General Education Program

GE-B, Humanistic Inquiry

About Courses in GE-B

Humanistic inquiry takes us into realms that lie at the heart of what it means to be a thinking, feeling person, and into realms of interpretation and analysis beyond what facts and figures alone can tell us. Courses in humanistic inquiry encourage close engagement with works of the imagination—in words, sight, and sound—understanding what it means to live another life and see over the horizon. The following courses have been approved to satisfy the GE-B, Humanistic Inquiry. This list also notes any additional GE requirements the course may satisfy.

updated: 12/17/2024

American Studies and Ethnicity

AMST 150gw, The American War in Viet Nam
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

AMST 201g, LGBTQ America
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

AMST 205g, Introduction to American Popular Culture
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

AMST 206mg, Politics and Culture of the 1960s
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

AMST 301gp, America, the Frontier, and the New West
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

AMST 331gw, The Black Atlantic: Narratives of Migration and Travel
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Archaeology

ARCG 305Lg, Virtual and Digital Culture, Heritage and Archaeology
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Art History

AHIS 100g, Introduction to Visual Culture
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

AHIS 127g, Arts of the Ancient Americas
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

AHIS 201g, Digging into the Past
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

AHIS 381g, Visual Cultures of Asia
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Cinema and Media Studies

CTCS 150gw, Vision of Diversity in the Cinematic Arts
also satisfies GE-G
This course is not for a general student audience. It is part of the curriculum for certain majors and pre-professional students.

Classics

CLAS 150gp, The Greeks and their Legacies
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

CLAS 151gp, The Legacy of Rome
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

CLAS 160gp, Ancient Lives
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

CLAS 180g, Classic Mythology and the Mythic Imagination
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

CLAS 195gp, Nature and Environment in Ancient Mediterranean Culture
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
effective Fall 2023

CLAS 320mgp, Diversity and the Classical Western Tradition
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

CLAS 337gp, Ancient Drama
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

CLAS 348g, Athens in the Age of Democracy and Empire
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Comparative Literature

COLT 101gp, Masterpieces and Masterminds: Literature and Thought
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

COLT 102g, On Location: The Place of Literature in Global Cultures
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

COLT 250g, Cultures of Latin America
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

COLT 251g, Literature and Thought of the West Since 1800
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

COLT 264gp, Asian Aesthetic and Literature Traditions
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

COLT 360gp, Fictions of Africa
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

COLT 374mg, Women Writers in Europe and America
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

COLT 382gw, Zen and Taoism in Asian Literature
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Critical Studies

CRIT 160g, Critical Theory in Art, Design and Visual Culture
This course does not satisfy an additional GE requirement.
This course is not for a general student audience. It is part of the curriculum for certain majors and pre-professional students.

CRIT 350gw, Global Art, Design and Visual Culture since 1960
also satisfies GE-G
This course is not for a general student audience. It is part of the curriculum for certain majors and pre-professional students.

Dance

DANC 342gp, International and Historical Perspectives on Dance
also satisfies GE-H
This course is not for a general student audience. It is part of the curriculum for certain majors and pre-professional students.

East Asian Languages and Cultures

EALC 110gp, East Asian Humanities: The Great Tradition
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 125g, Introduction to Contemporary East Asian Cinema and Culture
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 130gp, Introduction to East Asian Ethical Thought
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 145g, Introduction to Chinese Culture, Art and Literature
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 150gw, Global Chinese Cinema and Cultural Studies
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 255gw, Southeast Asian Literature and Film
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 333g, Introduction to Korean Film
Effective Fall 2024, EALC 333 satisfies the GE-A requirement. This course will only satisfy the GE-B requirement if taken between Fall 2015 and Summer 2024.

EALC 340gp, Japanese Civilization
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 342gp, Japanese Literature and Culture
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 344gp, Korean Culture from Ancient to Modern Times
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 346g, Hallyu, the Korean Wave
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 350gp, Chinese Civilization
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 352g, Chinese Literature and Culture
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 354g, Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

EALC 358g, Transnational Chinese Literature and Culture
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

English

ENGL 170g, The Monster and the Detective
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 172g, The Art of Poetry
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 174g, Reading the Heart: Emotional Intelligence and the Humanities
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 176g, Los Angeles: the City, the Novel, the Movie
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 200g, Introduction to Colonialism/Postcolonialism
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 230g, Shakespeare and His Times
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 233g, Jane Austen and Her World
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
effective Spring 2025

ENGL 261g, English Literature to 1800
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy Requirement
This course is not for a general student audience.  It is part of the curriculum for certain majors and pre-professional students.

