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ANTHROPOLOGY 125g
Social Issues in Human Sexuality and Reproduction
Chin
MW, 3:30-5:00
Social Issues in Sexuality and Reproduction examines the "natural" (i.e., biological) and "unnatural" (i.e., social and cultural) dimensions of human sexuality reproduction. Its main focus is the analysis of the relationship between different cultural assumptions in various societies and historical periods and the biological parameters underlying various contemporary social issues concerning sexuality and reproduction. Students will grapple with complex bio-ethical issues surrounding sexual and reproductive practices. Issues to be considered include fertility (notions of male and female fertility), the new reproductive technologies, the legal and social dimensions of adoption and surrogacy, sexuality and contested definitions of the family, changing notions of "appropriate" and "inappropriate parenting, and the ethics of sexual commerce.
Readings:
Collected in a course reader for the Spring 1999 term.
GEOGRAPHY 100g
Los Angeles and the American Dream
Roseman
MW, 2:00-3:20
Los Angeles (and more generally the Southern California region) has long been the quintessential destination for migrants in search of the American Dream. In the late 19th century, promoters heralded Southern California as a salubrious Mediterranean haven. From then until well after World War II, massive numbers of American flocked to Los Angeles, especially from the Midwest, lured by images of mild weather, citrus groves, and cheap land. Although some sought stardom in Hollywood or riches from the oil fields, most aspired to basic elements of the American Dream; a good job and a home of one's own. All along, people were coming from other countries as well; but their numbers have increased dramatically in recent decades. They too are in search of some version of the American Dream. Ironically, the place sold to millions as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow experiences earthquakes, floods, landslides, and fires. Further, many Angelenos found not the American Dream but instead racism, unemployment, and poverty.
This geographical course focuses on Los Angeles, in both its mythical and realized social and physical forms. Alternative perspectives are utilized, drawing concepts from historical and physical geography as well as from economic and social geography.
Required Texts:
Robert M. Fogelson. The Fragmented Metropolis, Los Angeles, 1850-1930. Berkeley, UC Press, 1993. Other readings are in the Course Reader available ant the USC Bookstore. TBA additional reserve readings that may be assigned.
Grading and Course Requirements:
Exercise One 30 points (15%)
Exercise Two 30 points (15%)
Midterm Examination 60 points (30%)
Final Examination 70 points (35%)
Discussion Section 10 points (5%)
Total 200 points (100%)
GEOGRAPHY 257g
Environment and Ethics
McKenzie
MWF, 1:00-1:50
This course is about ethical approaches to the environment. Although environmental concerns have become an accepted part of our society, we often find ourselves justifying environmental initiatives based on economic or political arguments. Nonetheless, underneath these accepted rationales are a whole series of moral and ethical issues which, in fact, have been instrumental in the rise of environmentalism. This course seeks to explore these moral issues and how they influence environmentalism, as well as look at various schools of thought in environmental ethics.
Ethics can be defined as the study of how we ought to live, accordingly, this class is about our moral relationships to each other, the non-human environment, other species, and other generations. We will do this by first developing a set of moral tools and principles to help us evaluate environmental issues. In addition to covering standard material in this section, I will introduce the concept of "Geoethics" - the idea of applying a range of moral principles according to the context of a given situation. Second, we will employ a geographical metaphor of distance (both spatial and social), to help us understand our moral relations to others. Specifically, we will examine our relations to those who are distant from us in space (international issues), different species (interspecies) and different generations (intergenerational). The third part of the course will examine three of the most highly developed discourses among environmental ethics, including: animals, international development and the environment itself. The fourth part will explore various streams of environmental ethics, namely, Deep Ecology, Ecofeminism, Environmental Justice, and indigenous critiques.
Course Requirements
Course evaluation will be based on three in-class exams and one group project. Exams will be all essay and will be based on both lecture and reading material. Regular attendance is expected and class participation will count for a portion of your grade.
Readings:
In addition to a course reader available from the bookstore, you will need the following texts.
David Cooper and Joy Palmer (1995) Just Environments: International, Intergenerational, and Interspecies Issues. New York: Routledge.
Roderick Nash (1989) The Rights of Nature: A History of Environmental Ethics. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Note: The readings and assignments list for Spring of 1999 may be subject to change. Please contact the department for verification.
