SPRING 2008

Art

ART189A PO. Post-photography Representation.
Ms. Shurkus. The on-going development of digital technologies has transformed our understanding of representation. Central to this transformation has been a shift away from the semiotic analysis of imagery that dominated early postmodern discourses toward a more phenomenal understanding of the image. This course returns to the “post photography” debates of the late 1980s to trace the development of these ideas and their impact on contemporary art practices. Letter grade only. Spring 2008 only.

Art History

ARHI136 PO. Arts of Colonial Latin America.
Mr. Cordova. Latin America’s colonial period was characterized by the intermingling, convergence, and clash of European, Amerindian, Asian, and African cultures. This dynamic background, in turn, set the stage for the production of visual arts and architecture. Students in this course will be introduced important works, artists, and themes that comprise the artistic production of colonial Latin America. Spring 2008 only.

Chemistry

CHEM186 PO. Proteins and Enzymes.
Mr. K. Lopez. Designed to present an in-depth view of protein structure and enzyme catalysis, this course will discuss how structure and properties are inextricably linked to biological function. Topics discussed will include: chemical properties of polypeptides, protein biosynthesis, post-translational modifications, protein-protein interactions, structure and function relationships, evolutionary and genetic origins of proteins, and enzyme kinetics and mechanisms. This course will also make use of the vast array of bioinformatics tools available over the internet. Letter grade only. Offered Fall 2008. Prerequisite: 115 or equivalent; 158B recommended.

Classics

CLAS133 PO. Dreams, Omens, and Oracles: How the Past predicted the Future.
Mr. Astorga. How could "rational" Greeks and "pragmatic" Romans believe that dreams, two-headed cows or crazed priestesses fortell the future? If this was religious belief, what was considered superstition? We will explore these questions in the critical texts of Aristotle, Plutarch, Cicero, Artemidorus and primary sources of Tragedians, Historians and Inscriptional evidence. We shall find that the Past is indeed a foreign county. Offered alternate years; spring 2008sa.

English

ENGL089Q The Pre/Post-Modern Novel.
Mr. Pasanek. In this course we move back and forth between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries in order to gauge how texts are written and rewritten, one against another. Fiction and meta-fiction is our theme; our reading the headiest brew. Our course begins at the beginning with Don Quixote – or rather, with a 1755 translation of Quixote by Tobias Smollett. The history of the novel, it has been suggested, may be no more than one sustained rewriting of Quixote. We focus next on what has been called “the Pamela media event.” Sterne’s anticipation of twentieth-century formal innovations are worked through at midterm, and our reading of three paired authors – Defoe and Coetzee, Pope and Nabokov, Austen and a contemporary bestselling novelist – explores a field of possibilities. Complications ensue. Cervantes rewrites his own novel in the second part of Don Quixote. Henry and Helen Fielding prove not brother and sister! Colin Firth is cast as Darcy in both the BBC Pride and Prejudice and the big-screen adaptation of Bridget Jones. Coetzee blends the postmodern and the postcolonial, revisiting Defoe and discussing decoys in his Nobel Prize lecture. And Quixote structures continue appearing long after we’ve put down Smollett’s translation of Cervantes. Letter grade only. Spring 2008.

ENGL123 PO. The Holocaust in Literature & Film.
Mr. Mann. Close study of novels, poetry, & film on the shoah. Secondary readings in historical and philosophical texts. Letter grade only. Offered alternate years.

ENGL150 PO Queer Theory & Literature.
Ms. Guzaitis. In this course, students will be introduced to foundational texts within the field of Queer Theory. Students will learn how to apply queer theory as a theoretical framework in their examination of cultural texts and use queer theory as a mode of analysis across disciplines. Prior knowledge of queer theory is not required, however, this course will be dealing with complex theoretical concepts that will require substantial reading and analysis. Spring 2008.

