Features

The woodcut illustration is from a volume of Chaucer’s works published in London in 1602 and now in the holdings of the Department of Archives and Special Collections of William H. Hannon Library.

For most of the past century, a migration has been taking place within the United States: Native Americans have been moving from tribal and rural lands to America’s cities. Today, Los Angeles has become the “urban Indian capital of the United States.”

On January 12, 2016, National Football League owners approved the return of the Rams to Los Angeles. It was a day that the late Don Klosterman ’52, who helped shape the history of pro football in L.A., would have celebrated. Former L.A. Times sportswriter Chris Dufresne tells the Duke’s story.

During the 2016 U.S. election process, fear of Muslims became a thread used to tie terrorists and extremists to suspicion of Muslim Americans. Here at LMU, Muslims have been participating in and contributing to the university’s culture for some time. We asked some to describe their faith, lives and experience in the United States. If we fear what we do not know, let this be an introduction.—The Editor

For more than three decades, DDT was produced at the Montrose chemical plant in Torrance and dumped into Palos Verdes’ coastal waters. In 1996, the offshore site, considered by some the largest deposit of DDT in the world, was added to the EPA list of Superfund sites. Over the years, DDT spread to the Santa Monica Bay. The accurate measurement of the pesticide’s presence — the focus of Rachel Adams’ research — is crucial for assessing water quality in the bay.

Paul Salamunovich (1927–2014) was director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, LMU professor and director of choral activities, and choir director of St. Charles Borromeo Church in North Hollywood. One of his most creative and satisfying collaborations with was Morten Lauridsen, composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale (1994–2001) whose “Lux Aeterna” was premiered by Salamunovich and the chorale. “I have waited for this piece my entire life,” Salamunovich once said of it. We asked Morten Lauridsen to reflect on his friendship and work with Paul Salamunovich.

David L. Ulin explores political reality and fictional dystopia in “The Hunger Games” films with director Francis Lawrence ’91.

Technological change is reshaping the music biz and rerouting revenues. Who is singing odes of joy or songs of lament?