1.15
Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Libraries scour the stacks for copyright free content
Known as the Deep Backfile project, a team of Penn Libraries staff has been analyzing an accumulated history of periodicals in the collection to determine which are no longer restricted by copyright, making them available for free and unrestricted use.
In the pandemic’s early days, a third of U.S. adults felt depressed, anxious
According to new research from Penn, those feelings worsened as the month of March progressed, and economic worries rather than social distancing or fear of the virus itself played the largest role.
Making sense of the election
Penn political scientists helped a virtual audience process polling, voter turnout, litigation, and a chaotic presidential election.
Elizabeth Warren’s take on the election and the path forward
The Massachusetts senator’s discussion with Fels Distinguished Fellow Elizabeth Vale was part of the Fels Public Policy in Practice series.
A lesson in grit from Angela Duckworth
Her new Grit Lab course, part of the Paideia Program, teaches Penn undergrads how to develop more passion and perseverance for long-term goals.
Professors on the importance of integrating the arts into life and work
While there are some challenges, universities provide an environment for faculty to pursue both their artistic creativity and academic scholarship, said Penn professors in a Homecoming discussion led by Al Filreis of the Kelly Writers House.
‘You Voted. But Did it Really Matter?’
On Nov. 7, Pennsylvania’s electoral votes secured Joseph Biden the presidency. Anticipating news of a Biden win, Mary Frances Berry, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history and Africana studies, called it a time to push forward for change with renewed force.
New seminar series addresses Racism and Anti-Racism in Contemporary America
A new series organized by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia Program at Penn includes 13 conversations focusing on inequalities across on economic, political, social, and cultural systems. (Pre-pandemic image)
One undergrad researcher powers through the pandemic
The unusual circumstances brought on by COVID-19 forced Lana Prieur, a junior in the School of Arts & Sciences, to pivot her approach to research—and sparked new connections in the process.
After a contentious and highly polarized election, what comes next?
Constitutional scholar Rogers Smith shared his thoughts on how the election has gone so far, what might come next, and the challenges of addressing political polarization in America both now and in the future.
In the News
As law enforcement braces for more violence, state Capitols come into focus
Anne Berg of the School of Arts & Sciences said images of violence at the U.S. Capitol may result in fewer rallies and public events organized by extremists. However, she said, “I'm personally less worried about the next two weeks than I am about the next several years.”
FULL STORY →
‘No white guilt’ signs causing big uproar in Montgomery County community
Anne Berg of the School of Arts & Sciences weighed in on “No white guilt” signs spotted in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County. The phrase may be a response to the Black Lives Matter movement. “It is time they step aside and recognize that this movement isn’t about white men. It’s not about white women either. It’s about the advancement of Black lives,” she said.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia’s COVID rental assistance program to roll out differently in 2021
Research by Vincent Reina of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design found that most Philadelphia-based applicants for pandemic-related rent relief were struggling to pay rent even before March 2020. “These are households that clearly showed distress before,” he said.
FULL STORY →
How much will homelessness rise? Grim study shows possible ‘impact of doing nothing,’ researchers say
Dennis Culhane of the School of Social Policy & Practice commented on a study that found that homelessness in the U.S. could increase dramatically if a recession follows the pandemic. “This report certainly is a warning alarm for the potential impact of doing nothing,” he said.
FULL STORY →
Our democracy remains intact, thanks to our courts, free press, and right to assembly
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center wrote an op-ed about the durability of democracy in the U.S. amid polarization, disinformation, and other obstacles. “Individuals exercised constitutional freedoms, especially the mutually reinforcing ones of speech, press, petition, peaceable assembly, and the opportunity to vote—to bend the arc of the country’s history toward justice,” she wrote.
FULL STORY →