ENGL 262g, English Literature since 1800
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy Requirement
This course is not for a general student audience.  It is part of the curriculum for certain majors and pre-professional students.

ENGL 263g, American Literature
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy Requirement
This course is not for a general student audience.  It is part of the curriculum for certain majors and pre-professional students.

ENGL 270g, Studying Narrative
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 280g, Introduction to Narrative Medicine
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 297g, Introduction to the Genre of Nonfiction
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 298g, Introduction to the Genre of Fiction
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 299g, Introduction to the Genre of Poetry
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 325g, Premodern Wonders: Magic, Monsters and Marvels
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 333g, Literature of Gandhi’s India
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 342g, Women in English and American Literature after 1800
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 344gm, Sexual/Textual Diversity
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 350g, Literature of California
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 352g, Bookpacking
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 355g, Anglo-American Law and Literature: Conceptions of Tyranny
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 361g, Contemporary Prose
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 362g, Contemporary Poetry
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 363g, Contemporary Drama
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 371g, Literary Genres and Film
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 373g, Literature and Society
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ENGL 376g, Comics and Graphic Novels
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

French

FREN 260gw, Global Women’s Narratives
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

FREN 270gw, Black Europe
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

FREN 307g, Public Memory and the Ghosts of History
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

FREN 347g, Race, Gender and Power in Francophone Literature
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

FREN 370mg, Equality and Difference around the Enlightenment
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

FREN 372gp, Medicine, Health and the Body in Literature and Culture
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

FREN 373g, Remembering Loss, Writing Memory
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

FREN 375mgw, Global Narratives of Illness and Disability
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Gender and Sexuality Studies

SWMS 212gp, Introduction to Gender and Sexuality: American Perspectives
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

SWMS 215gw, Introduction to Gender and Sexuality: International Perspectives
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

SWMS 219gp, Introduction to Feminist Theory
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

SWMS 221g, Introduction to Queer Theory
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

SWMS 227gp, Death and Gender in Urban Contexts
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

General Education Seminars

GESM 120g, Seminar in Humanistic Inquiry
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

GESM 121g, Seminar in Humanistic Inquiry
This course does not satisfy an additional GE requirement.

German

GERM 360g, Twentieth Century German Prose: Texts and Films
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

GERM 372g, Literature and Culture in Berlin in the 1920s
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

GERM 375g, The German Exile Experience
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

History

HIST 100mg, The American Experience
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 102mg, The Worlds of Medieval Europe
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 103g, The Emergence of Modern Europe
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 104gp, Modern Europe
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 105g, The Korean Past
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 106g, Chinese Lives: An Introduction to Chinese History
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 107gp, Introduction to the History of Japan
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 108g, Histories of South Asia
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 109g, The Latin American Experience
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 185g, A Survey of Armenian History
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 210gw, How to Be An American: Global Histories of U.S. Citizenship
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 220gp, Murder on Trial in America
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 235g, War and the American Experience
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 240gp, History of California
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 245mgp, How Sex Changed: US History, 1870-the Present
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 271g, Telling Native American Stories
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 272g, Women and Gender in the Ancient and Spanish Americas
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 275g, The Worlds of the Silk Road
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

HIST 278gp, Ottomans and Empire: Anatolia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean World
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Italian

ITAL 300g, Inventing Modern Italy
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ITAL 350g, Gender and Sexuality in Renaissance Italy
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

ITAL 382g, Dante
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Judaic Studies

JS 100gp, Jewish History
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

JS 150gw, Jewish Histories of the Modern Middle East
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
effective Fall 2024

JS 170gp, Exploring the Hebrew Bible
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
effective Spring 2024

JS 258gp, Food, Faith and Conflict
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

JS 314gp, Holy War and History: Jews, Christians, Muslims
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

JS 315g, Anti-Semitism, Racism and Other Hatreds
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

JS 320g, The Sephardic World
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
effective Spring 2025

JS 370gp, Digs and Dispute: Religion and Archaeology in Israel
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Linguistics

LING 322g, Language Contact and Language Acquisition
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Middle East Studies

MDES 320g, Arabic Literature: Classical to Contemporary
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

MDES 325g, Politics of Film and Literature in Modern Iran
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

MDES 343g, Modern Arab Culture and Literature
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Music History and Literature

MUHL 250g, Music and Ideas
This course does not satisfy an additional GE requirement.
This course is not for a general student audience. It is part of the curriculum for certain majors and pre-professional students.

