Narrative Studies

What is Narrative Studies?

Narrative Studies prepares students for the development and evaluation of original content for novels, films, theatre and other narrative platforms, but recognizes that the range of professional opportunities in literature and the performing arts is much wider than the roles of author, screenwriter or playwright.

To recognize a good story, to critique, help shape, realize and transform it, requires a background in the history of narrative, cross-cultural and contemporary models, and an understanding of the broader context of popular culture.

 

Post-Fall 2023 Requirements

Students need a minimum of 40 units. ENGL 270 is a newly required foundational seminar 4-unit course. This course was mandated with the intention for increased connectivity amongst the Narrative Studies cohort. Course work is drawn from departments across the humanities at USC Dornsife and from several professional schools.

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Pre-Fall 2023 Requirements

Students need a minimum of 36 units (nine 4-unit courses). Course work is drawn from departments across the humanities at USC Dornsife and from several professional schools.

Building Your Major

To help develop the flexibility necessary to understand how stories change across platforms, students are expected to complete at least three courses in literary and three courses in performance-based media. The remaining three courses may be chosen to reflect the student’s personal preference and initial career aspirations.

Students must take classes to meet the following six interdisciplinary categories, plus eight units of upper-division electives and a capstone project. Click the requirement to see which courses meet each requirement.

Narrative Studies

    Introduction to Narrative Media

    Complete four units from the following:

    COLT-101gp “Masterpieces and Masterminds: Literature and Thought”

    CRIT-150g “Visual Culture and Literacy I” (formerly FACS-150)

    ENGL-261g “English Literature to 1800”

    ENGL-262g “English Literature since 1800”

    ENGL-263g “American Literature”

    ENGL-371g “Literary Genres and Film” (formerly ENGL-471)

    ENGL-381 “Narrative Forms in Literature and Film” (formerly ENGL-481)

    PHIL-446 “Aesthetics and the Film”

    THTR-125 “Text Studies for Production”

    THTR-403 “The Performing Arts”

    Writing and Narrative Forms

    Complete four units from the following:

    CTWR-409 “Fundamentals of Screenwriting: Character, Conflict and Story” (must be processed as a substitution, as formerly CTWR-412 and CTWR-415a were offered as a pair – if needed, contact your assigned advisor)

    ENGL-105x “Creative Writing for Non-Majors”

    ENGL-302 “Writing Narrative”

    ENGL-402 “Narrative Composition” (prereq: ENGL-302 or ENGL-305)

    THTR-365 “Playwriting I”

    THTR-366 “Playwriting II” (prereq: THTR-365)

    Popular Culture and Ethnicity

    Complete four units from the following:

    AMST-200gm “Introduction to American Studies and Ethnicity”

    AMST-274gmw “Exploring Ethnicity through Film”

    AMST-285gm “African American Popular Culture”

    ANTH-333 “Forms of Folklore” (this course may require a manual substitution for students of certain catalogue years – if needed, contact your assigned advisor)

    COLT-365 “Literature and Popular Culture”

    CTCS-192m “Race, Class, and Gender in American Film”

    CTCS-392 “History of the American Film, 1925–1950”

    CTCS-393 “Postwar Hollywood, 1946-1962”

    CTCS-394 “History of the American Film, 1977–present”

    CTCS-407 “African American Cinema”

    CTCS-414 “Latina/o Screen Cultures”

    ENGL-392 “Visual and Popular Culture”

    HIST-380 “American Popular Culture”

    MUSC-200gmw “The Broadway Musical: Reflection of American Diversity” (formerly MUSC-400)

    MUSC-320gmw “Hip-hop Music and Culture” (formerly MUSC-420)

    MUSC-460 “Film Music: History and Function from 1930 to the Present”

    REL-333 “Religion in the Borderlands” (this course is also crosslisted under AMST)

    THTR-395m “Drama as Human Relations”

    THTR-405m “Performing Identities”

    Narrative in Cross-Cultural Perspective

    Complete four units from the following:

    ANTH-372 “Interpretation of Myth and Narrative”

