism.   Finally, this course also strives to cultivate students’ ability to reflect critically on their own identities and cultures, thereby gaining a greater understanding and appreciation for diversity and an improved set of intercultural communication skills.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY C: Social Analysis

 

AN2003 - POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 4 credits

Using ethnographic case studies, considers issues of power and political institutions from the cross-cultural and holistic perspectives of anthropology. Discusses diverse definitions of power, authority, and charisma and relates them to the development of a variety of approaches in the field of anthropology, and the social sciences more generally.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY C: Social Analysis

 

AN2091 - TOPICS: LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY 4 credits

This course introduces students to the field of linguistic anthropology, which is the study of human communication, and pays particular attention to how communicational languages differ across time and space, and how language systems affect various human cultures and behaviors.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AN/CM3060 - THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF FOOD 4 credits

This course examines the intersection of food and the senses from an anthropological perspective. We will explore the intersection between food and culture; the impact of social, political and economic contexts on our foods and foodways; French food culture; and taste, cuisine and commensality as forms of inter-cultural communication. Students apply class readings and practice ethnographic methodologies in a few short study trips.

Course Fee: 80

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AR1010 - INTRO TO DRAWING 4 credits

This studio course provides an introduction to the basic ideas and techniques needed for the comprehension and construction of the built environment. Starting with elemental design concerns, students will be asked to use what they learn in order to create ever larger and more complex entities. Site-specific assignments making use of Paris and its history will oblige the students to engage in the “conversation” of the urban world.

Course Fee: 75

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AR1015 - PAINTING I 4 credits

For students with little or no previous experience in drawing or painting. First analyzes still life objects in basic plastic terms starting with value. Concentrates during each class session on a new painterly quality until a sufficient visual vocabulary is achieved so that more complicated subjects such as the nude can be approached. Work will be done in oil. May be taken twice for credit.

Course Fee: 75

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AR1020 - MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES OF THE MASTERS 4 credits

Techniques of the Masters Lectures, demonstrations, and workshops focus on materials and techniques used by artists over the centuries. Studies the historical background of techniques of drawing, painting, sculpture, and the graphic arts combined with a hands-on approach so that each student can experience the basic elements of the plastic arts. Please note that an additional fee will be charged for this course. May be taken twice for credit.

Course Fee: 75

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AR1032 - INTRO TO SCULPTURE 4 credits

For students who have little or no previous experience. Students learn how to see in three dimensions and work from observation. Mastery of structure and the architecture of form in space are acquired by the building up technique in clay. Work from plaster copies, nude models (male and female), and imagination are followed by an introduction to the carving technique. There is an additional fee in this course for materials.

Course Fee: 115

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AR1040 - PRINTMAKING I 4 credits

This course focuses on traditional relief printing techniques for the creation of multiple identical images without the use of a printing press. Once the fundamentals are understood, experimentation is encouraged so that each student can learn how to best exploit the different methods to successfully translate sketches into a powerful printed document. In addition to the making of prints, students will study the history of woodblock and metal printing and will be asked to visit and write about several print collections.

Course Fee: 100

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AR1061 - DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY 4 credits

This introductory course is an exploration of both technical and aesthetic concerns in photography. Using a digital camera, students will produce original work in response to a series of lectures, assignments, and bi-weekly critique classes. The course will cover the fundamentals of photographing with digital SLR’s, and students will learn a range of digital tools including color correction, making selections, working with layers and inkjet printing. After mastering the basics, students will work towards the completion of a final project and the focus of the remaining classes will be on critiques. Students will be asked to make pictures that are challenging in both content and form and express the complex and poetic nature of the human experience. REQUIRED EQUIPMENT:

• A digital SLR or mirrorless camera that can shoot “RAW” files in FULLY MANUAL mode (the brand does not matter)

• An SD card of at least 8GB (SanDisk or Lexar brand)

• A camera lens (preferably a 50mm fixed-length lens, but zooms are ok)

• An SD card reader

• Two external hard drives of at least 500GB

• A portfolio box

Your course fee covers standard paper and ink usage, additional usage will be charged to your student account. AUP provides access to a photo inkjet printer, but DOES NOT PROVIDE CAMERAS, LENSES, SD cards, etc. Please note that it is the student's responsibility to purchase all required individual equipment.

Please note that an additional fee will be charged for this course.

Course Fee: 100

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AR/CM2080 - GRAPHIC DESIGN STUDIO 4 credits

In this course, students will be introduced to graphic design history and graphic design principles. They will learn to apply these principles through hands-on exercises and projects, using both analog means and digital tools (Adobe Photoshop). No prerequisites.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AR2091 A - TOPICS: MONOTYPE & EXPLORATORY PRINTING 4 credits

This experimental course teaches how to create monotypes: a one-of-a-kind, painterly print. Students will study various ways to transfer images from diverse matrices to paper and other supports including cloth, wood, and glass. Monotypes will be produced both with and without the help of an etching press. Additive and subtractive techniques, masking, stenciling, block printing, overprinting, and chine collé will all be taught. Towards the end of the course, students will be expected to use the different techniques they have learned for the creation of complex, layered monotypes. Presentations, group critiques, and museum visits will supplement in-class exercises and outside projects.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AR2091 B- TOPICS: ANATOMY FOR APPLIED ARTS AND DESIGN 4 credits

Most artifacts are destined for human use. For different reasons - ergonomic, practical, ideological or physiological - any object or piece of art shows evidence of the body and its proportions.

If we look at our environment, from the most insignificant object to the most ambitious architectural project, we find that elements are adapted to the human anatomy or made from its image.

Understanding anatomy and its applications in fine and applied arts gives us the opportunity to analyze artifacts and understand how they are conceived.

The class “Anatomy for Applied Arts and Design” will explore links be-tween creative activity and anatomy. We will begin by studying human anatomy in depth, through drawing from the skeleton, from the nude, and by making casts from body parts. Then, we will contextualize our class work from an historical point of view. Finally, we will use our findings as a methodological basis for personal creative projects.

