29 episodes

The Huntington is among the nation’s most important centers for the study of the American West with an unsurpassed collection of materials that spans the full range of American western settlement, including the overland pioneer experience, the Gold Rush, and the development of Southern California. Diverse in scope and range, the collection attracts scholars of the early California missions as well as the aerospace industry. The Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West brings together historians and other scholars, students, writers, journalists, and policymakers to investigate and debate the rich history of California and the American West.

California and the West Unknown

    • Science

The Huntington is among the nation’s most important centers for the study of the American West with an unsurpassed collection of materials that spans the full range of American western settlement, including the overland pioneer experience, the Gold Rush, and the development of Southern California. Diverse in scope and range, the collection attracts scholars of the early California missions as well as the aerospace industry. The Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West brings together historians and other scholars, students, writers, journalists, and policymakers to investigate and debate the rich history of California and the American West.

    Busted: Brash New Stories from Texas and New Mexico

    Busted: Brash New Stories from Texas and New Mexico

    Join authors Bryan Mealer and Joshua Wheeler in a discussion about hardscrabble times, places, and people in Texas and New Mexico. Bryan Mealer's The Kings of Big Spring, has been called "the Texas version of Hillbilly Elegy," a saga of God, family, and oil across many generations of the author's own family. Joshua Wheeler's Acid West, is a collection of essays about Southern New Mexico, and has been called a "freaky, stylish, heart-cracking-open book." The evening's discussion is moderated by Gustavo Arellano of the Los Angeles Times. This event is sponsored by The Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, and The Journal of Alta California. Reception and booksigning follows the program.

    The Landscape Designs of Ralph Cornell

    The Landscape Designs of Ralph Cornell

    Among the first generation of landscape architects in Southern California, Ralph Cornell (1890–1972) is considered the most influential. His wide scope of projects included college campuses, city parks, and significant residential commissions. Noted architect Brian Tichenor discusses Cornell’s life and milieu while examining three of his highly significant landscape designs. The lecture is presented in collaboration with the California Garden and Landscape History Society.


    Recorded Nov. 12, 2017.

    The Art of Farming: How a Farmer Sees the Future

    The Art of Farming: How a Farmer Sees the Future

    David Mas Masumoto, organic farmer and acclaimed author of Epitaph for a Peach and Harvest Son, is joined by his wife, Marcy Masumoto, for a lively talk about life on their Central California farm. Through stories that offer a personal perspective on growing organic crops, the Masumotos share their reflections on the vision required of artisan farmers in today’s food world. This talk is part of the Brody Lecture series at The Huntington.


    Recorded May 7, 2017.

    The St. Francis Dam Collapse of 1928

    The St. Francis Dam Collapse of 1928

    Considered the worst civil engineering failure in the history of California and the state’s second-worst disaster in terms of lives lost, the collapse of the St. Francis Dam ended the storied career of William Mulholland, the man who earlier had masterminded construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. To contextualize Mulholland’s responsibility for the dam’s failure, historians Norris Hundley, Jr. and Donald C. Jackson relied extensively on items in The Huntington’s collections for their book titled "Heavy Ground: William Mulholland and the St. Francis Dam Disaster." In addition, roughly a third of the book’s illustrations are drawn from The Huntington’s collection.

    The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics

    The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics

    Mae Ngai, Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies and professor of history at Columbia University, discusses the role of Chinese miners in the 19th-century gold rushes of California, Australia, and South Africa, and the rise of anti-Chinese politics in the West. This talk is part of the Cheng Foundation Lecture series at The Huntington.


    Recorded Mar. 15, 2017.

    Ruth Patricia Shellhorn: Mid-Century Landscape Architecture & the Southern California Look

    Ruth Patricia Shellhorn: Mid-Century Landscape Architecture & the Southern California Look

    Landscape architect Kelly Comras, author of the biography Ruth Shellhorn, examines Shellhorn’s legacy in a lecture and short film screening.

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