History's Future

Winter 2003 ture the multigenera- American and East Asian history, to tional change that name a few. Recent faculty publica- shapes the Los tions span topics from the history of Angeles immigrant household government in America to communities. Down the study of medieval women. the corridor, Philip “The momentum of the history Ethington documents department is being fueled by some the timeless transfor- outstanding new faculty members, a mation of Los Angeles’ growing list of external collaborations people, landscapes and and the smart use of technology,” architecture through says College Dean Joseph Aoun. streaming media and “We are positioned to do some great digital panoramic pho- things in the 21st century.” tos. Meanwhile, medievalist Lisa Tales of the West Bitel—a recent The College boasts a strong con- Guggenheim Fellow— figuration of late 19th- and early collaborates with 20th-century American historians, scholars in European and is a pre-eminent center for libraries in a quest to examining the American West. make archives that At the forefront is University detail women’s first Professor and California State religious communities Librarian Kevin Starr, whose book easily accessible via the series chronicling California history Internet. Another col- and the American dream has gained league, Steven Ross, worldwide popularity. partners with the USC Other historians, such as Sanchez Center for Scholarly and Lon Kurashige, study Latino and Technology to docu- Asian immigration patterns to better ment how film shaped understand how American society has ideas about class and organized and changed through time. power in the 20th cen- Indeed, the College’s prime urban tury. His popular locale creates countless opportunities course Visualizing for cultural historians to conduct Ideology: Labor vs. research. Ross and Vanessa Schwartz Capital in the Age of partner with the USC School of Manuscripts Illuminated: USC College History Professor Lisa Bitel has designed Silent Film can be Cinema and Television and the a Web site featuring hundreds of medieval manuscripts. See story, page 4. viewed entirely online. Annenberg Entertainment Studies program to study urban culture Creating Historical Knowledge through a full range of visual media. Leading the charge is a solid core Richard Fox, a distinguished cultural of senior faculty and some outstand- historian, who previously taught at History’s Future ing new faculty whose recent Yale University, researches how ideas, appointments were made possible by continued on page 5 ith one foot in the past and the other stretching toward the the 1997 University future, USC College’s history department leads innovative Provost Initiative, which USC College’s history department is studying the research on topics that cross centuries and continents. emphasizes the impor- Surprisingly, today’s historians count information technolo- tance of history in a old with the tools of the new. Modern technology, gy and multimedia among their best tools. well-rounded education. including digital encyclopedias and online data- WIn a field where primary sources once evoked images of nearsighted sages Today, the department has bases, has given historians innovative ways to blowing dust off of decaying Latin scrolls, College historians build online digi- more than 30 faculty mem- measure the march of time. Read all about it in tal archives where ancient and aging images and texts can be better preserved bers with pronounced and used. Take historian George Sanchez, director of the American Studies and strengths in medieval, this issue. Ethnicity program. He digitizes hundreds of photographs and artifacts to cap- colonial American, modern History: The Past Meets the Future V OLUME 4 NUMBER 1 An Early Modern A New View of Amorphous L.A. Food on Intellectuals Marriage the Pacific Rim Goes Digital the Brain Spotted in L.A. PAGE 3 PAGE 4 PAGE 6 PAGE 8 PAGE 24 BITEL PHOTO BY PHILIP CHANNING; BACKGROUND IMAGE FROM BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, YALE UNIVERSITY A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN aspects of language and cognition. History—the theme of this issue Quest for The Glue That Binds of USC College Magazine—wasn’t always thought of as a social science. But even a cursory glance at the sto- the Best ries in the magazine show faculty and The USC College senior faculty initia- With the world’s focus on science and students deeply involved in society’s technology, the social sciences don’t problems and hopes. History is also tive announced last fall has resulted get talked about much. At USC representative of the increasing in more than 100 applications from College we are very focused on the importance of interdisciplinary schol- social sciences, at the practical and arship, bridging as it does the work of faculty around the world, according research levels. researchers in both the humanities to Dean of Faculty Beth Meyerowitz. I think of the social