Course Fee: 75

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

AR2091 C- TOPICS: PERCEPTION AND USES OF COLOR 4 credits

If being able to see colours is a luxury that we share with several other primates, it is a faculty that has for a long time, ceased to be necessary for our survival. We know how to feed ourselves, move around and carry out most activities without needing to perceive colour.

Yet colour is omnipresent in our social lives and in the artefacts that surround us. We can observe that colour is more and more present and remains an important research domain, particularly in the areas where it is perhaps less explored, such as architecture, and to a lesser extent in design.

The aim of this lesson is more knowledge and more mastery of colour. The physical aspects (from what, from which phenomena does colour appear?), physiological aspects (how we perceive colour) and cultural aspects (historical: related to notions of harmony for example, sociological: why certain societies use colour more than others) will be studied. In parallel, students will apply these notions through a series of practical exercises and projects which will help them to better use colour, its combinations and interactions: to understand different types of mixes, contrasts and associations of colour but also to be able to name and recognize different colours. Students will mainly work using gouache colours, coloured inks and through the combination of coloured films. The exercises will lead to artistic or design-based projects where the use of colour will be central (artistic compositions, interior design, architectural projects, objects, wearables etc…)

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

BA2009 - INTERCULTURAL MANAGEMENT 4 credits

Stimulating the intercultural sensitivity, understanding and managing cultural differences are vital business concerns. This course examines different cultures and mindsets, the fundamental elements of intercultural management, and working in an international context: organization, leadership, multicultural teams, intercultural communication, meetings and presentations, manners and taboos. The impact of cultural differences is examined in key activities (managing, communicating, coaching, decision-making, organizing, controlling); and key situations (meetings, negotiations, presentations, sales calls).

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

BA2020 - MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 4 credits

The course introduces students to basic Management/Organizational Behavior concepts and enables them to understand the attitude and behaviors on the individual level and the group level within organizations. Students will be enabled to use Organizational Behavior tools and theories to recognize organizational patterns within a complex social situation. Students will be provided with readings, lectures, and cases that provide a diverse and robust understanding of human interaction in organization.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

BA2040 - MARKETING IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT 4 credits

This introductory marketing course develops students’ understanding of the principles of marketing and their use in international business. Students learn how to collect and analyze data sets to make marketing decisions with the goal of understanding customers wants, demands, and needs; they learn marketing from a strategic and functional point of view. With a focus on problem solving, students work in multicultural teams cultivating a greater sensitivity to cultural issues while improving communication skills. Students will consider marketing in the French, US, and international marketplace.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

BA 2050 - CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT 4 credits

The course introduces the foundations of managing creativity and innovation. The readings and discussion will focus on the concepts and frameworks for analysing how firms create, commercialize and capture value from innovative products and services.

The aim of this course is to provide a solid grounding to students interested in managing creativity and the various aspects of the innovation process within organizations. The course is divided into two parts. The first part focuses mainly on the creativity process around three themes: What is creativity? How can creativity be stimulated? How can creative ideas be translated to innovative products and business strategies? Based on major theories in the field, we discuss whether monetary rewards enhance or undermine creativity, how multitasking or working under time pressure affects creativity, what tools we can provide to stimulate creativity, and the challenges that arise when implementing creative ideas in organizations. The second part of the course examines the organizational issues involved in innovating and in implementing innovations. These issues include management of teams and partnerships, learning within and across projects, the manager's role in funding, directing, and killing innovation projects, technological entrepreneurship, and resistance to innovation.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CL1025 - THE WORLD, THE TEXT, AND THE CRITIC I 4 credits

Considers closely three moments when the practice of writing changed radically in response to historical and cultural processes, from Ancient Greece to 1800 (specific contents change each year). Investigates the forces that inform creative imagination and cultural production. Places those moments and those forces within a geographical and historical map of literary production, and introduces the tools of literary analysis.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY B: Humanistic Inquiry & CATEGORY H: Traditions and Historical Foundations

 

CL/FR2010 - PARIS THROUGH ITS BOOKS 4 credits

Examines how experiences of Paris have been committed to the page from the first century to the present.  Considers the uses and effects of overviews, street-level accounts, and underground approaches to describing the city and its inhabitants.  Includes visits to the sewers and museums, revolutionary sites and archives, with multiple members of the comparative literature faculty speaking on their areas of expertise.

http://www.aup.edu/paris-through-its-books

Course Fee: 10

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY B: Humanistic Inquiry

 

CL/FM2028 - THE ART OF SCREENWRITING 4 credits

In Art of Screenwriting students consider the elements necessary for successful screenwriting practices, with close attention to the theory of screenwriting as influenced by other arts.  In particular, a close emphasis of the course is on the art of narrative and the central role played by adaptation of novels in screenwriting practice.  Character development, structure, dialogue and conflict are analyzed through exemplary scripting such as in the works of Jane Campion, Roman Polanski and others.  The course culminates in a hands-on guided approach to scriptwriting by students.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CL/EN2052 - ENGLISH LITERATURE SINCE 1800 4 credits

From the Romantic period, covers major examples of: prose - the transition from the 19th century models to Modernist experimentation; poetry - the development of modern poetic form and the fortunes of European hermetic influence in an increasingly politicized century; and drama - examples of absurdist and left-wing drama which have dominated the British stage since the 1950s.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY B: Humanistic Inquiry

 

CL/FR2075 - THEATER IN PARIS 4 credits

This course essentially happens in the theatres of Paris, exploring the city’s fabulous resources, exchanging with practitioners and scholars from other institutions. We see ways of integrating music, dance and “physical theatre,” innovative explorations of classics from European and non-European traditions, avant-garde masters and the brightest young experimental troupes. We have theatre that directly questions political dilemmas, collective theatre and director-driven theatre, machine theatre and theatre based around great individual actors. Papers done in French or English.

Course fee attached.

