Welcome
The Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (ICW) is a center for scholarly investigation of the history and culture of California and the American West. Through sponsorship of innovative scholarship, research and programming, ICW draws on the resources of the University of Southern California and The Huntington Library to build a unique collaboration amongst a research university, a research library, and the public.
Mission Statement
The Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (ICW) creates new understandings of the past to inform public dialogue in the American West and beyond. Through research and collaborative partnerships, and with the West as our collective case study, ICW fosters civic engagement where the past, present, and future come together.
News
Welcome to ICW’s new website. Some of our menus above have changed and we appreciate your patience as we continue to add features.
ICW collaborated with KCET to highlight leading experts’ thoughts about watersheds in the American West. Over six weeks, KCET will share these essays on the relationship between people and the environment that has defined the past and continues to shape the future of the West.
January 5, 2026
Dr. Gary Stein completed his appointment as Postdoctoral Researcher for the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West in December 2025. Read more about Dr. Stein’s work here.
December 29, 2025
Read ICW’s reflections of the January 2025 fires, published by The Conversation.
Thank you to all of ICW’s friends for a wonderful 2025! Join us in looking back at some of our favorite highlights!
November 19, 2025
With immersive, hands-on learning, USC Dornsife’s Los Angeles Service Academy prepares the next generation of civic-minded leaders.
April 8, 2025
The six-year investment by the WHH Foundation expands ICW’s community programming and launches an ambitious $10 million endowment campaign to sustain and grow the Institute’s impact for generations to come.
Follow ICW on Social Media
About Us
Founded in 2004, the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (ICW) is a collaborative teaching, research, and outreach initiative focused on the history and culture of the modern American West.
We are committed to utilizing history to provide critical perspective on contemporary issues. We see history as a problem-solving tool on its own and a mechanism by which to provide context, background, and additional insight. ICW engages a wide range of scholars, teachers, and students, as well as members of broadly conceived public audiences. We welcome those who are personally invested in this history, and we have a special interest in reaching and collaborating with members of traditionally underrepresented groups when it comes to scholarly interface and interaction with the public.
We work on the history of the American West. What we know must be informed by the questions we ask, every bit as much as the answers we offer. What is the American West? Where is it? When is it? We have some answers, but we do not have all of them. The dialogues we build with others – with you – will help us ask our questions and, in turn and in collaboration, answer them and raise new ones.
From the Directors
On behalf of the Institute on California and the West, welcome to ICW’s website. We invite you to scroll through these pages to see the range of ICW projects over the last two decades. We will mark our 20th anniversary in 2024 and are hopeful you can join us in the celebration. Our work investigating the history and culture of the modern American West is characterized by a set of activities that seek to bridge scholarly and public audiences, dialogues, and contributions to knowledge. We are committed to our work and our many collaborations, and we urge you to reach out to us with questions, comments, and suggestions about other directions we might explore. We take every suggestion seriously, and our dialogues with you strength our work and outreach.
The Endangered Species Act Meets the Klamath River Basin
Jacques Leslie
Until I began covering the Klamath River basin as a journalist in 2007, I took for granted that the Endangered Species Act was, as many environmentalists believed, the bedrock of American environmental law. For most of this century, the Klamath, which traverses the California-Oregon border, has been considered the nation’s most embattled watershed, and as I learned more about it, I realized that for all of the Act’s good intentions, its deficiencies were as consequential for the basin as its strengths. In this way, as in many others, what happened in the Klamath represents a microcosm of the country.
Publications
Published in partnership with the University of California Press, ICW’s scholarly series Western Histories questions and deepens collective understanding of the history of California and the American West. In addition to the partnership with UC Press, ICW has published stand-alone texts including, Form and Landscape and Past Due.
USC Courses
Through ICW, USC faculty teach undergraduate courses at USC and graduate courses at The Huntington, directly weaving the library’s scholarly materials into the professional training of students. Doctoral and postdoctoral students in USC Dornsife College utilize the breadth of The Huntington collections in their path-breaking research on the history of the American West. At the graduate level, ICW is at the nexus of inter-university collaboration with students and scholars from UCLA, University of California, Riverside, University of California, Irvine, and others.
American West & Los Angeles History Syllabi
Drawing on academic partners throughout the region, syllabi from courses focused on the history of the American West and Los Angeles history reflect the range of approaches to better understanding this space.
Stay Up-To-Date with ICW
Want to hear about our events in advance? Subscribe to receive emails about ICW events, relevant news, and other pertinent information.
Contact Us
Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West
University of Southern California
Van Hunnick Department of History
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Los Angeles Service Academy (LASA)
University of Southern California
Van Hunnick Department of History
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Social Media
Twitter: @husc_icw
Instagram: @husc_icw
Facebook: @husc_icw
Bluesky: @huscicw.bsky.social