HISTORY 225g
Film, Power and American History
Ross
MW, 1:00-2:50
Few contemporary institutions have had a greater effect on molding popular understandings of the world than film and television. Yet, most citizens lack the critical tools to contextualize, analyze, and critique the images and ideologies conveyed on the screen. To that end, this interdisciplinary course is designed to join elements of film studies (learning how to "read" films, how to understand the visual and aural constructions of ideology) with various schools of historical thought (social, labor, and political history). Its goal is to provide students with the critical skills needed to analyze the images and ideologies they see on the screen and understand how those images effect our views of the past and present. Movies form the centerpiece of the course. During the semester we will look at the ways in which films and filmmakers addressed many of the fundamental issues and problems that have shaped the twentieth century: industrialization, urbanization, war, poverty, crime, politics, racial, class and gender conflict, and changing notions of happiness and success. The films cover the period from 1900 to 1991. We will spend approximately two weeks per decade. The films we will watch will be films made during that decade that deal with one or more of the major problems of the time. But movies offer only one perspective on the world. Each week will also read works that offer three additional perspectives: readings that discuss the general historical events of the era; readings that discuss what is happening in the motion picture industry; and readings that provide primary documents concerning the period.
Class Format:
The class will meet twice a week for two hours; there will also be a one hour discussion section.
Requirements:
The course will include a midterm (20% of final grade), a final exam (40%), and a research paper (20%); class participation will constitute an additional 20% of the final grade.
Required Readings (Tentative list: to be revised with more film texts):
R. Marcus & D. Burner, America First Hand V. II (2nd edtn) Documents (1992)
Robert Sklar, Movie-Made America: The Cultural History of American Movies (75)
William Leuchtenburg, The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932 (1958)
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
Alan Brinkley, Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlan and the Great Depression (1983)
Elaine May, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era 9880
William Chafe, Unfinished Journey: America Since WWII 2nd edtn (1991)
Note: The readings and assignments list for Spring of 1999 may be subject to change. Please contact the department for verification.
HISTORY 245g
Gender and Sexualities
Banner
TTh, 11:00-12:20
This course will focus on the gender division between a public world identified with men and masculinity and a private world of family and domesticity identified by women. We will deal with the nature of both of these worlds and their interactions throughout the course of post-Revolutionary American political and social history, especially in terms of the issues of the gendered nature of repression and reform in the American past. We will also examine the nature and functioning of gender and sexuality in the American past. What has it meant to be a woman or a man? What is the importance of sexuality and homosexuality in our nation's past.
Required Texts:
Lois Banner. Women in Modern America: A Brief History.
Jane Adams. Twenty Years at Hull House. (part Only)
Rita Mae Brown. Rubyfruit Jungle.
Sara Evans. Personal Politics.
Other articles will be available in an article pack put together by Dr. Banner.
Grading and Course Requirements
Midterm Examination 25%
Final Examination 30%
Participation 10%
Term Paper 30%
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 101g
The United States and World Affairs
Nielsson
TTh, 2:00-3:20
This is an introductory survey of international relations as a field of study. The course is divided into four parts.
Part I is a brief review of the diverse approaches to theorizing about international relations. Identification of the main actors - the state, international organization and non-state actors - and their interaction is the subject of Part II. That includes the role of great powers, the Global South and trans-national enterprises. Part III: The Politics of global Welfare involves such issues as the characteristics of international monetary and trade relations, the globalization trend and global commons such as populations growth, environmental degradation and sustainable development. Part IV: Global Conflict and Its Management includes the study of different modes of conflict, war - interstate as well as civil wars - security policies and the use of power in coercive diplomacy. This part is concluded by a general comparison of the realist and the liberal perspectives on the future of world politics.
Required Texts:
Kegley Jr., Charles W. and Eugene R. Wittkopf. World Politics: Trend and Transformation. 6th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.
Grading and Course Requirements:
Attendance & Participation 15%
Written Assignments 25%
Midterm 25%
Final 35%
JUDAIC STUDIES 211g
The Holocaust
Gillerman
MW, 2:00-3:20
This course is intended as an introduction to the ethical issues arising from the Holocaust - Adolf Hitler's attempted genocide of the entire Jewish people, as well as the murder of millions of others, during the years 1933-1945. While the approach taken in many courses on the Holocaust is essentially a historical one, the aim of this class is to identify and evaluate the moral dilemmas and challenges that arise from this event. Of course ethical issues do not arise in a vacuum. Historical, sociological, and psychological factors are of supreme importance in shaping the contours within which ethical decisions are made. Proper attention will therefore be paid to these factors in determining the moral lessons that are to be derived from the Holocaust. In this way the course will achieve its objective of assisting the student in gaining an understanding of the processes and complexities of moral reasoning.