Prerequisite: FR1200CCF OR FR1300CCI OR FR2100CCI OR FR2200CCI

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDITCL2083 - DIGITAL POETICS 4 credits

How do words change when we use them on and offline? What happens to writing and reading when we move between physical books and digital environments? What are the relationships between Literature and the Internet?  How do ‘traditional’ or ‘canonical’ literary works dialogue with social media, computer games and Google-generated poetry? What does it ‘mean’ to ‘read’ ‘books’ in the third decade of the twenty-first century?

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts

 

CL/EN2100 - INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING: A CROSS-GENRE WORKSHOP 4 credits

In this course, students practice writing fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry while exploring the boundaries between genres. The workshop format includes guided peer critique of sketches, poems, and full-length works presented in class and discussion and analysis of literary models. In Fall, students concentrate on writing techniques. In Spring, the workshop is theme-driven. May be taken twice for credit.

Course Fee: 25

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CL3023 - MEDIEVAL CULTURE: MARGERY KEMPE AND GEOFFREY CHAUCER 4 credits

Presents the work of Chaucer in the perspective of the European philosophical, humanistic, and poetic developments of his age. The Latin philosophical background includes consideration of the Augustinian ideal of Christian humanism and the traditions of speculation on Divine Providence. Considers the French poetic tradition and multilingual poetic traditions supporting the generic diversity of The Canterbury Tales.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CL/DR3038 - SHAKESPEARE IN CONTEXT 4 credits

Considers a selection of Shakespeare's plays in the context of the dramatist's explorations of the possibilities of theatricality. Examines how theater is represented in his work and how his work lends itself to production in theater and film today. Students view video versions, visit Paris theaters, and travel to London and Stratford-on-Avon to see the Royal Shakespeare Company in performance.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts

 

CL3043 - PARIS ATTRACTION: MODERNIST EXPERIMENTS IN MIGRATION 4 credits

Explores the work of Anglo-American modernist writers in Paris, concentrating on the works of Ernest Hemingway, Wyndham Lewis, Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes, Jean Rhys, and other writers. Relates their formal experimentation to the visual arts and to the psychic dynamics of exile: the experience of liberation from the constraints of one culture and an alienated relation to the new environment.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY B: Humanistic Inquiry

 

CL3063 - KAFKA AND WORLD LITERATURE 4 credits

Kafka’s work has left indelible traces in the pages of today’s most important novelists, in the West and beyond.  In this course we consider the meaning – and when relevant, the burden – of his global legacy.  Assigned readings include “The Metamorphosis”, The Trial and other seminal works by Kafka alongside an assortment of Kafka-inflected fictions from around the world.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY B: Humanistic Inquiry

 

CL/EN3100 - THE POETIC EXPERIENCE: A WRITING WORKSHOP 4 credits

Through writing poetry and analyzing examples, students become familiar with poetic forms and techniques.  This workshop, led by a publishing writer, includes weekly peer critique of poems written for the course.  Students explore what makes a poem moving, evocative, and imbued with a sense of music, no matter what the approach: lyric, narrative, surreal, or experimental.May be taken twice for credit.

Course Fee: 25

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CL/EN3200 - FICTION WRITING WORKSHOP 4 credits

Whether a story is an imaginative transformation of life experience or an invention, the writing must be well crafted and convincing, driven not only by plot and theme but also through characterization, conflict, point of view, and sensitivity to language.  Students produce and critique short stories and novel chapters while studying fiction techniques and style through examples.

Course Fee: 25

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CM/FM1019 - PRINCIPLES OF VIDEO PRODUCTION 4 credits

This course is designed to give you strong technical and conceptual skills in video production. Video and the moving image are everywhere in our world and a solid understanding of how they work will help you use them to pursue questions about the world around you. This course will prepare you for future video work in film, journalism, media and communications, studio art, and can be useful across many other disciplines on campus. You will learn to use the camera to raise questions and will work on several projects, each challenging you to explore new skills. Class time will be divided into lecture, screenings, in-class labs and critique. Outside class readings, shooting, editing and screenings will deepen your understanding.

Course Fee: 90

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CM1023 - INTRO TO MEDIA & COMMUNICATION STUDIES 4 credits

This course provides a survey of the media and its function in today’s society. It introduces students to the basic concepts and tools necessary to think critically about media institutions and practices. In addition to the analysis of diverse media texts, the course considers wider strategies and trends in marketing, distribution, audience formation and the consequences of globalization. By semester’s end, students will understand the basic structures of today’s media and be able to provide advanced analysis that weighs the social and political implications of its products.

Prerequisite: EN1000 OR EN1010 OR EN2020CCE OR EN2020

USC Transfer Note: COMM203

 

CM1110 - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION STUDIES 4 credits

This course aims to introduce students to the study of fashion, considered as a multidisciplinary field of analyses. At the intersection of theory and practice, and relying on the key texts of historians, art historians, philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists and geographers, this course will examine the relationship between fashion and body, identity, art, industry, media, class, culture, subculture, gender, sex, time, space, religion and politics. With an emphasis on experiential learning and drawing on visual and film sources, on historical and contemporary examples for discussion, this class will provide students with the possibility to question the future of the fashion industry by studying the social and environmental impact of fashion and the role of social change that fashion can play.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CM1500 - DIGITAL TOOLKIT: COMMUNICATION DESIGN PRACTICUM 4 credits

In this digital tools training course, students will learn skills and gain hands-on experience with a range of digital publishing tools to build and curate a web platform with compelling, sharable content. They will become familiar with key storytelling platforms and technologies including Wordpress, Tumblr, Vine, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. They will acquire hands---on experience with essential software including Adobe's Photoshop, Illustrator, Encoder, and Final Cut Pro; and they will learn to manipulate HTML and CSS with a basic Integrated Design Environment. In this highly hands---on course, students will learn basic web design and work collaboratively to create and launch a dynamic new digital brand online.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CM/EC2003 - MEDIA INDUSTRIES: STRATEGIES, MARKETS & CONSUMERS 4 credits

This course examines how the media industries – from movies and television to music and magazines – have been transformed by the disruptive impact of the Internet and new forms of consumer behavior. Economic terms such as “creative destruction” will help students understand how the Internet disrupted old media business models and shifted market power to consumers. Case studies include Apple’s impact on the music industry, the emergence of “streaming” services such as Netflix and Spotify, the decline of traditional print-based journalism with the emergence of online platforms, and Amazon’s transformation of the book industry.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

CM2004 - COMPARATIVE COMMUNICATIONS HISTORY 4 credits

This course provides historical background to understand how contemporary communication practices and technologies have developed and are in the process of developing and reflects on what communication has been in different human societies across time and place. It considers oral and literate cultures, the development of writing systems, of printing, and different cultural values assigned to the image. The parallel rise of mass media and modern western cultural and political forms and the manipulation and interplay of the properties and qualities conveyed by speech, sight, and sound are studied with reference to the printed book, newspapers, photography, radio, cinema, television, new media.

