USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Leap seconds have helped keep clocks synchronized with Earth’s rotation, but their time may be over – here’s why

Leap years show that humans may have an odd way of measuring time. Sometimes, timekeepers even have to add extra seconds to ...
USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Columbus’ own writings reveal how tightly religion and conquest were intertwined from the start

Christopher Columbus' actions have been much scrutinized. Less attention has been paid to his writings, and what they reveal about his motivations.
USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

In Memoriam: Frederic Clark, classicist who investigated how we divide up time itself

Clark focused on how we came to define historical eras, as well as forgeries and frauds, as part of his research on the ...
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U.S. Sen. Gary Peters to lead USC Dornsife’s Center for the Political Future, named Warschaw Chair

Long before he became Michigan’s senior senator, Gary Peters had begun a career in higher education. He taught at several Michigan universities and was working toward a doctorate in political ...
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New Data Shows AAPI Californians Arrested At Alarming Rates

The USC Equity Research Institute’s (ERI) latest analysis on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Californians confirmed what community ...
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Heavy TV watching associated with smaller brain structures, study finds

“Turn off that TV, it’ll rot your brain!” has been a household refrain for decades. While “rot” might be too strong a term, researchers are finding that the overall sentiment could have some merit.
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American daily life in 1776 was far different than you might imagine

When Americans picture 1776, the first image that usually springs to mind is of powdered wigs, quill pens and earnest white men debating liberty in candlelit rooms. The fact that this perspective ...
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Scientists map the ocean’s invisible workforce

Scientists identified a new way to classify ocean microbes into groups based on how they consume nutrients and recycle carbon. They found that different microbes dominate in different parts of the ...
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USC Dornsife honors 2025 Communicators of the Year

The annual Communicator of the Year awards honor scholars at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences who share their expertise to help the public better understand important issues and ...
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AI is changing more than your writing — it may be shaping your worldview

Use of ChatGPT, Claude and other large language models, or LLMs — what most people call “AI” — has surged since ChatGPT debuted publicly in 2022. Hundreds of millions of people now use these tools ...
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Debate for California Governor Includes CPF and ABC7

ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles and the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future will host the 2026 California gubernatorial debate, “Your Voice, Your Vote: Race for Governor 2026,” Tuesday, March 24, ...
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AI may be making us think and write more alike

Artificial intelligence chatbots are standardizing how people speak, write and think. If this homogenization continues unchecked, it risks reducing humanity’s collective wisdom and ability to adapt, ...