French
FREN139 PO. Framing Urban Violence in France: Youth and the Media.
Ms. Rolland. Urban violence has become a major player in international media coverage of the French banlieues. Using a variety of sources, including rap songs, podcasts, online videos, documentary films and autobiographical texts, this course will examine the nature of violent behavior on a structural and individual level. Letter grade only. Prerequisites: 44; 101 and/or 105 recommended. Spring 2008.

FREN175 PO. Writing the Exotic.
Ms. Waller. The fascination with “exotic” lands and peoples in nineteenth-century France. What do literary representations and other cultural texts tell us about fantasies and anxieties on the domestic front? A study of noble savages, savage slaves, racial ostracism, sex tourism and Orientalism in works by Chateaubriand, Duras, Hugo, Flaubert, Nerval and others. Letter grade only. Offered alternate years. Prerequisite: 44. Course revision, title change, previous title Border Crossings.

Geology

GEOL123 PO. Neotectonics with Lab.
Ms. Reinen. Investigation of active southern California tectonics, with emphasis on seismology (earthquakes) and paleoseismology, records of earth movement, and tectonics geomorphology. Field trip(s) and weekly laboratory. Offered each spring. Prerequisite: One course from the 20A,B,C,D series. Course revision, title change, previous title: Neotectonics of Southern California. Each spring.

GEOL160 PO. GeoModeling.
Mr. Grosfils. Introduction to the use of numerical models for solving geological problems, with a strong emphasis placed on the finite element method and a selected array of volcanological problems. Offered once. Prerequisites: 020; two semesters of Calculus; 123 or 125, or 127 or 129.

German in Translation
GRMT134 PO. Advertising the Other: Stereotypes in Popular and Consumer Culture.
Mr. Kronenberg. Course explores the cultural implications of the use of stereotypes in consumer and popular culture. Provides analyses, historical overview, and theoretical background. Focus on nationals stereotypes of Germans and Germany. Half-course language component (GERM 189) may be taken in conjunction by students with GERM044 or above. Letter grade only. Each spring. Title change: previous title National Stereotypes in Advertising.

History

HIST100CAPO. Cultural Imperialism & Orientalism.
Ms. Choi. Orientalism began as a field of study in 19th century Europe. It also refers to the West’s perception and understanding of Islam and the cultures of the Middle East. Some historians use Orientalism to discuss the way culture was used for imperial domination. This course will examine the history of Orientalism as both a field of study in Europe and as a theory developed by contemporary scholars to discuss the West’s view of a particular culture. We will study the way Orientalism also shaped the West’s view of itself. Spring 2008.

HIST100CBPO. Islam and the Republic: French Identity and the “Other”.
Ms. Choi. Post 9-11 American society has taken profound interest in Islam. France, meanwhile, has had a long history with Islam. As an empire, it dominated North Africa and obtained mandates over Syria and Lebanon. Currently, immigrants from the former colonies and mandates constitute the largest immigrant population in France, provoking debates about whether Islam will ever have a place in the Republic. This course will explore the history of France’s subjugation of its Muslim colonial subjects and its current struggles to maintain a French identity in face of an increasingly diverse immigrant population. It will examine the long history of the perception of Islam in France and in today’s Europe. Spring 2008.

HIST100SAPO. From Israel to South Africa: Comparative Settler Colonialism.
Ms. Choi. What do Israel, the United States, Ireland, Algeria, and South Africa, all have in common? They all have a common history as settler colonies and their current political debates on race, citizenship, and national identities cannot be understood without knowledge of this past. This course will discuss the organizing principles of settler colonies, the relationship between seceding colonists and imperial governments, and the socio-economic contexts in the colonies that structured ensuing social relations between settler, indigenous, and laboring populations. We will discuss the lasting legacy of settler colonialism in the present day debates about national identity in these countries. Spring 2008.

HIST110F PO. French Revolution and Napoleonic Europe.
Mr. Kates. Topics include the decay of absolute monarchy, French rivalry with England, the influence of the Enlightenment, the establishment of a democratic republic and terror, the relationship of war and revolution, colonial slave revolts, women’s rights, and the rise of the Napoleonic dictatorship. Letter grade only. Each spring.

