Being a transfer student, I had a relatively later time to choose all of my classes for my first fall semester at USC. Struggling on WebReg about a week before I moved into my apartment at the time, preparing for war on the classes I wanted to get, I tried my hardest to prioritize later classes in my schedule and to avoid the dreaded 8 a.m.’s while still choosing GEs I found personally intriguing.
Despite my struggles and wanting to choose any available GE for the Category C: Social Analysis course to fill my schedule, I was disappointed to see all the ones I had found interesting were full. The only available option that seemed interesting enough was ANTH-263g: Exploring Culture through Film, taught by Professor Xochitl Ruiz at the time. Though I was excited to take an anthropology class since my mother had taken a few in college and loved it, what I was not excited about was the meeting time being 8:30 a.m.
Though I despise being up too early for just about anything, this class was definitely worth waking up for. In it, we watched various ethnographic films focusing on different aspects of culture and groups of people with an accompanying discussion section. Usually, we’d have a lecture on the film itself before/after watching and learn about the history and context behind the film and filmmaker. A few times, the films were produced by USC alumni, who would come in and lead a discussion/lecture about their film and the process in making it after we had watched it. One of my personal favorites which stood out to me, though different from the other films we had watched, was the educational film American Tongues, focusing on different dialects and their evolutions in the U.S., plus spotlighting how the way we speak alters how others view and judge us. Another favorite was Como Agua Para Chocolate, a feature film which focused on the significance of food shaping our culture, emotions, and spirits. One assignment we had to do was to document our food for the day and describe/discuss it in detail (what/when we ate, why we chose it, etc.). Being a huge foodie myself who loves documenting her own food to begin with, this was definitely a fun and memorable one.
What really makes this course special for me is that it is the first USC course I ever took (first day of classes, Monday at 8:30 a.m.). Being used to such technical and heavy courses as a CS student, having a nice balance with fun GEs/electives like these challenges a different intellectual perspective of my brain, leaving me with newer insights and outlooks on the world and a new garnered appreciation for film and cinematography, while also preventing burnout with the technically heavy courseload. It is these insightful courses led by professors with unique perspectives and rich experiences to share like Dr. Ruiz that remind us to take time to appreciate everything outside engineering, the world in front of us, and the people surrounding us.
