On October 15, LASA explored sports in Los Angeles (as an industry, as a force reshaping the landscape, and as a cultural experience). We met inside USC Gate 1 and were joined by Anne-Marie Jones of LA84. Her energy for non-profit work in LA guided us to think about the wide range of possibilities for future work in non-profits but …
LASA kicked off our Saturday sessions on September 10 with a focus on Doing Business in LA. Gathering at the Huntington, our teams of students brainstormed their visions for “doing business” on the whiteboards. Colorful pitches for companies and cross-industry strategies for success impressed everyone. The restaurants and t-shirt manufacturing of tomorrow’s LA prove to be innovative! We then boarded …
The first week of August we kicked off LASA 2016-2017 by mapping, scavenger-hunting, touring, and floating! On Monday, August 1, we welcomed this terrific class and created maps of our Los Angeles(es). Check out our varied and creative renderings of Los Angeles here. We devoted Monday to thinking about the scale of Los Angeles – geographically and demographically. After searching …
In our personnel transition leading up to LASA 2016-2017, we welcome two new and energetic people: Elizabeth Logan and Taryn Haydostian. Elizabeth, holder of both JD and Ph.D. degrees, is a cultural historian of the American West. She is also currently a Preceptor Instructor in American History at USC, and is partnered as well with Bill Deverell and the Huntington’s …
Six years ago, Doug Smith and Bill Deverell hatched an idea that grew to be the Los Angeles Service Academy. Together, they worked on lifting the program off the ground, reaching out to experts in the history and workings of metropolitan Los Angeles, raised money, and reached out to an extraordinary group of high school students, teachers, administrators, and others …
We are thrilled to announce that the Ann Peppers Foundation has recently granted LASA $20,000 in furtherance of our plans for our fifth year of student outreach. We are immensely grateful for this pledge of support and philanthropic acknowledgment of our work and program. Thanks as well to colleagues in USC’s Corporate and Foundation Relations office, especially Christopher Wiedey and …
On Saturday, April 16th, we all gathered early in the morning at the LA Public Library. Our bus whisked us to the City of Vernon, amidst all the industrial, packing, and other warehouses of this gritty interior core of LA County. For the second year in a row, we worked a long shift at the Los Angeles Food Bank. Our …
Our huge, and hugely important, Los Angeles Harbor On Saturday March 19th, LASA learned about the Los Angeles harbor. Our day began “in college.” Bill lectured to us (at us?) for an hour or so, telling us about the history of the “Free Harbor Fight” in the 1890s. The story was wrapped up in a package of ambition, secrecy, hydrology, …
February 20, 2016 On the 20th of February, we turned our attention to transit. How do people get around the vastness of the LA metropolis? How do decisions about transit, transit systems, and the future get made? How are the huge infrastructural projects, like light rail and the colored lines of Metro’s trains, paid for? As usual, we had the …
LASA Explores LA Art and Entertainment On the 9th of January, LASA investigated the LA art and entertainment scene. We started our day with LA Times reporter Carolina Miranda, who joined us at The Huntington to talk about her beat and her work. Carolina, who has had a fascinating career mixing freelance and institutional journalism, talked about her work and …