    COLT-264gp “Asian Aesthetic and Literary Traditions”

    CTCS-200g “History of the International Cinema I”

    CTCS-201 “History of the International Cinema II”

    EALC-125g “Introduction to Contemporary East Asian Cinema and Culture”

    EALC-332 “Modern Korean Literature in Translation”

    EALC-342g “Japanese Literature and Culture”

    EALC-452 “Chinese Fiction”

    EALC-455 “Japanese Fiction”

    ENGL-444m “Native American Literature”

    ENGL-445m “The Literatures of America: Cross-Cultural Perspectives”

    FREN-320 “French Cinema”

    GERM-360g “20th Century German Prose: Texts and Films”

    ITAL-360 “Italian Cinema”

    THTR-210 “Theory and Practice of World Theatre I” (this course may require a manual substitution for students of certain catalogue years – if needed, contact your assigned advisor)

    THTR-211g “Theory and Practice of World Theatre II” (this course may require a manual substitution for students of certain catalogue years – if needed, contact your assigned advisor)

    Western Narrative in Historical Perspective

    Complete four units from the following:

    CLAS-325 “Ancient Epic”

    CLAS-337gp “Ancient Drama”

    CLAS-380 “Approaches to Myth”

    COLT-312 “Heroes, Myths and Legends in Literature and the Arts”

    ENGL-423 “English Literature of the 18th Century (1660–1780)” (prereq: ENGL-261)

    ENGL-424 “English Literature of the Romantic Age (1780–1832)” (prereq: ENGL-262)

    ENGL-425 “English Literature of the Victorian Age (1832–1890)” (prereq: ENGL-262)

    ENGL-426 “Modern English Literature (1890–1945)” (prereq: ENGL-262)

    ENGL-430 “Shakespeare”

    ENGL-440 “American Literature to 1865” (coreq: ENGL-263)

    ENGL-441 “American Literature, 1865 to 1920” (coreq: ENGL-263)

    GERM-340 “German Prose Fiction from Goethe to Thomas Mann”

    GERM-372g “Literature and Culture in Berlin in the 1920s”

    SLL-302g “Modern Russian Literature”

    SLL-344g “Tolstoy: Writer and Moralist”

    SLL-345g “Literature and Philosophy: Dostoevsky”

    SLL-346 “Russian Drama and the Western Tradition”

    SPAN-304 “Survey of Fiction” (prereq: SPAN-260 and SPAN-261)

    THTR-301 “Greek and Roman Theatre”

    THTR-302 “Shakespeare in His World”

    Contemporary Fiction and Drama

    Complete four units from the following:

    AMST-448m “Chicano and Latino Literature”

    AMST-449m “Asian American Literature”

    COLT-345 “Realist Fiction”

    COLT-348 “Modernist Fiction”

    COLT-351 “Modern and Contemporary Drama”

    COLT-420 “The Fantastic”

    COLT-472 “Los Angeles Crime Fiction”

    COLT-475 “Politics and the Novel”

    EALC-354g “Modern Chinese Literature in Translation”

    ENGL-361g “Contemporary Prose” (formerly ENGL-455)

    ENGL-363g “Contemporary Drama” (formerly ENGL-463)

    ENGL-375 “Science Fiction”

    ENGL-442 “American Literature, 1920 to the Present” (coreq: ENGL-263)

    ENGL-447m “African-American Narrative”

    FREN-347 “Race, Gender and Power in Francophone Literature” (coreq: FREN-330)

    SLL-303 “Contemporary Russian Literature”

    SLL-348g “The Novels of Vladimir Nabokov”

    THTR-300 “Introduction to Modern Drama”

    THTR-314 “Advanced Topics in Modern Drama”

    Upper-division electives

    Complete eight additional units numbered 300-499 chosen from the lists above. These courses must be from different departments (i.e., they must have different prefixes).