It is hoped that the approach to the class will permit the student to view the Holocaust for what it was and is - a tragedy of immense proportions, not only for the Jewish people, but also for the world. In the minds of many ethicists, the Holocaust and related events are harbingers of the most frightening tendencies inherent in an evermore rational, impersonal, and bureaucratically-oriented world. The grading scheme will be as follows:
Midterm Examination 25%
Research Paper 30%
Final Examination 25%
Discussion Section 20%
Note: Please contact the department for the readings and assignments list for Spring of 1999.
LINGUISTICS 115g
Language, Society and Culture
Andersen
TTh, 11:00-12:20
This course examines variation in language structure and language use from social and cultural perspectives. In it, we will explore (1) how language both reflects and creates social meaning and social identity, (2) the interesting differences that are found across various cultures and social groups, (3) the reasons that communication problems may arise when communicatively competent members of these different cultures and groups come into contact (4) how this type of knowledge is acquired and (50 the practical workings of language in our schools.
Required Texts:
Bonvillain, Nancy. Language, Culture and Communication.
Kochman, Thomas. Black and White Styles in Conflict.
Tannen, Deborah. You Just Don't Understand.
Packet of Articles.
Grading and Course Requirements:
Midterm 25%
Final 30%
Two letters to editor 15% each
One text analysis and write-up 15%
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ACTIVITIES 170g
La Frontera: The US/Mexico Borderlands
Pulido
TTh, 2:00-3:20
Please see the department for course description.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ACTIVITIES 215g
Ethnicity and Place
Pulido
TTh, 9:30-10:50
Please see the department for course description.
PHILOSOPHY 141g
The Professions and the Public Interest in American Life
Willard
MW, 2:00-3:20
Please see the department for course description.
POLITICAL SCIENCE 130g
Law, Politics and Public Policy
Rentlen
TTh, 11:00-12:20
This course explores a broad range of social issues through an introduction to law, courts, and judicial processes. We will begin by examining the idea of law, the nature of legal education, the selection of judges, the civil and criminal justice system, and the role of appellate courts. We will then explore a series of debates and case studies that will give us a chance to delve more deeply into the politics of law and the pursuit of justice. This course will also ask the following questions: What is "the rule of law?" Does law serve power or justice? What influences outcomes in civil and criminal justice? Was the "Independent Counsel" act a good idea? When do people deserve punishment or deserve to be held "liable" for their negligent conduct? How broad is "freedom of speech?"
Readings and Assignments:
Some of these issues will be explored in movies. But we will also be reading:
Baum's American Courts
Adams' Philosophical Problems in the Law
Lewis' Make No Law
Stern's Buffalo Creek Disaster
Requirements: 1 short paper, 1 longer paper, midterm, final, participation.
Note: The readings and assignments list for Spring of 1999 may be subject to change. Please contact the department for verification.
POLITICAL SCIENCE 165g
Modern Times
Gillman
TTh, 9:30-10:50
The object of this course is to give you a fascinating, provocative, interdisciplinary overview of some of the distinctive features of life in the twentieth century. In other words, what are some of the ways in which life in the twentieth century is different than life in earlier centuries? More specifically, has the history of modern times been a story of progress (getting us closer to freedom, democracy, equality, prosperity, science) or regress (getting us closer to tyranny, exploitation, mass destruction, environmental devastation, shallow materialism)? We begin by looking at some of ways to which the world has changed over the last few centuries and then explore more contemporary issues in more depth. Some questions this course will address:
What is progress? Freedom? Democracy? Equality? What are the major 20th century debates over the virtues and vices of capitalism? Mass society? Technology? Television? Multiculturalism?
Readings and assignments:
In addition to watching some movies we will be reading:
Bell + Dagger's Ideals and Ideologies
Juxley's Brave New World
Lecch's Land of Desire
Orwell's Land of Desire
Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death
Requirements: 1 short paper, 1 longer paper, midterm, final, participation
POLITICAL SCIENCE 233g
Stigma and Society: Physical Disability in America
Hahn
MW, 3:30-4:50
One of the primary purposes of this class is to introduce a multidisciplinary approach to the study of disability as a social issue in American culture and politics. A major assumption of this perspective is that the meaning of disability, like many other phenomena, is fundamentally molded by social and cultural influence rather than by an exclusive reliance on the results of scientific research such as medical, economic, or other investigations. Thus an effort will be made to trace the impact of many factors including the historical interpretation of disability, literary and media depictions, different theoretical orientations, ethical values, and legal doctrines on the development of public policy affecting both non-disabled persons and citizens with disabilities. The principal assigned reading for this class can be found in the following publications:
Joseph P. Shapiro, No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement (New York: Times Books, 1993)
Rosemarie Garland Thomson, Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American Culture and Literature (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997)
Henry R. Glick, The Right to Die: Policy Innovation and Its Consequences (New York: Columbia University Press, 1992)
William G. Johnson, ed., "The Americans with Disabilities Act: Social Contract or Special Privilege?" The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 549 (January 1997) (Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications)
Note: The readings and assignments list for Spring of 1999 may be subject to change. Please contact the department for verification.
