4/16
Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
‘Bartok’s Monster’ challenges conventions of theater
In “Bartok’s Monster,” an interdisciplinary collaboration, Daedalus Quartet will perform Bartok’s String Quartet No. 3 and other string pieces mixed with acting, choreography, and an array of striking visuals.
Bringing museum filmmaking into the classroom
Filmmaker Sosena Solomon, who has been filming in Africa for a major Metropolitan Museum of Art redesign, taught Documentary Ethnography for Museums and Exhibitions to graduate students this fall.
Three things to know about the Iowa caucuses
John Lapinski, director of the Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies and director of elections at NBC News, shares his thoughts on what to watch Monday.
Orthodox America
In Orthodox America, students explore the history of Orthodox Christian communities influencing American religious, political, legal, and literary landscapes.
Through first-year seminar, a glimpse of Black queer traditions
Dagmawi Woubshet, an associate professor of English, led a new first-year seminar in the fall that explores Black queer media and its intersection with history and politics.
Fernando Lara looks beyond famed architects to uncover deeper themes throughout history
The architectural historian in Penn’s Weitzman School discusses the need for the dissemination of design ideas beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries.
‘The Tame and the Wild’
Historian Marcy Norton’s new book looks at the history of human-animal relationships in Europe and Native America and how they became entangled after 1492.
‘Black Modernisms in the Transatlantic World’
A new book, co-edited by art historian Huey Copeland, examines the conception of modernism and Black artistry and agency and how the transatlantic slave trade enabled the modern world.
When young people seem to make threats on social media, do they mean it?
A new app from SAFELab helps teachers, police, and journalists interpret social media posts by BIPOC youth and understand which threats may be real.
Harnessing ancient materials and AI for sustainable architecture
The Weitzman School’s Robotics Lab and master’s program combines robotics, artificial intelligence, and automated systems in manufacturing and architectural design in ways that are adaptable and sustainable.
In the News
Comcast’s Sports Complex plan for South Philly would make our city less livable
In an Op-Ed, Vukan R. Vuchic of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that Philadelphia should make transit more accessible rather than striving to accommodate more cars.
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We don’t see what climate change is doing to us
In an Op-Ed, R. Jisung Park of the School of Social Policy & Practice says that public discourse around climate change overlooks the buildup of slow, subtle costs and their impact on human systems.
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Far fewer young Americans now want to study in China. Both countries are trying to fix that
Amy Gadsden of Penn Global says that American interest in studying in China is declining due to foreign businesses closing their offices there and Beijing’s draconian governing style.
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‘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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In death, three decades after his trial verdict, O.J. Simpson still reflects America’s racial divides
Camille Charles of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Black Americans have grown less likely to believe in a famous defendant’s innocence as a show of race solidarity.
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