The Levan Institute for the Humanities serves as a hub for the humanities and humanistic social sciences at the University of Southern California, connecting faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students across disciplines, departments, programs, and institutes.
Book Chats
Conversations celebrating new books by USC scholars in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. Each event features the author and guests in conversation about a recently completed publication.
On Writing
Conversations about our writing, our selves, and the worlds of connection we hope to sustain. Each event features authors and professors of writing, discussing questions relevant to both experts and beginners.
Working Groups
Interdisciplinary working groups that foster intellectual exchange and advance research on topics in the humanities (broadly construed) not already addressed by an existing department or program.
Co-Sponsorships
The Levan Institute provides modest grants and promotion for public events in the humanities at USC.
Global Collaborations
The Levan Institute aims to foster and facilitate collaborations with scholars and institutions around the globe.
New Books
Congratulations to USC scholars on their recent publications!
Upcoming Events
On Writing—Voice
September 18, 2026, 12pm–1pm | More
This event is part of the Levan Institute for the Humanities’ “On Writing” series, conversations aiming to answer questions about how writing matters, now. This conversation will feature Nik De Dominic (USC) and Jonathan Leal (USC), hosted by Sarah Mesle (USC). Organized in partnership with the Consortium for Gender, Sexuality, Race and Public Culture.
William R. Handley, Horizons of Catastrophe in the American West (University of Nebraska Press, 2026)
September 22, 2026, 12pm–1pm | More
The author will be joined in conversation by Audrey Goodman (Georgia State University) and Hsuan L. Hsu (UC Davis), moderated by William Deverell (USC). Registration is required.
Ciruce Movahedi-Lankarani, Accelerant: Energy Infrastructures and the Natural World in Making Modern Iran (Stanford University Press, 2026)
October 2, 2026, 12pm–1pm | More
The author will be joined in conversation by Arang Keshavarzian (NYU) and Victor Seow (Harvard University), moderated by Joanne Nucho (USC). Registration is required.
Hector Amaya, The Economy of Anonymity: Power in the Age of Identification (Stanford University Press, 2026)
October 9, 2026, 12pm–1pm | More
The author will be joined in conversation by Kelly Gates (UC San Diego) and Ulises Mejias (SUNY Oswego), moderated by Tara McPherson (USC). Registration is required.
Mengxiao Wang, Performing Enlightenment: Buddhism and Theater in Early Modern China (Harvard University Press, 2026)
November 10, 2026, 11am–12pm | More
The author will be joined in conversation by Shih-shan Susan Huang (Rice University) and Wilt L. Idema (Harvard University), moderated by Lori Meeks (USC). Registration is required.
Youngmin Choe, Hanyo (The Housemaid) (Bloomsbury, 2025)
December 3, 2026, 1pm–2pm | More
The author will be joined in conversation by Steve Choe (University of Hong Kong) and Hye Seung Chung (Colorado State University), moderated by Akira Lippitt (USC). Registration is required.
Header image: Reverse of Postcard of Tram Running Between Venice, Ocean Park and Santa Monica, California, March 31, 193- (date obscured), USC Libraries Special Collections
Contact Us
Office
3501 Trousdale Parkway
THH 348
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Staff
Director: Rebecca Lemon
Associate Director: Zachary M. Mann