Prerequisite: EN1000 OR EN1010 OR EN2020CCE

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CM2006 - MEDIA GLOBALIZATION 4 credits

What is globalization? Why study the media? What is the relationship between the media and globalization? What are the consequences of media globalization on our lives and identities? This course critically explores these questions and challenging issues that confront us today. Globalization can be understood as a multi-dimensional, complex process of profound transformations in all spheres – technological, economic, political, social, cultural, intimate and personal. Yet much of the current debates of globalization tend to be concerned with “out there” macro-processes, rather than what is happening “in here,” in the micro-processes of our lives. This course explores both the macro and the micro. It encourages students to develop an enlarged way of thinking – challenging existing paradigms and providing comparative perspectives.

Prerequisite: EN1000 OR EN1010 OR EN2020CCE

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CM2051 - COMMUNICATION THEORY & RESEARCH METH. 4 credits

The skills learned in this course will prepare students for upper-division communication courses, and provide students with basic research methods in the field of communication. Students will become familiar with a range of research methods (survey, interview, ethnography, discourse, and political economy.

Prerequisite: EN1000 OR EN1010 OR (EN2020 OR EN2020CCE)

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CM2091 - TOPICS: BODIES AND DIGITAL MEDIA 4 credits

This course will examine the significance of digital media and technologies in how bodies are performed, perceived and policed online and offline. It will focus on politics of representation, examining Hollywood’s narrative of bodily enhancements and comparing it with qualitative scholarship on the everyday experience of a range of bodies interacting through and with digital technologies and media such as, voice recognition, augmented reality, virtual reality, and assistive AI. Students will learn to interrogate gendered and able-bodied narratives, challenge existing paradigms and re-examine the blurring between facts and fiction.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CM/VC2100 - INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL CULTURE 4 credits

This course considers the construction of the visual world and our participation in it.  Through a transcultural survey of materials, contexts and theories, students will learn how visual practices relate to other cultural activities, how they shape identity and environmental basic ways, and how vision functions in correspondence with other senses.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

CS3068 - DATABASE APPLICATIONS 4 credits

Introduces databases from the programmer's perspective. IT and CS students have common lectures but different projects. IT students learn the fundamentals of database design, SQL, and how to integrate a database into applications. CS students learn the fundamentals of database design, application integration, query motors, and space management.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

DR/EN2000 - THEATER ARTS 4 credits

Offers a practical workshop in the art of acting and dramatic expression. Students learn to bring texts to life on stage through a variety of approaches to performance. This course develops valuable analytical skills through play analysis, as well as building confidence in presentation and group communications skills through acting techniques and the rehearsal and performance of play scenes. May be taken twice for credit.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

EC2010 - PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS 4 credits

Focuses on the role played by relative market prices in our society and on the forces of market supply and demand in determining these prices. Since the actions of consumers and firms underlie supply and demand, the course studies in detail the behavior of these two groups.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY F: Quantitative Reasoning & ECON203

USC Transfer Note: ECON203

 

EC2020 - PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS 4 credits

Examines the determinants of the levels of national income, employment, rates of interest, and prices. Studies in detail the instruments of monetary and fiscal policy, highlighting the domestic and international repercussions of their implementation.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY F: Quantitative Reasoning & ECON205

USC Transfer Note: ECON205

 

EN1000 - PRINCIPLES OF ACADEMIC WRITING 4 credits

Emphasizes the stages required to produce a polished, articulate essay by practicing the necessary components of excellent academic writing: sharpening critical thinking skills, organizing ideas, choosing appropriate and dynamic words, varying prose style, editing, refining, and proofreading. Although this course carries 4 credits, it does not fulfill the University's English requirement.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

EN1010 - COLLEGE WRITING 4 credits

Taught through thematically linked works of literature from the Ancient world to the present day. Stresses expository writing, accurate expression, and logical organization of ideas in academic writing. Recent themes include: Childhood, Friendship from Aristotle to Derrida, Social Organization and Alienation, Monstrosity, and Music and Literature. This course satisfies only 4 credits of the University's English requirement.

Prerequisite: EN1000 OR EN1010

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

EN2020 - WRITING & CRITICISM 4 credits

A series of topic-centered courses refining the skills of academic essay writing, studying a wide range of ideas as expressed in diverse literary genres and periods. Introduces the analysis of literary texts and gives training in the writing of critical essays and research papers. Recent topics include: Utopia and Anti-Utopia, City as Metaphor, Portraits of Women, Culture Conflict, and Labyrinths.

Prerequisite: EN1010

USC Transfer Note: LOWER DIVISION WRITING REQUIREMENT (WRIT 130)

 

FM1010 - MODERN FILMS & THEIR MEANINGS 4 credits

How does the unique language of cinema make meaning and convey emotions? This course provides multiple answers to that question by introducing the formal characteristics of film and enables the students to acquire the key vocabulary necessary to critically describe, analyze and interpret contemporary cinema. Each week, classes will focus on a foundational concept, ranging from principles of narration to different components of film style, and from why cinema matters to issues of spectatorship. Throughout the course, students will encounter a wide array of feature films from different genres around the globe. Students will also have the opportunity to practice close textual analysis through assignments, and during class discussions delve deep into interpreting the dramatic functions of elements of style in the context of a single film.

