Undergraduate Course Offerings

19. Fiat Lux Freshman Seminars

Units: 1.0

Seminar, one hour. Discussion of and critical thinking about topics of current intellectual importance, taught by faculty members in their areas of expertise and illuminating many paths of discovery at UCLA. P/NP grading.

M20. Visible Language: Study of Writing

Units: 5.0

(Same as Asian M20, Near Eastern Languages M20, Slavic M20, and Southeast Asian M20.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Consideration of concrete means of language representation in writing systems. Earliest representations of language known are those of Near East dating to end of 4th millennium BC. While literate civilizations of Egypt, Indus Valley, China, and Mesoamerica left little evidence of corresponding earliest developments, their antiquity and, in case of China and Mesoamerica, their evident isolation mark these centers as loci of independent developments in writing. Basic characteristics of early scripts, assessment of modern alphabetic writing systems, and presentation of conceptual basis of semiotic language representation. Origins and development of early non-Western writing systems. How Greco-Roman alphabet arose in 1st millennium BC and how it compares to other modern writing systems. P/NP or letter grading.

M70. Language and Evolution

Units: 5.0

(Same as Linguistics M4.) Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Basic concepts and tools of evolutionary theory and linguistics relevant to how organisms with linguistic abilities could evolve, and how particular languages, as cultural artifacts, survive and change so rapidly. P/NP or letter grading.

89. Honors Seminars

Units: 1.0

Seminar, three hours. Limited to 20 students. Designed as adjunct to lower-division lecture course. Exploration of topics in greater depth through supplemental readings, papers, or other activities and led by lecture course instructor. May be applied toward honors credit for eligible students. Honors content noted on transcript. P/NP or letter grading.

89HC. Honors Contracts

Units: 1.0

Tutorial, three hours. Limited to students in College Honors Program. Designed as adjunct to lower-division lecture course. Individual study with lecture course instructor to explore topics in greater depth through supplemental readings, papers, or other activities. May be repeated for maximum of 4 units. Individual honors contract required. Honors content noted on transcript. Letter grading.

99. Student Research Program

Units: 1.0 to 2.0

Tutorial (supervised research or other scholarly work), three hours per week per unit. Entry-level research for lower-division students under guidance of faculty mentor. Students must be in good academic standing and enrolled in minimum of 12 units (excluding this course). Individual contract required; consult Undergraduate Research Center. May be repeated. P/NP grading.

131. European Archaeology, Neolithic to Bronze Age

Units: 4.0

Lecture, four hours. Survey of European cultures from beginning of food-producing economy in 7th millennium BC to beginning of Bronze Age in 3rd millennium BC. P/NP or letter grading.

132. European Archaeology: The Bronze Age

Units: 4.0

Requisite: course 131. Survey of European cultures from around 3000 BC to the period of destruction of the Mycenaean culture about 1200 BC. Aegean area and rest of Europe.

140. Food in Language and Myth

Units: 4.0

Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Introduction to study of food in fields of linguistics and mythology. What is special about language used to talk about food, what is history of food words, and how does language impact appreciation of food? How do myths and narratives revolving around food function in different cultures? Students explore history of food words and learn how to analyze food myths. Students become aware of how language in food is manipulated and how to tell more effective stories about food. P/NP or letter grading.

M150. Introduction to Indo-European Linguistics

Units: 5.0

(Same as Linguistics M150.) Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Enforced requisite: Linguistics 1 or 20. Indo-European languages (ancient and modern), including their relationships, chief characteristics, writing systems, and sociolinguistic contexts; nature of reconstructed Indo-European proto-language and proto-culture. One or more Indo-European languages may be investigated in detail. P/NP or letter grading.

C160. Indo-European Comparative Mythology and Poetics

Units: 4.0

Seminar, three hours. Preparation: familiarity with at least one ancient Indo-European language. Comparison of major Indo-European mythological and poetic traditions and reconstruction of their common sources. Topics include divinities and their names; symbolic systems in social context; myths, folk narratives, belief systems; relations with other traditions; literary continuations of mythopoetic material. Concurrently scheduled with course C260. P/NP or letter grading.

M168. Introductory Hittite

Units: 4.0

(Same as Ancient Near East M168.) Lecture, two hours; recitation, one hour. Recommended preparation: knowledge of language with case system. Introduction to Hittite grammar by series of graded lessons covering morphology and syntax, followed by readings of selected texts from variety of genres in transliteration. P/NP or letter grading.

189. Advanced Honors Seminars

Units: 1.0

Seminar, three hours. Limited to 20 students. Designed as adjunct to undergraduate lecture course. Exploration of topics in greater depth through supplemental readings, papers, or other activities and led by lecture course instructor. May be applied toward honors credit for eligible students. Honors content noted on transcript. P/NP or letter grading.

189HC. Honors Contracts

Units: 1.0

Tutorial, three hours. Limited to students in College Honors Program. Designed as adjunct to upper-division lecture course. Individual study with lecture course instructor to explore topics in greater depth through supplemental readings, papers, or other activities. May be repeated for maximum of 4 units. Individual honors contract required. Honors content noted on transcript. Letter grading.