HIST121 PO. Early American Society.
Ms. Wall. Previous title: Culture of Early America. Offered alternate years; spring 2008.

Mathematics

MATH029 PO. Advanced Problem Solving.
Ms. Flapan. Course will teach students to solve hard problems that arise in the sciences and social sciences. Emphasis placed on translating complex word problems into mathematics and developing mathematical techniques to solve the problems. This course is independent of the Calculus curriculum, and is intended to help students studying chemistry or economics. Previous title: Problem Solving. Each fall.

MATH058B PO/058B LPO. Introduction to Biostatistics with Laboratory.
Mr. Kloke. An introduction to the methodology and tools which are vital to research in the biological & health sciences and medicine. Topics include probability; distributions of random variables; testing hypotheses; confidence intervals; analysis of variance; regression analysis; odds ratios; sensitivity & specificity; and nonparametric methods. Concepts will be applied to current data using statistical computer software. Lecture and computer laboratory. Each spring. Previous title: Introduction to Biostatistics.

Politics

POLI089L Race, Class, Justice and Cause Célébre Trials.
Mr. Flynn. Explores issue of race, class and justice as they develop in the context of cause Célèbre criminal trials. Trials and executions have long been staples of imparting cultural values and major venues of public spectacle. In this course, special attention to the effect of mass media on public perceptions in notable cases. The class examines the Scottsboro Boys trial of the 1930s. The Rodney King Beating Trials of 1992, the trials of OJ Simpson in 1995 and 1997 and the Duke Lacrosse prosecution of 2006. To paraphrase Professor Darnell Hunt of UCLA, “How, in a period of US history marked by pressing economic, foreign policy and civil justice concerns [could these cases] become such a national obsession?” Letter grade only. Spring 2008 only.

POLI115 PO. Politics and Literature.
Ms. McWilliams. Previous title: The Politics of Literature.

POLI166 East Asian Politics and American Hegemony.
Mr. Arase. This course examines the effect that the US has had on the political evolution of Asia. It complements the traditional reliance on domestic cultures and institutions to explain things. It explores the proposition that authoritarianism, democratization, gender politics, and economic development in East Asia have been shaped, if not caused by, the intentional and persistent interventions of an external actor, i.e., the US. This “outside in” aspect of East Asian politics usually escapes systematic examination, but this perspective can reveal how the US has played a critical role in the development of every virtually every nation in East Asia. Letter grade only. Prerequisite: one comparative or international politics course. Replaces 163. Offered alternate years; spring 2008.

Psychology
PSYC125 BK Culture & Human Development: The African Diaspora.
Mr. Hurley. Situating the study of development in the context of culture has gained tremendous momentum recently. This course explores this movement. We will examine cross-cultural research, but the focus is not on cross-cultural appreciation. Methodological issues pertaining to research across cultures, and theories important in culture and development will be explored. Scholarship & research reviewed, examples given and phenomenon examined will relate to peoples of the global African diaspora. Previous title: Culture and Human Development. Each spring.

PSYC155 PO. Personality Theory.
Ms. Kurtz. This course will cover classic and contemporary theories of personality (e.g., psychodynamic, cognitive, trait, humanistic), methods of assessment, and recent research in personality psychology. Special emphasis will be placed on the person-situation debate. Letter grade only. Prerequisite: 51. Spring 2008 only.

PSYC189A PO. Happiness and Self-Knowledge.
Ms. Kurtz. While there is no shortage of self-help literature offering advice on how to live “the good life,” this seminar will examine the nature of happiness from the perspective of experimental social psychology, with an emphasis on decision-making and the limits of self-knowledge. Letter grade only. Prerequisite: PSYC 154.

Religious Studies
RLST097 PO. Dante’s Religious Journey. Ms. Portnoff. In Dante’s medieval Christian poem the Commedia, Dante as pilgrim traces a path that leads him ultimately to a vision of God. This course will examine that path in larger context, beginning with its pagan origins in Virgil’s Aeneid and ending with its seculo-religious unraveling in Primo Levi’s memoir Survival in Auschwitz. We will ask whether a medieval Christian journey can be undertaken in a modern, pluralistic context. This course will focus on the primary source material. In English. Offered alternate years; spring 2008.