Students are expected to participate in these activities in order to build their confidence and command over technical terminology, and work towards attaining their own carefully reasoned interpretations of film texts. In addition, students will learn about Parisian film culture and different approaches to film criticism through lectures and assignments.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts

 

FM2076 - FILM HISTORY II: POSTWAR NEW WAVES 4 credits

This course surveys the richest and most alluring period of cinema from its peak following the end of World War II, through the global movements that revitalized its decline, to its subsequent reformation by digital technologies at the turn of the century. It was by no coincidence that cinema was dubbed the art of the 20th century: taking advantage of technological advancements, newer generations of filmmakers reinvented the expressive possibilities of cinema by turning their cameras directly onto social realities and into individual psyches. Each week, the course will explore key developments in international film cultures by situating films within broader social, political, and cultural contexts. The course will also map the influential aesthetic trends, significant critical developments, and fundamental institutional factors that altogether configured cinema as a voice for political comment as well as a medium of entertainment. Through weekly readings and class discussions, students will learn about the irresistible power of international cinemas and the differing national traditions that resisted the ideological and commercial dominance of Hollywood.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts

 

FM2090 - FILM NOIR 4 credits

Studies America's cinematic myth: Film Noir, a pessimistic style appearing in Hollywood in the 1940s. Films include: The Maltese Falcon, Shadow of a Doubt, The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Touch of Evil, Out of the Past, The Woman in the Window, Murder My Sweet, Force of Evil, Pickup on South Street, and Kiss Me Deadly.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts

 

FM2092 - WOMEN AND FILM 4 credits

Attempts to understand Hollywood's ambiguous attitude toward women during and after the studio system. What do roles played by women tell us about American culture and its fear of women? Also investigates women's roles in Fellini, Antonioni, Godard, and Truffaut, and the female image presented on the screen by directors such as Jane Campion, Diane Kurys, and Agnes Varda.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY A: The Arts

 

FM3072 - GERMAN CINEMA 4 credits

Focuses on two major periods of production: Weimar and the New German Cinema. Features the work of Lang, Murnau, Wiene, Pabst, and Lubitsch, and studies their important contribution to film form. Attention given to 'emigre' directors in Hollywood, and then moves onto works by Fassbinder, Kluge, Wenders, Schloendorff, Herzog, Margarethe von Trotta, and Doris Dorrie.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

FR1100 - FRENCH AND CULTURE I 4 credits

This course is an introduction to French and is intended to help students acquire the basic elements of spoken and written French. Students will learn how to express themselves in everyday life situations. The students’ basic needs for linguistic and cultural information will be the main focus of this course. In class, work will be supplemented by multimedia activities and real-life situations in the city of Paris.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

FR1200 - FRENCH AND CULTURE II 4 credits

This course is a second semester Elementary French course, a continuation of level FR 1010 with emphasis on acquiring basic level of proficiency in the language and understanding the culture of France and the Francophone world. This course will enable students to improve their comprehension skills through the use of authentic audio and video material and to acquire vocabulary to face situations in their real life in Paris. The four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are reinforced and special emphasis is placed on pronunciation. In-class work will be supplemented by multimedia activities and real-life situations in the City of Paris.

Prerequisite: FR1100 OR FR1200 OR FR1200CCF

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

FR1300 - FRENCH AND CULTURE III 4 credits

The aim of the course is to improve and widen the listening, speaking and writing skills of those taking it, consolidating their knowledge of the full range of basic grammatical structures and broadening their general range of vocabulary.  By the end of the course, students should have reached approximately the level A2 standard on the Common European Framework References for Languages

Prerequisite: FR1200CCF OR FR1300CCI OR FR1200 OR FR1300

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

FR2100 - FRENCH AND CULTURE IV 4 credits

This course reviews basic and complex sentence patterns in greater depth through discussions on students experience in Paris. Cultural and historical aspects of the French life are introduced. Students will learn additional vocabulary to express opinions, beliefs, doubts and emotions, and are shown various language registers (formal/informal vocabulary and structures) and intonations. Examples are taken from real life situations, film, television, newspaper articles, etc. The four language skills (listening, reading, speaking, writing) will be reinforced.

Prerequisite: FR1300CCI OR FR1300 OR FR2100 OR FR2100CCI

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

FR2200 - FRENCH AND CULTURE V 4 credits

This high intermediate course will allow students to reach the B1+ CEFR (DELF) competencies by reinforcing and expanding their ability to express themselves, defend an opinion, and debate with others. Special attention is paid to increasing students' ability to form complex sentences to express attitudes, wishes, necessity, doubt, emotions, to link ideas and to speculate. A B1.1 level in French or a passing grade in a French and Culture IV class (FR 2100) is required.

Spontaneously and through active workshops and discussion, they will react and express their point of view on contemporary subjects and questions, such as access to knowledge (university or other) for all, the gaze on information at a time of “fake news” and the over-multiplication of distribution channels (Internet, social networks, etc.), the representation of so-called “visible” minorities in the media sphere, or the consequences of global warming on countries and their inhabitants...

Through learning that is both individual and collective, debates on ideas based on their past and current experiences in and out of class, but also a constant questioning of their representations, students will thus be encouraged to develop, in addition to their linguistic and cultural skills, their critical thinking and to better understand contemporary issues.

Prerequisite: FR2100CCI OR FR2100 OR FR2200 OR FR2200CCI

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

FR3091 A - TOPICS: FRANCOPHONE CULTURE 4 credits

Students will acquire a deeper understanding of the literatures, cultures, as well as the social and political histories of countries in the Francosphere, including African, Asian, Caribbean, European, Mediterranean, North American, and Oceanic spaces.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

FR3091 B- TOPICS: THE FRENCH NEW WAVE: FIGURES AND LEGACY 4 credits

This course delves into the emergence of a new generation of French directors who embarked on their cinematic journeys in the late fifties. We will explore the seminal "auteur theory" as articulated by François Truffaut and examine the provocative stances taken by these burgeoning critics in the renowned pages of "Cahiers du cinéma".