Philosophy

PHIL 100g, Central Problems of Philosophy
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 101g, Free People, Free Thought and Free Markets
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 102gp, Historical Introduction to Philosophy
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 103g, Philosophy, Politics and Economics in Europe, from Renaissance to Enlightenment
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 104g, Ancient Foundation of Western Thought
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 110g, Modern Foundations of Western Thought
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 130g, The Physical World and Our Place In It
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 138g, Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 141gp, The Professions and the Public Interest in American Life
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 166gw, Current Moral and Social Issues
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 168g, The Meaning of Life
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 170g, Introduction to Philosophy, Politics, Economics and the Law
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
effective Spring 2025

PHIL 172mgw, Social Ethics for Earthlings and Others
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 174gw, Freedom, Equality, and Social Justice
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 176gw, Feminist Philosophy
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
effective Spring 2025

PHIL 178gw, Moral Dilemmas in the Legal Domain
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 236g, Issues in Space and Time
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 240g, Mind, Self, and Consciousness
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 254gp, Science, Knowledge and Objectivity
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 255gp, Existentialism in Philosophy, Literature and Film
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 256g, Science, Religion, and the Making of the Modern Mind
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 260gw, Ethical Theory and Practice
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 265g, Ethics, Technology and Value
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 270g, Conceptual Foundations of Conflict
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 284gp, Ideas on Trial
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

PHIL 288gp, Love and Its Representations in Western Literature, Film, and Philosophy
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Portuguese

PORT 250g, Visions of Brazil
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Religion

REL 111g, The World of the Hebrew Bible
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 112g, Religions of Ancient Egypt and the Near East
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 114g, The Mediterranean: A Religious History
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 115g, Jerusalem, City of Three Faiths
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 116g, Jews in the Middle East
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 121g, The World of the New Testament
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 125gp, Introduction to Christianity: Antiquity to 1500
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 130g, Indian Traditions of Mind and Body
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
effective Fall 2024

REL 132g, Origins of Western Religions
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 134g, Introduction to Buddhism
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 135g, Chinese Religions and Culture
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 136g, Sense and Sensuality in Indian Religions and Culture
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 137g, Introduction to Islam
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 138g, Japanese Religions and Culture
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 141g, Global Religions in Los Angeles
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 147g, Religion, Media and Popular Culture
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 311g, The Bible in Western Literature
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 317g, The Bible in Its Ancient Context
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 322g, Religion and Science
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 324g, Sex and the Bible: Gender, Sexuality, and Scripture
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 325g, Religious Experience in the Greco-Roman World
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 326gp, The Historical Jesus
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 327g, Heretics, Martyrs, and Miracles
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 334g, Religion and Colonial Encounter
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 342g, Buddhist Modernism
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 359g, Culture in Diaspora: The Jews of Spain
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

REL 363g, Black Religion in America
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Slavic Languages and Literatures

SLL 110g, Russia in the Modern Era
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

SLL 302g, Modern Russian Literature
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

SLL 310gw, The Eastern European Jewish Experience: Literature and Film
also satisfies GE-G and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
effective Fall 2024

SLL 330gp, Russian Thought and Civilization
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

SLL 344g, Tolstoy: Writer and Moralist
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

SLL 345g, Literature and Philosophy: Dostoevsky
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

SLL 348g, The Novels of Vladimir Nabokov
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

Spanish

SPAN 290gp, Introduction to Latin American and Iberian Studies
also satisfies GE-H and the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement

SPAN 295g, Gender and Sexuality in Latin American and Spanish Cinema
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
effective Spring 2024

SPAN 380g, Literature of Mexico
also satisfies the Dornsife Core Literacy requirement
This course is not for a general student audience. It is part of the curriculum for certain majors and pre-professional students.

Thematic Option

CORE 101g, Symbols and Conceptual Systems: Thematic Option Honors Program
This course is not for a general student audience. It is part of the curriculum for students in Thematic Option.

CORE 102gp, Culture and Values: Thematic Option Honors Program
also satisfies GE-H
This course is not for a general student audience. It is part of the curriculum for students in Thematic Option.

Writing (Cinematic Arts)

CTWR 100g, Story: Character, Conflict, and Catharsis
This course does not satisfy an additional GE requirement.
This course is not for a general student audience. It is part of the curriculum for certain majors and pre-professional students.