Sociology

SOC 089D Sociology of the Body.
Ms. González. Examines the politics of appearance and the body, how bodies are gendered, sexualized, racialized, and how social forces shape human bodies and bodily experience. Examines the body not merely as a physical object but as a container and expression of the self, as an object of social control, and as a social construction with complex and shifting age, gender, race, and social class meanings. Spring 2008 only.

SOC 089E Sociology of Adolescents.
Ms. González. Examines how adolescents experience their everyday lives. Explores substantive issues surrounding adolescents’ lives such as peer culture, media, families, schooling, gender, health, work and employment, deviance, social class and race. Spring 2008 only.

Theatre

THEA001A PO. Basic Acting: Tools & Fundamentals.
Mr. Leabhart. This introductory course explores the acting fundamentals of voice, movement, relaxation, text analysis, characterization, and sensory and emotional-awareness exercises. Course material includes detailed analysis, preparation and performance of scenes. Replaces THEA001. Each semester.

THEA001B PO. Basic Acting: Acting and Activism.
Ms. Bernhard. This introductory course provides the opportunity to learn fundamental acting techniques based primarily on Augusto Boal’s “exercises for non-actors” that are utilized in “theatre for social justice and social change” to study the many varieties of activist theatre, and to work creatively on group projects. Each spring.

THEA001C PO. Basic Acting: Chicano Theatre and Performance.
Ms. Martinez. This introductory course explores the fundamentals of acting using Chicano Theatre as the historical, aesthetic, and theoretical source. Taught in a workshop-style seminar format, the course examines the “realistic” acting methodology of Konstantin Stanislavski and relates its influence on and application to Chicano dramatic texts and performance. Each fall.

THEA001D PO. Basic Acting: The Meisner Technique and Improved Realism.
Mr. Blaney. This introductory course explores the fundamentals of acting using Sanford Meisner’s variations on the “realistic” acting methodology of Konstantin Stanislavski. The course examines the Meisner technique as “long-form” improvisation, which sharpens the actor’s ability to observe, listen, and react. Meisner’s approach trains the actor to focus on the scene partner, and to then adapt this improvisational style to traditional scene study. Offered alternate years; spring 2008.

THEA006 Languages of the Stage: How Does a Play Mean?
Mr. Taylor. A detailed examination of theatrical language in all of its manifestations: the text-based language of the playwright, the verbal and physical language of the actor and director, the visual language of the designers, the aural language of the theatrical composer, the kinetic language of the dancer and choreographer, the analytical language of the critic, and the experiential language of the audience. A key component of the course is attendance at live performances, both on-campus and at professional venues throughout the Los Angeles area. Each spring.

THEA100D Acting Studio: Acting for the Classical Theatre.
Mr. Blumenfeld. Continuation of the scene study approach with emphasis on presentational plays from major theatrical periods, including the Greeks, Shakespeare, and Moliere. Prerequisite: one from THEA001-series, 004, or 005, 012. May be repeated once for credit. Offered alternate years; fall.

THEA115L PO. Body Politics/Staging Sexuality.
Mr. Blaney. An exploration of the politics and aesthetics of queer bodies on the contemporary avant-garde American stage. This course will investigate theory, literature, and performance in terms of Theatre’s power to catalyze community and affirm “alternative” identities in the late 20th century and into the new millennium. Offered each spring, alternate years.

THEA130 PO. Directing Studio.
Ms. Bernhard. Previous title: Intro to Directing. Letter grade only. Offered once a year.

THEA070/170 PO. Writing for the Stage.
Mr. Horowitz. The techniques of creative writing for theatre, structuring the basic idea, development of character and situation, and rewriting. 070 lower-division; 170 upper-division. P/NC grading only. Each spring.