Moreover, the course aims to illuminate the enduring legacy of the French New Wave, highlighting its profound impact on the values and aesthetics of cinema worldwide. We will scrutinize how the New Wave fundamentally challenged traditional hierarchies within the filmmaking process, redefining the roles of producers, directors, editors, screenwriters, and actors while pioneering innovative modes of production. We will critically examine how New Wave directors often depicted women and explore the ongoing discourse surrounding gender representation in their works.

Significantly, our analysis will extend beyond the pioneering figures of the New Wave to encompass more recent directors who have been inspired by its spirit of experimentation and rebellion. We will assess how contemporary filmmakers continue to draw from the New Wave's ethos, reshaping cinematic conventions and pushing artistic boundaries in new and unexpected ways.

Throughout the course, special emphasis will be placed on the close examination and discussion of one film per week. We will dissect these films to uncover the myriad techniques and devices—such as long shots, close-ups, disjunction of picture and sound, and editing strategies—that contribute to a film's narrative, meaning, and tone.

Instruction will be conducted in French, and all films will be screened in their original French language. While students have the option to write their midterm and final exams in either French or English, research papers must be submitted in French, with the provision of an English version for those who desire it.

Prerequisite: Please note that this course does not have a specific prerequisite; however, it will be taught entirely in French.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

GS/HI1910 - WOMEN IN WORLD HISTORY I 4 credits

Why do women have less power, make less money, and have fewer opportunities than men do? Why have women’s bodies been controlled, stigmatized, and pathologized? This is the first half of a year-long investigation of the origins and impacts of gender inequality. We start with our pre-agricultural Sapiens ancestors up to the beginning of the early modern period, looking primarily but not exclusively at socio-cultural developments that shaped understandings of gender, patriarchy, and the role of women in different early cultures around the world.

USC General Education Note: Category H: Traditions and Historical Foundations

 

GS/PO2005 - POLITICAL ECON. OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 4 credits

Offers a comparative introduction to the political systems of developing countries through the study of decolonization, nation-building, political institutions, and economy. Studies problems of political culture, leadership, representation, and the place of developing countries in the world system.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY C: Social Analysis

 

GS/PY2010 - INTRODUCTION TO GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND SOCIETY 4 credits

Surveys major issues concerning gender and the science of psychology in an attempt to answer the question: why is there such a gender gap when women and men share more psychological similarities than differences? Topics include: developmental processes and gender; gender roles and stereotypes, biology and gender; cross-cultural perspectives of gender; social-cultural theories of gender; language and gender, emotions and gender, health and gender.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY C: Social Analysis

 

GS/PY2045 - SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 4 credits

Studies the nature and causes of individual behavior and thought in social situations. Presents the basic fields of study that compose the science of social psychology, and how its theories impact on most aspects of people's lives. Topics of study include: conformity, persuasion, mass communication, propaganda, aggression, attraction, prejudice, and altruism.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

GS/LW3022 - GENDER, LAW, AND IDENTITY 4 credits

Will investigate the various ways in which gendered norms of identity are defined, constructed, enforced, managed and even adjudicated through the narratives that inform and produce our social and legal realties. Class readings will include works by Judith Butler, Wendy Brown, Drucilla Cornell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Nancy Fraser, Michel Foucault, Angela Harris, Nivedita Menon, and Denise da Silva, among others.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

HI1002 - HISTORY OF WESTERN CIV. FROM 1500 4 credits

Continues History 1001, from the Renaissance and the Reformation through commercialism, Absolutism, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the industrial and social revolutions of the 19th century to nationalism and socialism in the contemporary Western world.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY B: Humanistic Inquiry & CATEGORY H: Traditions and Historical Foundations

 

HI1003 - THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD 4 credits

Beginning with the bipolar world of the Cold War, focuses on ideological struggles of the West, East, and Third World and the reactions of nations to the politics of the superpowers. Topics range from decolonization to the rise of the new Asia, African independence, the reemergence of the Muslim world, the collapse of communism, globalization and clash of world cultures.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY C: Social Analysis

 

HI/ME1015 - HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST I 4 credits

This course surveys major themes in the ancient (pre-Islamic) and medieval history of the Middle East. It is organized around two parts.  The first surveys successive civilizations and empires that rose in the region or invaded and dominated it, from the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Hittites, the Phoenicians, the Persians, to the Greeks and the Romans/Byzantines. The birth of Judaism and Christianity is presented in this part.  The Second covers the rise of Islam, its expansion and the Caliphate it established from the 7th to the late 13th century, when the Mongol seized Bagdad.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY H: Traditions and Historical Foundations

 

HI/LW2030 - INTRO. TO HISTORY, LAW & SOCIETY 4 credits

What role does law play in shaping society? How have courts shaped society, both domestically and internationally? What strategies have people taken to resist unjust laws? Students engage in weekly moot courts that survey gripping historical and contemporary cases, including fugitive slave laws, the death penalty and criminal justice, hate speech, transgender rights, and issues relating to immigration, including asylum and deportation. Readings come from history, literature, sociology, and legal opinions. By the end of this course, students will be able to apply critical approaches to the law to contemporary issues; perform a mock trial, from start to finish; and write persuasive and analytically rigorous papers that demonstrate interdisciplinary thinking.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY C: Social Analysis & CATEGORY G: Equity in a Diverse World

 

HI2042 - AMERICAN CIVILIZATION: 1865 TO PRESENT 4 credits

Discusses the growth of the United States as an urban, industrialized society and a global power. Themes include patterns and problems of immigration, the ending of the frontier, the emergence of labor and social movements, and cultural evolution. Examines how the rise of the US as a dominant world power in the 20th century has influenced social and political life there.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY B: Humanistic Inquiry & CATEGORY H: Traditions and Historical Foundations

 

