What’s the most unique class you have taken at USC?
One of the quirkier classes I’ve taken was COMM 211x, Professional Effectiveness Through Third Space Thinking. It’s not offered anymore, but it was a super offbeat yet hands-on class about how to communicate with others by taking into account their personalities, cultural background and so on. One time, we were divided into two groups: the group inside the classroom were to roleplay a made-up group of people that hated sharp objects, but the foreigners outside the classroom were supposed to sell scissors to them and didn’t know the other group hated sharp objects, or something like that to simulate cultural misunderstandings. It was hilarious. Only at Annenberg.
Ngai Yeung ‘23
ctwr 404: foundations of comedy! really cool class where you watch comedy films and shows (old and newer ones, the stooges, monty python and the holy grail, dollface on hulu, etc.) and you get to meet a lot of guest speakers (writers, showrunners, comedians, etc.). the class is very chill, and u will be laughing the whole time
Kristen Adams
SWMS 210: Social Analysis of Gender.
You get to learn about activists (Audre Lorde, bell hooks) and interesting gender studies topics (sex work, gender and sports). I loved that the class wasn't "What is Sexism 101" if you catch my drift. The material was dense, quirky, and made me sit with ideas that I wasn't fully comfortable with yet.
No tests! Only weekly/biweekly essay responses and a final project.
My professor was Chris Belcher––a chill, in touch prof who just came out with a memoir about becoming a dominatrix.
Read my full review of the class.
PHIL 254: Science, Knowledge and Objectivity.
Do you need a GE-B? Are you a STEM student with a rebellious humanities streak? This is definitely the class for you. PHIL 254, taught by the funny Prof Porter Williams, brings up the questions: what is science vs pseudoscience? how should scientists falsify theories? what role do ethical values play in science?
This class likes to shred what you think you know about the scientific world, and then build it back up again.
Kelsey Cheng