    Capstone project

    Complete four units from the following:

    ENGL-492 “Narrative Studies Capstone Seminar”

    ENGL-490 “Directed Research”

    A waterfall is on the forefront of this image of the USC International Affairs office.
    A waterfall is on the forefront of this image of the USC International Affairs office.
    A waterfall is on the forefront of this image of the USC International Affairs office.
    A waterfall is on the forefront of this image of the USC International Affairs office.
    A waterfall is on the forefront of this image of the USC International Affairs office.
    A waterfall is on the forefront of this image of the USC International Affairs office.
    A waterfall is on the forefront of this image of the USC International Affairs office.
    A waterfall is on the forefront of this image of the USC International Affairs office.
    • The courses that meet these requirements and are being offered during the upcoming semester are underlined on the advisement record you can find on the Documents page.

    • In your exploration of narrative fields in USC Dornsife and the professional schools, you may find a course that you think should count toward your major requirements. To propose a substitution, attach a course syllabus and statement of justification to the cover sheet available on the Documents page and submit it to the staff undergraduate advisor.

    Substitutions

    Course offerings change, and many departments offer courses that explore narrative but do not appear on our list in the USC Catalogue. Each semester we include these options to be substituted into your major requirements.

    Please inform your primary assigned advisor when you register for a substitution course, as it must be manually processed. Until you inform the staff advisor, the course will not appear on your STARS Report.

    Elevate your Undergraduate Experience

    • Narrative Studies is an unusual major, which makes it perfect for study abroad. Students participating in overseas studies through USC Dornsife travel all over the world. You can choose courses from many countries, programs, and languages.

      In recent semesters, students in Narrative Studies have taken classes like “The Limits of Access to Truth: Realism and Fiction in Literature and Cinema in Latin America” at the University of San Andrés in Argentina and “The Making of Modern Fantasy” at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

      As part of your application to study abroad, you will select courses to be pre-approved by your academic advisor to meet your major requirements.

      Visit dornsife.usc.edu/narrative-overseas/ to explore your opportunities abroad.

    • The capstone project is the final requirement for the Narrative Studies (NARS) major.  It is a cumulative project that draws upon the classes you have completed for your major, and has both a research and a critical component.  Your research component may be scholarly, literary, creative, or experiential—all subject to prior approval.  Your critical component will be a self-reflective essay that explains what you have learned about narrative by researching it in the individual way that you have devised, and studying narrative in the courses you have chosen. Projects will be roughly 20-40 pages long double-spaced. Further information can be found on our Capstone Requirements Info Sheet.

      Students have explored the process of adapting English literature to musicals for the stage, analyzed Hawaiian folklore and its historical forms, and researched contemporary wall mural narratives in the San Fernando Valley, just to name a few examples.

      Learn more about the capstone project

    • Each semester, Narrative Studies majors present their capstone projects to faculty, peers, family, and friends at our capstone presentation event in the Department of English.

      How do I propose my capstone project?
      Develop your proposal the semester before you plan to complete your capstone project. Meet with your faculty supervisor to form your proposal, and format it using the template on the Documents page.

    • Our students complete internships and volunteerships tutoring students at neighborhood elementary schools, working at marketing firms, assisting in faculty research, and working at film and television production companies. These opportunities complement the intensive study and professionalization on campus in classes and co-curricular activities, and they guide students toward the diverse set of careers open to those with liberal arts educations.

      Students can find these opportunities through the USC Career Center at careers.usc.edu, and students majoring in Narrative Studies are eligible to apply for the USC Dornsife Gateway Internship Program.

    • Students majoring in Narrative Studies are eligible to apply to our progressive degree program in Literary Editing and Publishing and earn both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees from USC Dornsife in just five years.

      Learn more about the progressive degree program

    • Graduates of our program in Narrative Studies have won Fulbright Fellowships, taught English overseas, pursued graduate school and research, published creative writing, and worked in communications and media.

      Please share your stories, updates, and projects with us by contacting our undergraduate student coordinators.

    Contact Details

    USC Department of English

    3501 Trousdale Parkway
    Taper Hall of Humanities 404
    Los Angeles, CA 90089-0354

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