HI3091 - TOPICS: AFRICAN CITIES 4 credits

In this class, students are asked to focus on the processes shaping the development of human settlements, and in particular on the cities of the African continent from the eighteenth century to the present. We will think firstly about the ways in which urbanism has been theorised before moving to our case studies. We will examine the earliest human settlements in different parts of Africa (urbanism of West Africa’s Middle Niger Delta, the Punic and Roman cities of the Mediterranean coast,) before moving to our two areas of focus: the cities of southern and south-west Africa and those of the Maghreb (north-west Africa) and Egypt. Some of our case studies (Fes, Cairo, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Windhoek) are often considered to be cities of extremes. The course thus has a strong comparative slant. In thematic terms, we will look at colonial-built environments, based on different forms of State-sponsored social separatism, the question of housing the masses, precarity and privilege, the mega city, capsularization, and urbicide. We are also concerned to think about how African diaspora populations have developed places for themselves abroad, and notably in Paris.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE

 

LT1001 - ELEMENTARY LATIN I 4 credits

This is a Latin course for beginners. By reading simple Latin texts and trying to write (or, if you like, speak) some Latin yourself, you learn the first grammar essentials and acquire a basic passive vocabulary of c. 1000 words. Choice of a particular textbook and specialization on particular aspects, e.g. Medieval Latin, is possible.

USC Transfer Note: FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEVEL 1

 

MA1005 - MATH FOR LIFE 4 credits

A General Education course designed for students majoring in subjects not requiring math skills, and those who dislike math. Projects are developed from a range of everyday situations: banking, the stock market, gambling, and even art. Meeting alternately in the classroom and the computer lab to develop mathematical models, students will develop quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. MA1005 CCM is not open to students who have taken MA1020 (Statistics) or above, and students cannot receive credit for MA 1005 if they have received credit for previously taking (either at AUP or transferred in) any math higher than or equivalent to MA 1005 CCM Math for Life.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY F: Quantitative Reasoning

 

DS/MA1020 - APPLIED STATISTICS I 4 credits

Introduces the tools of statistical analysis. Combines theory with extensive data collection and computer-assisted laboratory work. Develops an attitude of mind accepting uncertainty and variability as part of problem analysis and decision-making. Topics include: exploratory data analysis and data transformation, hypothesis-testing and the analysis of variance, simple and multiple regression with residual and influence analyses.

Prerequisite: MA0900 OR MA1005 OR MA1005CCM OR MA1005GE120 OR ELECMA-25 OR ELECMA-20 OR ELECMA-30 OR (MA1025CCM OR MA1025GE120) OR MA1030 OR MA1030CCM OR MA1030GE120 OR MA1091 OR MA1091CCM OR MA1091GE120

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY F: Quantitative Reasoning

USC Transfer Note: MATH114

 

MA1025 - FUNCTIONS, MODELING, PRECALC 4 credits

Functions Modeling Change provides the algebraic and geometric skills needed to succeed in a Calculus course. The central topic is functions (in particular linear, polynomial, exponential and logarithmic), function notation and graphs, transformations, composition and inverses.  Students also work with computers building mathematical models based on these functions, and implemented using graphing calculators, mathematical software and Excel.

Prerequisite: MA0900 OR MA1020 OR MA1020CCM OR MA1020GE120 OR ELECMA-25 OR ELECMA-30

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY F: Quantitative Reasoning

 

MA1030 - CALCULUS I 4 credits

Introduces differential and integral calculus. Develops the concepts of calculus as applied to polynomials, logarithmic, and exponential functions. Topics include: limits, derivatives, techniques of differentiation, applications to extrema and graphing; the definite integral; the fundamental theorem of calculus, applications; logarithmic and exponential functions, growth and decay; partial derivatives. Appropriate for students in the biological, management, computer and social sciences.

Prerequisite: MA1025CCM OR ELECMA-30 OR MA1025GE120

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY F: Quantitative Reasoning

USC Transfer Note: MATH125

 

MA2030 - CALCULUS II 4 credits

The continuation of MA1030, Calculus I. This course is appropriate for economics, mathematics, business and computer science majors and minors. Topics include: infinite series and applications; differential equations of first and second order and applications, functions of several variables, partial derivatives with applications, especially Lagrange multipliers. Includes the use of Mathematica.

Prerequisite: MA1030CCM

USC Transfer Note: MUST BE TAKEN WITH MA 3030: MATH126 and MATH226

 

MA2041 - LINEAR ALGEBRA 4 credits

Treats applications in economics and computer science, limited to Euclidean n-space. Topics include: the linear structure of space, vectors, norms and angles, transformations of space, systems of linear equations and their applications, the Gauss-Jordan method, matrices, determinants, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors. Uses Mathematica for graphics and algorithms.

Prerequisite: MA1030CCM OR MA1030GE120

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

PL1100 - HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY I: FROM ANCIENT TO MEDIEVAL 4 credits

This course offers an overview of ancient and medieval philosophy. Beginning with the earliest Greek philosophers and ending with the late medieval founding fathers of modern scientific thought, we will read and discuss various answers these thinkers gave to questions such as: 'What is a good life?' or 'How can I reconcile my faith with what reason tells me?' Readings include Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Seneca, Plotinus, Anselm, Avicenna, Abelard, Maimonides, Thomas Aquinas and Nicolaus of Autrecourt.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY B: Humanistic Inquiry & CATEGORY H: Traditions and Historical Foundations

 

PL1300 - KNOWING WHY: FORMAL LOGIC AND CAUSAL REASONING 4 credits

You will understand better why you and why others hold the beliefs they do. The course combines a complete introduction to propositional and predicate logic with an overview of types of causal reasoning. You will apply these new skills to analyze and engage with natural language arguments about philosophical topics and other controversial themes of the day.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

PL/PO2003 - POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY 4 credits

Political philosophy forms that branch of philosophy that reflects on the specificity of the political. Why are humans, as Aristotle argued, political animals? How are they political? What are the means and ends of the political, and how best does one organize the political with such questions in mind? The course offers a topic-oriented approach to the fundamental problems underlying political theory and practice.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY B: Humanistic Inquiry

 

