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.

LA 2026 logoLA2026 begins now!

LA2026 brings together members of the public and humanities scholars for eighteen conversations about museum and cultural exhibitions at six partnering institutions in the Los Angeles region, including the Autry Museum of the American West, The Huntington, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes / El El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and USC Libraries. Each exhibition frames conversations about the anniversary of 1776 from the perspective of California and the West. Each discussion will focus on specific items from one of the partner exhibitions, encouraging public discussions about national identities, relationships between regional and national narratives, participating in democracy, and human relationships to the land.

Check out the LA2026 Event Schedule

Join EMSI Events and Opportunities!

Co-Sponsored Event

Christopher P. Heuer, University of Rochester

 

“Antiquity without Humans: The Primordial Landscapes of Cornelis van Dalem”

Wednesday, April 15, 2026
USC, University Park Campus

Special Event

Spain and the Birth of the United States: A California Conversation

 

Friday & Saturday, April 17 & 18, 2026
The Huntington

beautiful green bird
Huntington Library Research Conference

Extinction Revealed: Tracing the Legacies of Lost Species

 

Friday & Saturday, April 17 & 18, 2026
The Huntington

Recent Events

Early Modern map depicting a ship surrounded by compasses.

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Image: Detail from “Vallard Atlas,” (1547) HM 29 f.1, chart 9, North America, east coast. Portolan atlas. Courtesy of the Huntington Library.