RELIGION 140g
Religion and Ethical Issues
May
TTh, 11:00-12:20
The aim of the course is to enable you to become conversant with Jewish and Christian ways of addressing ethical issues, and to increase your capability to analyze critically various judgements reached abut hose issues. Since Judaism and Christianity (both Catholic and Protestant) are such major traditions in the U.S., studying the ways in which these traditions deal with ethical issues will take us straight into the heart of American culture, and the mutual influence between religion and culture.
There is no such thing as a Jewish or Christian position on any ethical issue, especially in an age where both traditions are sharply divided between "liberal" and "conservative" camps. (For example, there is often more agreement on ethical issues between liberal Jews and liberal Christians than there is between liberal and conservative Christians.) Nevertheless, there are certain Jewish beliefs and traditions, on the one hand, and Christian beliefs and traditions, on the other hand, both derived from the Bible, which deeply inform the ethical analyses of these faiths. We shall be attentive to these beliefs and traditions, directly in the first part of the course.
Required Texts:
Dorff, Elliot N. and Newman, Louis E., eds. Contemporary Jewish Ethics and Morality: A Reader. New York: Oxford University, 1995
Jersild, Paul T. and Johnson, Dale A., eds. Moral Issues and Christian Response. 6th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1997.
"Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy, 1984" (pamphlet)
REL 140 Course Reader
Grading and Course Requirements:
Midterm Exam 15%
First Critical Paper 15%
Second Midterm Exam 20%
Second Critical Paper 20%
Final Exam 30%
SOCIOLOGY 142g
Diversity and Racial Conflict
Hunt
TTh, 11:00-12:20
This course examines the patterns of race relations in the United States. We will examine the relations between the white community and the communities of people of color, particularly African Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans and Latinos. We will also discuss white ethnic groups. We will explore the way in which race relations shape our institutions and structures and our daily lives. We will also see the way in which institutional racism operates. Theories personal racism, internalized racism, cross-racial hostility between people of color and the intersection of race, class and gender will also be discussed. A few of the issues we will be concerned with include: the historical and contemporary expressions of racism in America and the various ways in which racism, sexism, and class are interconnected. We will also consider why these divisions and the accompanying differences in opportunity and achievement continue; how these divisions and differences are reproduced and the reality that lies behind the rhetoric of equality and opportunity and justice for all. For example, how are economic rewards, employment decisions, political electoral campaigns and public policy decisions shaped by racial bias? In what way do these factors influence university admissions, faculty hiring, and relations with fellow students and student groups? Has racism changed over time? On a personal level, how do we cope with our own racism and with racism directed against us? We will also consider the necessary conditions and the processes to bring about effective social change.
Required Reading: (All books are on 2 hour reserve at Leavey Library. See Reference Librarian for Xerox Reader material.)
Christopher Bates Doob, Racism: An American Cauldron 2nd. ed. New York: HarperCollins, 1996
Elaine Bell Kaplan, Not Our Kind of Girl, Unraveling The Myths of Black Teenage Motherhood, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.
Harry H. L. Kitano and Roger Daniels, Asian Americans, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall, 1995
Joan Moore and Harry Pachon, Hispanics in the US Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1985
Xerox Reader (available at USC bookstore)
1. "The Prison of Race and Gender: Stereotypes, Ideology, Language, and Social Control: (Paula S. Rothenberg, Racism and Sexism, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.)
2. "How Serious is the Problem of Racism?" (William Dudley, ed. Racism in America: Opposing Viewpoints, San Diego, CA.: Greenhaven Press, Inc. 1991.
3. "The Problem: Discrimination, United States Commission on Civil Rights"
Note: The readings and assignments list for Spring of 1999 may be subject to change. Please contact the department for verification.