PL2041 - ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS 4 credits

Introduction to ethics by the example of environmental ethics, exploring the role of humans as moral agents with regard to other living beings, the whole planet or its biosphere, and future generations.  Through cases studies and to understand implicit assumptions and theoretical problems of standpoints taken by stakeholders in the debate.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY B: Humanistic Inquiry

 

PL2091 A- TOPICS: INTRO TO CHINESE PHILOSOPHY 4 credits

This course introduces Chinese philosophy from antiquity to modernity, exploring major concepts, texts, and thinkers such as the notion of the path, the differential order in Confucianism, the principle of non-action in Taoism, and the vacuity in Buddhism. Students will contrast Eastern and Western philosophical approaches to better understand both

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

PL3091 B- TOPICS: PHILOSOPHY AND LAW 4 credits

Philosophical investigations start from a moment of stupefaction faced with odd phenomena – the law gives rise to many weird paradoxes as it takes place in society. Are we not amazed by the very idea of dividing all people and actions into two grand categories: law-abiding and criminal, legal and illegal, legitimate and illegitimate? If everyone is equal before the law, how can some people claim to be above the law: sovereigns, despots, warlords and drug barons? If the law is impartial and the rule of law reigns, how can judges be reputed progressive or conservative, harsh or lax? If the law protects us, why have most legal systems historically failed to protect women, and people placed in a socially subaltern position, whether due to race, class or sexuality? Why do I feel guilty as soon as I see a policeman? How can police break the law whilst they are enforcing the law? How can what was legal yesterday become criminal tomorrow through a stroke of the legislator’s pen – is the law arbitary? Who decides the law? We will dive into these questions by setting up philosophical battles between radically different approaches to law such as natural law (Grotius, Hobbes) and positivism (Kelsen, Hart, Raz), Hegel on the organic emergence of social norms as the ground of the law, Freud and Kafka on the subject’s relation to the law of indebtedness, guilt and obligation, Derrida on the violence attending the origin of law, feminist (Mackinnon), postcolonial and Marxist analyses of intrinsic bias and discrimination in legal systems.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

PO1011 - FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN POLITICS 4 credits

What is politics - the quest for the common good or who gets what, when, and how? We study what defines politics in the modern age: states and nations in the international system, collective action and representation in mass societies, trajectories of democracy and dictatorship, politics and development in the context of capitalism. The course will introduce the student to the concerns, the language and the methods of Political Science.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY C: Social Analysis

 

PO1012 - CHALLENGES OF GLOBAL POLITICS 4 credits

This course examines key analytical and normative challenges of the present: global rebalancing and the emergence or reemergence of postcolonial states, uneven development, the role of culture in world politics, the future of the nation state, the global environmental imperative, mass forced and free migrations, the new landscape of armed conflict, the sources and implications of sharpening social divides, and the challenges to liberal-democratic theory and practice.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY G: Equity in a Diverse World

 

PO2015 - COMPARATIVE POLITICS 4 credits

This course introduces students to the comparative study of politics, focusing on political behavior and the structures and practices that political systems have in common and those that distinguish them. We study different forms of democratic and authoritarian rule, state-society relationships, and key issues of political economy like development and welfare states. While the emphasis is on domestic features, we also analyze the impacts of globalization on national politics.

USC Transfer Note: POSC120

 

PO2031 - WORLD POLITICS 4 credits

This course analyses the basic setting, structure and dynamics of world politics with emphasis on current global problems, practices and processes. In doing so, it introduces the major theoretical approaches to international politics, and uses theory as a methodological tool for analyzing sources of change and causes of conflict and/or cooperation in the global arena.

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY C: Social Analysis & CATEGORY G: Equity in a Diverse World

 

PO2050 - POLITICAL ANALYSIS 4 credits

This course examines the nature of knowledge claims in political science: how we know what we know and how certain we are. Research schools, the nature of description and explanation in political science, and basis issues of quantitative analysis will form the core elements of this course, while substantive themes may vary each year.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

PY1000 - INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY 4 credits

This course discusses the intellectual foundations of contemporary psychology. Students learn about the concepts, theories and experiments basic to an understanding of the discipline, including classic thought and recent advances in psychology such as psychoanalysis, learning theory, biological mechanisms, developmental, social, cognitive, personality and abnormal psychology.

USC Transfer Note: TR-PSYC

 

PY2013 - UNDERSTANDING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 4 credits

The course is an introduction to developmental psychology. From various points of view, it explores the key question What is, and how can we understand, human development? It engages with central issues of developmental psychology (among others, through the work of influential psychologists such as Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, E. Erikson, Jerome Bruner, Katherine Nelson, Peggy J. Miller, and Michael Tomasello) and puts them into cross- and interdisciplinary contexts. These contexts include evolutionary theory; cultural and sociocultural, narrative, and critical psychology; history; anthropology; and philosophy. Beyond the scientific and conceptual domain, the course also investigates phenomena of human development in literature, arts, and film.

PY1000 is strongly recommended as a prerequisite.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

PY2022 - PERSONALITY & INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 4 credits

Personality addresses central psychological questions on how persons think, feel and act. This course provides students with a solid foundation in the basics of theory and research in personality psychology. Students will be introduced to classic and contemporary perspectives in the field, continuing controversies and debates and the rationale and techniques for personality assessment. PY1000 is recommended as a prerequisite.

USC Transfer Note: OPEN ELECTIVE CREDIT

 

SC1070 + SC1070L - THE OCEAN ENVIRONMENT (lecture + lab) 4 credits

This course is an introduction of the science of oceanic environment, from submarine canyons to zooplankton, from global warming to the growing plastics problem in mid oceanic gyres, from acidification to wave dynamics. We will explain oceanography's most important concepts and debunk its widely (and wildly) held misconceptions.

*Lab required

Corequisite: SC1070LLAB AND (MA1005CCM OR MA1020CCM OR MA1025CCM OR MA1030CCM OR MA1091CCM OR ELECMA-30 OR CCMCCM OR MA1010 OR MA1099CCI OR MA1099CCIM)

Course Fee: 21

USC General Education Note: CATEGORY E: Physical Sciences

USC Transfer Note: GEOL107