You’re Invited
As a valued member of the USC Dornsife community, we invite you take part in events that showcase the expertise, research and diversity at USC. Many of these events feature our own USC Dornsife faculty and students. We hope you will join us virtually or in person!
Doheny Memorial Library (DML), DML 240, University Park Campus
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
This fall, we will host a conversation and book signing with Alejandra Campoverdi, author of the acclaimed memoir First Gen, moderated by Professor Manuel Pastor.
First Gen is a two-time national bestseller, winner of the Martin Cruz Smith Award and the Dolores Huerta Award. Part memoir, part manifesto, the book offers both a riveting personal story and an unflinching look at the unacknowledged emotional tolls of being a “First and Only.”
Taper Hall (THH), 309K, University Park Campus
Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 12:00 p.m.
Facing massive overcrowding and scant resources, Jews imprisoned in Holocaust ghettos faced life-threatening hunger. This sustained deprivation dominated the physiological and psychological state of incarcerated Jews, reconfiguring perceptions of space. In this talk, Christine Liu (PhD candidate in History) discusses how Holocaust survivors describe memories of starvation, the places they associate with such moments, their bodies and others’ bodies, and what these accounts reveal about how hunger fundamentally defined experiences of the ghettos where starvation conditions transformed social relations, territoriality, and space.
Organized by the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research
Cosponsored by the USC Dornsife Spatial Sciences Institute
Doheny Memorial Library (DML), DML 241, University Park Campus
Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.
The USC Center for the Political Future invites you to a conversation on Presidential Power: From Reagan to Trump and Beyond. Veteran political strategists Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy, co-directors of the Center for the Political Future, will join Frank Lavin, former U.S. Ambassador and Reagan White House political director, for a wide-ranging discussion on how presidential leadership has changed over the last four decades. Together, they’ll examine pivotal moments that redefined the presidency, from Reagan’s communication revolution to Clinton’s triangulation, Bush’s wartime authority, Obama’s executive actions, and Trump’s populist disruption, while considering what the balance of power might look like in the years ahead.
Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI), 3620A McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089, University Park Campus
Friday, November 14, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
Discover evidence-based insights into music’s power as a catalyst for cognitive growth, emotional health, and social connection—from childhood development to elder care with Dr. Assal Habibi. She is the Director of the USC Dornsife’s Center for Music, Brain and Society, a cognitive scientist, and pianist, and her research examines how music transforms our brains and well-being throughout life.
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, 427 South Junipero Serra Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91776
Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
The USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute Music Series hosts a concert featuring “German and Dutch Lieder of the Renaissance.” Directed by Adam Knight Gilbert, USC, the USC Collegium Musicum will perform the concert in Mission San Gabriel Arcángel on Sunday, November 16.
Town and Gown, University Park Campus
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.
The Center for the Political Future is proud to host our annual Warschaw Conference on Practical Politics.
Doheny Memorial Library (DML), 240, University Park Campus
Friday, November 21, 2025 at 10:30 a.m.
Please join us for a performance and guest lecture by Dr. Fang Wei and her team from the Kunqu Opera Society USA! Dr. Fang and her team of artists are professional performers of Chinese Kunqu and Yue opera, two essential genres that are fundamental to the theatre tradition in East Asia. This special event offers a unique opportunity to learn about this rich artistic heritage in an immersive and interactive way. Dr. Fang and her team will present a live performance of selections from two classic Kunqu pieces, accompanied by an introduction to the tradition.
Taper Hall (THH), 201, University Park Campus
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
This lecture examines these tensions as a form of double consciousness, where creativity and identity are continuously negotiated against the backdrop of technological transformation in a transnational context. We are honored to host Yeon-jin Lee, a Korean American graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, whose migration from Korea to Indonesia and eventually to the United States, and whose professional journey from Silicon Valley and NASA to Hollywood, provides a powerful lens for understanding the possibilities and predicaments of Asian American filmmaking in the age of AI. Yeon-jin will present her short films and share the struggles and insights that have shaped her filmmaking career.
Doheny Memorial Library (DML), Doheny Memorial Library, DML 241, University Park Campus
Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.
The USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute American Origins Seminar will host a meeting with Carla Gardina Pestana, Distinguished Professor and Joyce Appleby Endowed Chair of America in the World, on Thursday, December 4, 2025.
Professor Pestana’s research centers on the 17th- and 18th-century Atlantic worlds with special focus on the Caribbean. Her seminar paper title is “Toward a Maritime History of the Caribbean.” Please complete the RSVP form by November 28 to receive the pre-circulated reading.
This event is co-sponsored by the EMSI Linda and Harlan Martens Economic History Forum.
Newman Recital Hall (AHF 151), University Park Campus
Friday, December 5, 2025 at 8:00 p.m.
The USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute Music Series hosts a concert featuring “From Terpsichore to Telemann: German Music of the Baroque Era.” Directed by Rotem Gilbert, USC, and Jason Yoshida, USC, the Thornton Baroque Sinfonia will perform with special guest Mary Vanhoozer in Newman Recital Hall.
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, 427 South Junipero Serra Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91776
Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
The USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute Music Series invites you to join them for “Renaissance Music from Saint Nicholas to Christmas.” Directed by Adam Knight Gilbert, USC, and Rotem Gilbert, USC, Ciaramella will perform with USC Early Music program faculty, alumni, and students.
Bing Theatre (BIT), University Park Campus
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
In conjunction with the USC School of Dramatic Arts’ production of Legally Blonde, join us for an exploration of how costume design reflects and amplifies the beloved figure and feminist icon of cinema and musical theatre, Elle Woods. Costume designer and USC professor Ann Closs-Farley will lead a conversation with designers, scholars, and artists breaking down how fashion is used as a narrative device in Elle’s journey.
Town and Gown, University Park Campus
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
A signature USC Earth Month event, the annual
conference hosts experts from politics, government, media and academia to discuss climate change issues with a focus on finding practical policy and business solutions as well identifying ways to remove political obstacles in the implementation. Panelists will discuss the effects of the presidential election on climate policy.
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