sciences as and the social sciences. Internally, departments have nomi- the glue that holds society together, We are fortunate to have outstand- providing perspective on who we are ing faculty throughout the social nated about 10 candidates for and how we fit into the global sciences in the College, including consideration by the dean’s office. scheme of things. leaders in the fields of American We teach and study the full array studies, anthropology, economics, “Our departments have been very of the social sciences, an array much gender studies, geography, history, active in identifying the top candi- broader than in times past. The field international relations, political sci- dates to bring to campus,” says is changing in scope and dimension, Dean Aoun ence, psychology and sociology. in tune with changing times. Social scientists in the College Meyerowitz. “Faculty are very enthu- Social scientists describe and tionalization initiative, our social sci- explain the past, predict the future siastic in seeking top scholars that fit predict the human behavior of indi- entists capitalize on our location and drive current thinking about con- with our key initiatives.” viduals and groups. All three of our here in Los Angeles. Our truly glob- temporary society. What better place strategic academic initiatives involve al city, situated on the Pacific Rim from which to do it than Los Meyerowitz says last fall’s half- participation from the social sciences. and bustling with a diverse popula- Angeles—and USC? page ad in the Chronicle of Higher For example, in the life sciences, tion, provides a unique window on we have psychological and sociologi- the world through which to conduct Education went a long way in spread- cal expertise that provides an research. ing the word of the College’s hiring understanding of the human contexts Our focus on language, mind and effort. Her office has received in which biological and physical culture includes social scientists Joseph Aoun processes occur. studying cultural systems of the past Dean of the College responses from across the nation and For our urbanization and interna- and the present, as well as the social Anna H. Bing Dean’s Chair around the globe. “There is a sense both internally and internationally that this has seen a tremendously positive response,” she adds. BOARD OF COUNCILORS’ CORNER College Dean Joseph Aoun last Supporting a Family Tradition September unveiled the bold new plan to add 100 additional new faculty over the next three years. He pointed to When Dr. David Y. Lee joined the the Board of Councilors and as the existing top faculty and the College’s USC College Board of Councilors in father of freshman Jamie Lee, an October 2002, he was hardly a English major who takes courses in robust financial picture as the carrots stranger to USC. Through the years, the Thematic Option honors program. to lure highly ranked researchers to the father of four has spent countless “We were thrilled when Jamie campus—a move that will raise the hours on campus, attending siblings’ decided to attend USC,” says Lee. David Y. Lee graduations and Parents Weekend. “In the past 10 years, I’ve watched visibility and stature of the College’s His family boasts a long line of the College position itself as a high- current academic programs. Trojans, including his wife, two ly ranked school that delivers an cal studies of North and South brothers and one sister. outstanding education.” Korea. His vision falls in lock step Traditionally, new faculty are hired “I’ve been associated with USC The most evident improvements, with the College’s strategic plan, on a department-by-department basis. for as long as I can remember,” says Lee says, are in the College’s diverse which targets urban and international Lee, founding president of Jamison international programs, its commit- studies as a priority initiative. Under the new initiative, new hires Properties, a real-estate investment ment to life-science research and the A strong Korean Studies Institute will not be targeted by department. company that owns 7 million square growing number of impressive faculty will be a valuable resource to The goal is to bring in the best people feet of space partially occupied by appointments. “It won’t surprise me enhance the College’s international businesses serving the Korean- if the College earns a place among focus,” he says, pointing to the many from three strategic areas: life sci- American community of Los Angeles. the top 10 colleges in the nation very language training and study-abroad ences; internationalization and urban “I’ve seen some great things happen- soon, maybe even before Jamie grad- programs that already exist. ing in the College recently and uates,” he says, smiling. Lee’s father-in-law, Andrew Nam, studies; and language, mind and cul- decided it was time to contribute.” One way to earn that distinction, who passed away last fall, was one of ture.

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