Argentina Study Abroad Program
May 8, 2013
New Study Abroad Program! Spring 2014 study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the Universidad de San Andrés. 
USC MADRID OPTION II
May 8, 2013
USC Madrid Option II- students have the opportunity to directly enroll in courses at the Universidad de Carlos III alongside Spanish students.
Fall 2013 Courses: MUSC 499 – The Music Video and MUSC 499 – Electronic Dance Music
May 8, 2013
The Thornton School of Music is pleased to offer two new courses for Fall 2013 that are open to all students at the University. Please see attached flyer.
No prior music experience or knowledge required.
MUSC 499: Special Topics – The Music Video (47254)
T/Th 2-3:50pm in UUC B2
v This is a 4-unit course
v This course will introduce students to the Music Video genre and how it has evolved since its emergence in the late 1970s.
v We will challenge participants to read music videos as texts by engaging with their visual and auditory materials.
v We will explore how the gender, race, and class of video participants shapes meaning, as well as how pacing and editing contribute to (or detract from) a narrative flow.
v Special topics include precursors of the music video in concert films and film musicals, Christian music video, fan-produced anime music videos, and video games.
v We will also consider the music video in relation to notions of stardom and celebrity, and will speculate on the future of the music video amid drastic changes in the production and marketing of media.
MUSC 499: Special Topics – Electronic Dance Music (47255)
Wednesdays 6-8:50pm in THH 202
v This is a 4-unit course
v This course will be considering two questions, one ontological, the other ethical:
1) What is EDM? 2) And what should EDM be?
v We will enlist history and musicology to describe EDM’s origins, development, and current incarnations. We will pay particular attention to how musical processes like DJing, scratching, synthesis and sequencing, and sampling have evolved since the mid-1970s.
v We will draw from cultural criticism to study social, political, and cultural phenomena such as constructions of race, neighborhood, and masculinity, misogyny and homophobia, intellectual property, and political activism.
2-unit Sophomore Seminar available
May 6, 2013
Second Year Inquiry – SSEM 200
The USC Dornsife Dana and David College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences is offering two special sections of 2-unit Sophomore Seminars (SSEM 200) in the Fall 2013 semester as part of a new Second Year Inquiry program.
These 2-unit Sophomore seminar courses are designed to address students’ intellectual interests and their relationship to the development of professional pathways and specific career goals. Each seminar will focus on academic and career preparation, best practices for career exploration, and the promotion of transferable skills in the workplace. Sophomore Seminars are intended for USC Dornsife students with either Sophomore or Junior standing, but Seniors may also apply.
Course section
SSEM – 200: Professional Opportunities in a Changing Global System, section # 61800
Prof. Steven Lamy
Wednesdays, 4-6PM
CR/NC
Designed for Sophomores and Juniors in the Social Sciences.
http://web-app.usc.edu/soc/20133/ssem-200
NOTE: Rising Sophomores are eligible to register but require unit-clearance. Please refer rising Sophomores to me for unit-clearance.
New Middle East Studies Courses in Fall 2013
April 25, 2013
* New Middle East Studies Courses in Fall 2013
* Three Lectures on Iranian History and Culture in
Two Weeks (including one today!)
* New Degree Minor in Iranian Studies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* New Courses for Fall 2013
MDES 313: Modern Iran (now on the schedule, MW 10-11:15)
MDES 324: Classical Persian Literature in Translation (pending to appear on the schedule in the next few days, TTh 2-3:20pm)
These upper-division courses count towards the major and minor in Middle East Studies and the new minor in Iranian Studies.
* Come hear afternoon lectures presented by visiting experts on different aspects of pre-modern Iranian history and literature.
1) “Demigods, Ingrates, and Ideals of Kingship in Early Modern Iran” by Hani Khafipour (University of Chicago)-Today, April 25, 4 PM in VKC 211
2) “Restoring the ‘Good Religion,’ Renovating the World: Ardashir’s Battle against a Giant Worm” [on an important episode in the Shahnameh], by Dr. Nasrin Askari (University of Toronto)
Tuesday, April 30, 4 PM in VKC 211
3) “Mirrors of Glory: Persian Salvation Histories and Visions of the Past in the Post-Mongol Historiography of Iran” by Dr. Khodadad Rezakhani (London School of Economics)
Thursday, May 1, 4 PM in VKC 211
* Minor in Iranian Studies, available Fall 2013
Required Courses, Lower Division
MDES 120 Persian I 4 Units
MDES 150 Persian II 4
MDES 220 Persian III 4
MDES 250 Persian IV 4
Some or all of these may be waived by placement examination.
Required Courses, Upper Division
Four courses—16 units from among the following
MDES 320 Advanced Persian I 4 Units
MDES 350 Advanced Persian II 4
MDES 349g Ancient Empires 4
MDES 312 Iran in the Middle Ages 4
MDES 313 Modern Iran 4
MDES 324 Classical Persian Literature 4
MDES 325 Modern Persian Literature 4
MDES 461 Topics in Ancient Iranian Languages and Cultures 4
One of these four may alternatively be chosen from the following list of existing upper-division courses that cover material relevant to Iran or which situate an aspect of Iran in a broader context.
ANTH 335 Comparative Muslim Societies
CLAS 360 Classical Arabic Literature in Translation [covers period 500-1500]
HIST 324g Islam in Russia and the Soviet Union
HIST 382 The Middle East 500-1500
POSC 351 Middle East Politics
REL 315 Thought and Life of Islam
REL 316 Women and the Islamic Tradition
REL 414 History of Islamic Law
If you have any questions about these developments and events, just ask! I hope to see you at the lectures. –Prof. Kevin van Bladel, Director, Middle East Studies Program