SOCIOLOGY 150g
Social Problems
Binder
TTh, 9:30-10:50
In SOCI 150 we examine some of the major social problems confronting American society today: crime, violence, drugs, discrimination, environmental pollution, terrorism, the prospect of nuclear war. What can we do about these problems? What does sociological research suggest about their causes and their solution? In this course we analyze these and other problems using the tools of sociological data and theory. We assess the public policies - laws- that have been passed in order to "solve" these problems, and explore why many of these have failed. We focus on two specific issues that may directly affect your experience as adults in the 21st Century: (1) Urban violence (will there be a repeat of the Los Angeles "riots" of 1992; (2) Population aging (will Social Security and medical care benefits be available for you when you retire?)
SOCI 150 explores contemporary social problems in three categories: (1) Issues involving individual deviance (crime, gangs, rape, sexual deviance, mental illness); (2) Problems of social inequalities (discrimination and prejudice reflected in racism, sexism, and ageism); (3) Crises reflecting societal changes during the 20th Century (the worldwide population explosion, population aging, environmental pollution, family and health problems, war and terrorism.)
Readings and Assignments:
The basic texts include Henslin's Social Problems in Modern Society; a volume edited by Los Angeles Time reporters, Understanding the Riots; and two Opposing viewpoints collections: (1) Should abortion rights be restricted? (2) How will an aging population affect America?
The grade for the course is based on : (1) Three exams; (2) Four quizzes; (3) Discussion section participation and assignments throughout the semester; (4) JEP (Joint Educational Project) involvement; (5) Short in-class assignments accompanying each lecture. Extra credit can be earned through participation in class debates, analysis of movies and videos reflecting social problems, or a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance.
Note: The readings and assignments list for Spring of 1999 may be subject to change. Please contact the department for verification.
SOCIOLOGY 155g
Immigrant America
Edward Park
MW, 2:00-3:20
The dual purpose of this course is to provide a theoretically rigorous and a fieldwork-based introduction to immigration studies. Relying on four important recent texts, this course will examine current social science debates on immigration, focusing our attention on recent immigration from Mexico, Central America, and Asia. In addition, the course will also highlight the impact of immigration and the complexities of immigrant life in Los Angeles and Southern California, the center of post-1965 immigrant settlement. Topics that will be covered in this course will include immigration policy, economic integration of immigrants on urban race relations, and the increasingly heated policies surrounding immigration and immigrants. Taking advantage of USC's central location, a major component of this course will involve extensive fieldwork in an immigrant community of your choice. The purpose of this fieldwork is to link the academic discourse in immigration studies with the empirical findings in your research. This course explores immigration, racial conflict and ethnic communities.
Readings:
Hondagneu-Sotelo. Gendered Transitions: Mexican Experience of Immigration. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
Min, Pyong Gap. Caught in the Middle: Korean Communities in New York and Los
Angeles. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
Portes, Alejandro and Ruben G. Rumbaut. Immigrant America: A Portrait. Second
Edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996
Waldinger, Roger and Mehdi Bozorgmehr, Editor. Ethnic Los Angeles. New York:
Russel Sage Foundation, 1996.
Assignments: 1 midterm, one 10 page paper, final exam
SOCIOLOGY 169g
Changing Family Forms
James
MW, 3:30-4:50
Most of us grew up in,. enjoyed, and/or survived family life, so we all bring some first hand experience to this class. Few of us, however, understand our families as socially and historically constructed institutions. Why and how do families change over time? This course will explore linkages between family life and society, examining, for example, how families are shaped by social and economic factors, and how internal family dynamics reflect and respond to societal pressures. This course is not intended as a prescriptive "how to create successful families" (although the material may help you in this endeavor). We will explore a number of contemporary issues, such as how employment and gender ideologies shape inequality in families, changing notions of parenthood and childhood, how economic recessions affect family life, the challenges facing working parents and their children and changing expectations of marriage. We will cover historical variations in families, as well as a plurality of contemporary family forms such as lesbian and gay families, single parenthood, divorce, remarriage, and blended families. As an ongoing theme we will consider how gender, race, and economic inequality shape our experiences in families.
Readings
Hochschild, The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home
Skolnick and Skolnick, Family in Transition (ninth edition)
Weston, Families We Choose
Hondagneu-Sotelo, Gendered Transitions: Mexican Experiences of Immigration
Stacey, In the Name of the Family
Recommended Readings:
See, Good Times and Hard Luck
Kaplan, Not Our Kind of Girl
Rubin, Intimate Strangers
Zavella, Women's Work and Chicano Families
Zelizer, Pricing the Priceless Child
Note: The readings and assignments list for Spring of 1999 may be subject to change. Please contact the department for verification.
