‘We were young, they say. We have died. Remember us.’
USC Dornsife alumnus and retired Navy Capt. Chris Isleib helped create the first national memorial for World War I veterans, part of a long career spent telling the stories of America’s military.
Oral history project collects tales from the Armenian diaspora using a converted food truck
“My Armenian Story,” a program of the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, encourages Armenians from Southern California and around the world to record their memories.
‘Like a stick of dynamite’: USC scholars reflect on legacy of 1992 L.A. uprising and police beating of Rodney King
USC experts remember the events that led up to the violence and protests, and consider more recent violence against Blacks including George Floyd and Eric Garner and fatal confrontations between vigilantes and Black citizens.
Sacred hares, winter witches, pagan worship: The roots of Easter Bunny traditions are ancient
The Easter Bunny typically evokes memories of fun and colorfully painted eggs, but this mythical rabbit has prehistoric origins and is a longstanding cultural symbol that keeps returning each spring.
Quest for honorary degrees ends as President Folt confers diplomas upon Nisei students
It’s a historic act of atonement, as the university presents families from around the world diplomas in the names of Japanese American USC students who were forced into detention in 1942.
Lost L.A., Emmy-winning co-production of USC Libraries and KCET, returns for 5th season
The public television program springs from the USC Libraries’ long-standing commitment to building public engagement with regional history collections.
On St. Patrick’s Day, meet St. Brigid — Ireland’s sensible female patron saint
The Irish government recently declared a national holiday for this lesser-known Irish saint. A USC Dornsife scholar and medieval historian explains her fascinating life and history.
USC Marshall student awarded scholarship to develop first library dedicated to Haitian studies
Out of nearly 1,000 applicants, Sylverain was one of just 41 recipients this year of the prestigious Marshall Scholarship.
A dark anniversary: Japanese Americans exiled to prison camps 80 years ago by FDR’s Executive Order 9066
USC Dornsife experts discuss the legacy of the Feb. 19, 1942, decision that forever changed the lives of many Japanese American families and their descendants.
With mixed emotions, three generations of one Trojan family close a chapter in history
Niki Kawakami will be the fifth in her family to earn an advanced USC degree — but her grandfather was cheated of his during World War II. Eighty years later, a gap in justice is closing.
A family’s old steamer trunk holds links to a dark period from the past
The 80th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which unjustly sent thousands of Japanese Americans to confinement camps, offers a chance to reflect on past mistakes and to consider what it means to be American.
Celestial inspiration: Why generations of artists, writers and filmmakers have looked to the sky
USC experts consider why our sense of wonder at the cosmos — and our desire to try to make sense of our place within it — have inspired creative work for generations.
Overcoming war, detention and racism, 104-year-old Trojan receives honorary degree
Frank Chuman, who was among the Japanese American students forced to leave USC in 1942 and live in a detention facility, has received an expedited honorary degree and a video greeting from President Folt.
Imagery and remembrance: photos and artworks that define the Holocaust
USC experts consider the importance of these photographs and paintings — bringing immediacy to history and conveying the human cost.
Have you been naughty? Then beware: Krampus is coming
With a new movie, a comic book series and Krampus-based festivities growing in popularity, the scary Alpine holiday legend has gained a firm foothold in America.
USC ‘digital archaeological dig’ seeks families of Nisei students, 80 years after Japanese internment
The university will posthumously honor students banished during wave of anti-Japanese sentiment after Pearl Harbor — but first it has to find them.
The first Thanksgiving is a key chapter in America’s origin story — but what happened in Virginia 4 months later mattered more
In the settlement of Jamestown, a more typical incident of distrust, displacement and repression can tell more about the colonial era than the Pilgrims’ experience.
Historic campus building to be renamed in honor of alumnus Joseph Medicine Crow
The Center for International and Public Affairs will now bear the name of the late Native American historian and renowned chief of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation, who earned his master’s degree at USC.
USC Digital Libraries digitizes rare, 100-year-old photos of Unknown Soldier’s burial
It’s part of a five-year, government-funded project under which USC is digitally preserving historic photographs, documents, audiovisual recordings and visual media from all branches of the U.S. military services.
80 years after being forced to leave USC, a degree of honor for the Nisei
Though commencement never came for more than 100 Japanese American students who were forced into internment during World War II, the university will at last issue posthumous degrees in their names.
Big fires demand a big response: How 1910’s Big Burn can help us think smarter about fighting wildfires and living with fire
Expensive, militarized fire suppression led the U.S. down a forest management path that neglected more nuanced approaches, two USC experts note.
How Mexico offered freedom to the enslaved people of the antebellum South
Alice Baumgartner, a new history professor at USC Dornsife, explores this little-known piece of history.
New digital resources for L.A. community histories
The USC Libraries have completed a three-year project to collaboratively build digital collections with L.A. as Subject community archives partners.
How much does control of the Senate affect legislative policymaking?
Two USC Dornsife political science scholars examine a period in the 1950s when the Senate was evenly divided, nine U.S. senators died and party control flipped twice.