4.15
Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Penn senior named Truman Scholar
Penn senior named Truman Scholar
Senior Sakshi Sehgal, a philosophy major who has submatriculated into the philosophy master’s program, has received a merit-based Harry S. Truman Scholarship of as much as $30,000 for graduate or professional school to prepare for a career in public service.
To improve climate models, an international team turns to archaeological data
To improve climate models, an international team turns to archaeological data
The project, called LandCover6k, offers a new classification system that the researchers hope will improve predictions about the planet’s future and fill in gaps about its past.
Penn Museum announces the repatriation of the Morton Cranial Collection
Penn Museum announces the repatriation of the Morton Cranial Collection
The remains of Black Philadelphians within the Samuel G. Morton Cranial collection will be repatriated or reburied, based on a report that outlined recommendations from the Morton Collection Committee.
Understanding the imperialism of today
Understanding the imperialism of today
In the latest episode of the “Understand This ...” series, a Penn Today podcast, Penn experts discuss the meaning of imperialism and the “informal empires” of today.
From ‘Indiana Jones’ to medieval robots
From ‘Indiana Jones’ to medieval robots
Historian of science Elly Truitt’s multidisciplinary investigations of the Middle Ages challenge assumptions about the period as a dark time in innovation and prompt a rethink of notions of ‘modern’ science.
In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020
In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020
Comparing death rates in the United States with those of the five biggest European countries, Penn and Max Planck demographers found that significant excess mortality cost more lives annually than the epidemic itself.
COVID communications and first generation students
COVID communications and first generation students
Marcus Wright, undergraduate program manager and academic coordinator in the Department of Sociology and doctoral student at the Graduate School of Education, analyzes academic messaging to expose blind spots.
What it’s like to be a composer during a pandemic
What it’s like to be a composer during a pandemic
Graduate student Ania Vu found creative ways to compose music during a pandemic, despite the challenge of finding inspiration while being stuck at home.
Penn Glee Club becomes fully gender inclusive after 159 years of all-male singers
Penn Glee Club becomes fully gender inclusive after 159 years of all-male singers
The Penn Glee Club and Penn Sirens are merging, meaning that for the first time since its founding 159 years ago, the Glee Club will include singers of all genders and will perform repertoire for soprano and alto voices, in addition to tenor and bass, and for all four voice parts.
Julie Nelson Davis named a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow
Julie Nelson Davis named a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow
Considered a foremost authority on Japanese prints and illustrated books, the history of art professor teaches a wide range of courses on East Asian art and material culture.
In the News
The New York Times
Unemployment is high. Why are businesses struggling to hire?
Ioana Marinescu of the School of Social Policy & Practice co-authored a study that found that every 10% increase in unemployment benefits received corresponds to a 3% decline in jobs applied to. “Right now what seems to be happening is that job creation is outpacing the search effort that workers are putting forth,” she said.
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The New York Times
Zoom burnout is real, and it’s worse for women
Emily Falk of the Annenberg School for Communication said the results of a recent Stanford study, which found women scored higher than men on all types of fatigue associated with video calls, were unsurprising but that Zoom itself may not be fully responsible for burnout. “It’s correlational data, and there could be other potential variables at play here,” she said. “When we’re feeling exhausted right now, how full is our emotional or mental tank to begin with?”
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The Guardian
Study reveals alarming trend in US death rates since 2000
Samuel Preston of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about rising mortality rates in the U.S. over the last two decades. Preston and his colleagues attribute the shift in part to this country’s lack of a universal health care system.
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Time
‘Haunted countries deserve haunted stories.’ How America’s history of racial housing discrimination inspired Amazon’s new horror series THEM
Camille Z. Charles of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about how discriminatory housing practices like redlining shaped U.S. neighborhoods in the 20th century. “If you take the redlining maps that were used before the passage of fair housing legislation and overlay them on present-day maps of pretty much any major city in the U.S., and certainly any city that has any meaningful Black population, they look really similar in the sense that Blacks are still largely shut out of those neighborhoods that they were legally shut out of during that time period,” she said.
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The New York Times
A novel effort to see how poverty affects young brains
Martha Farah of the School of Arts & Sciences commented on a study exploring the links between poverty and brain development. “It is definitely one of the first, if not the first” study in this developing field to have direct policy implications, she said.
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