4/22
Kristen de Groot
News Officer
krisde@upenn.edu
History
African American in the ‘raceless’ Soviet Union
African American in the ‘raceless’ Soviet Union
History Ph.D. candidate Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon’s work looks at how the African American experience in the Soviet Union shaped Black identity and how the presence of people of color shaped Soviet understandings of race.
Vitality in diaspora: Cheikh Anta Babou on Senegalese Murid communities
Vitality in diaspora: Cheikh Anta Babou on Senegalese Murid communities
In his new book, Cheikh Anta Babou, the associate professor of history captures the spirit of the Senegalese Murid diaspora.
Metal artifacts in Southeast Asia challenge long-held archaeological theory
Metal artifacts in Southeast Asia challenge long-held archaeological theory
According to the Penn Museum’s Joyce White and Elizabeth Hamilton, prehistoric communities, rather than the ruling elites, in Thailand were the deciders in how to use metal resources.
Unexpected finds bring fresh excitement to the archives
Unexpected finds bring fresh excitement to the archives
Stacey C. Peeples’ discovery of a trove of historic papers, newspaper clippings, and various ephemera adds to the rich history she curates as lead archivist at Pennsylvania Hospital.
100 years of insulin
100 years of insulin
On July 27, 1921, Canadian doctors Frederick Banting and Charles Best successfully isolated the hormone insulin, one of the most important breakthroughs in treating diabetes. Experts from around the University share their thoughts on the medical triumph on the 100th anniversary.
Digging into the government report on UFOs
Digging into the government report on UFOs
In a Q&A, historian of science Kate Dorsch illuminates the history behind reporting and investigating UFO sightings and contextualizes the new government report on such phenomena.
Supreme Court decision rules Arizona’s laws constitutional
Supreme Court decision rules Arizona’s laws constitutional
In Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, the Supreme Court ruled that Arizona’s election laws—pertaining to out of precinct ballots and whether or not third parties can pick up and deliver absentee ballots—do not violate the Voting Rights Act.
The Tokyo Olympics and politics of the pandemic
The Tokyo Olympics and politics of the pandemic
In a Q&A, Frederick Dickinson of the School of Arts & Sciences talks about the politics surrounding the Tokyo Olympics and its historical significance to Japan.
How businesses have begun to recognize Juneteenth
How businesses have begun to recognize Juneteenth
This Saturday marks Juneteenth, the oldest known holiday honoring the end of slavery in the U.S. Wharton professor Matthew Bidwell looks at how businesses are recognizing the holiday.
Penn team expands cultural heritage work in Iraq, backed by new funding
Penn team expands cultural heritage work in Iraq, backed by new funding
Three big new projects—restoration of a fortification gate, repair of an important landmark, and a survey of historic nonreligious architecture—recently got underway.
Media Contact
In the News
The Wall Street Journal
‘Slouch’ review: The panic over posture
In her new book, “Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America,” Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences traces society’s posture obsession to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
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Time
Don’t be fooled by Trump’s failure to endorse a nationwide abortion ban
In an Op-Ed, Serena Mayeri of Penn Carey Law says that a second Trump administration would empower an anti-abortion movement determined to make abortion illegal everywhere.
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The New Yorker
The truth behind the slouching epidemic
Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences traces the history of a poor-posture epidemic in the U.S. which began at the onset of the 20th century.
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Inside Higher Ed
The activist academy
In her book “Chasing the Intact Mind,” Amy S.F. Lutz of the School of Arts & Sciences argues that the current approach to disabilities studies marginalizes the most severely disabled.
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
Our political parties have become unrecognizable
Brian Rosenwald of the School of Arts & Sciences says that the Republican lean to the right during the last few decades has distorted labels like moderate and conservative.
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Toronto Star
Few options available to Western leaders weighing response to Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny’s death
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Western countries have little practical leverage to push Russia off its authoritarian path after Alexei Navalny’s death, given the economic and diplomatic sanctions already levied against Vladimir Putin.
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