Welcome to EMSI!
The USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute (EMSI) explores the history, literature, art, and science of the Early Modern period (c. 1450-1850). The institute’s range is global – instead of focusing on a particular region, EMSI aims to advance knowledge of the diverse societies in and around the Atlantic and Pacific basins. Researchers nourish diverse perspectives, advance interdisciplinary perspectives, and share discoveries about the Early Modern period with the goal of informing the ways we approach problems today as well as keeping us in touch with the sources of our common humanity.
Check out the 2025- 2026 EMSI Seminar Series.
See the full calendar of EMSI events.
Join EMSI Events and Opportunities!
Margaret Schotte, York University, Toronto
“‘The chest containing all his effects’: Material Histories of South Asian Sailors in Brittany, ca. 1750”
Friday, February 6, 2026
Huntington Library, Seaver Classroom 1 & 2
No RSVP required. Brown bag lunch talk.
Phillip Emanuel, Barbara Thom Post-Doctoral Fellow, Huntington Library
“‘The Phippses of Cape Coast Castle: An Afro-English Family living between Fetu and England”
Saturday, February 7, 2026
The Huntington, Roger’s Classroom
RSVP by January 30 to receive pre-circulated materials.
Everything You Wanted to Know about Publishing a Journal Article But Were Afraid to Ask: A Workshop with Three Early Modern Editors
Panelists
Ashley Cohen, editor of The Eighteenth Century: Theory and Interpretation
Joshua Piker, former editor of William & Mary Quarterly
Brett Rushforth, editor of Huntington Library Quarterly
Friday, February 13, 2026
The Huntington, Ahmanson Classroom
Recent Events
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Find out about upcoming talks, conferences, and other EMSI events.
Image: Detail from “Vallard Atlas,” (1547) HM 29 f.1, chart 9, North America, east coast. Portolan atlas. Courtesy of the Huntington Library.
