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Arts & Humanities

Tracing an ancient blue across the ancient world
Examples of cross sections of Egyptian blue samples.

Tracing an ancient blue across the ancient world

Penn researchers Vanessa Workman and Alexis North are studying one of the largest collections of Egyptian blue objects ever found in the ancient Near East, shedding new light on how the world’s first synthetic pigment may have traveled far beyond Egypt.

4 min. read

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A summer of research and teaching with Scribe Video Center
Sarah Attia sits at laptop with three kids.

As part of a summer internship at Scribe Video Center, rising third-year student Sarah Attia taught students at the Jubilee School in West Philadelphia how to use archives to find primary sources about John Coltrane’s life in Philadelphia.

nocred

A summer of research and teaching with Scribe Video Center

Through the Summer Humanities Internship Program, rising third-year Sarah Attia has honed her research and interviewing skills and taught archival skills to elementary students.
Tracing an ancient blue across the ancient world
Examples of cross sections of Egyptian blue samples.

nocred

Tracing an ancient blue across the ancient world

Penn researchers Vanessa and Alexis North are studying one of the largest collections of Egyptian blue objects ever found in the ancient Near East, shedding new light on how the world’s first synthetic pigment may have traveled far beyond Egypt.

4 min. read

When design meets engineering, students solve the right problems
Sarah Rottenberg lecturing.

For Sarah Rottenberg is the executive director of the Integrated Product Design Program at Penn Engineering and adjunct assistant professor at the Weitzman School of Design.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering)

When design meets engineering, students solve the right problems

In Sarah Rottenberg’s studio course, engineering and design students are taught to rethink the earliest stage of design: understanding the problem itself.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Lessons from the Schuylkill River on community-engaged research
People kayak on the Schuylkill River.

Image: Bethany Wiggin

Lessons from the Schuylkill River on community-engaged research

A historian working on both sides of the Atlantic, Bethany Wiggin, a professor of German in the School of Arts & Sciences, is interested in how historic legacies—including pollution—shape modern landscapes and how changed landscapes impact human populations.

3 min. read

New collection of political cartoons donated to the Annenberg School

New collection of political cartoons donated to the Annenberg School

Pulitzer Prize-winner Signe Wilkinson, the editorial cartoonist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, has donated a significant collection of editorial cartoons and originals to Annenberg Library Archive.

Ralph Lemon named David Evans Family Artist-in-Residence at the Arthur Ross Gallery

Ralph Lemon named David Evans Family Artist-in-Residence at the Arthur Ross Gallery

Lemon, the acclaimed MacArthur Fellow, is researching architectural shadows, drawing on the Penn Libraries’ collections and the architecture of Frank Furness’s landmark Fisher Fine Arts Library building. His eight-week residency will culminate in a public lecture-performance on Sept. 18.

How artists have depicted—and shaped—society’s relationship with the sea
Wave painting by Gustave Courbet.

Courbet, Gustave, “Waves.” 1870, oil on canvas.

(Image: Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Louis E. Stern Collection, 1963-181-21. https://www.philamuseum.org/objects/59527)

How artists have depicted—and shaped—society’s relationship with the sea

In recognition of the summer season and beach vacations, Penn Today spoke with history of art professor Ann Kuttner about ancient Roman portrayals of the sea and Ph.D. student Benjy Jude about 19th-century French seascapes.

4 min. read

Documenting architecture and memories of a changing neighborhood
"On Exactitude in Science (Watts)" showing on screen at the Barnes.

Image: Erica Moser

Documenting architecture and memories of a changing neighborhood

A film by Penn fine arts professor David Hartt about Watts, a historically Black neighborhood in Los Angeles, is one of five videos included in “Freedom Dreams,” an exhibition at the Barnes in Philadelphia that centers the “memories, dreams, and histories of Black Americans.”

3 min. read

The enduring significance of ‘The Odyssey’
Illustration depicting Homer’s “The Odyssey”

Image: Vanessa Lovegrove, Penn Arts & Sciences

The enduring significance of ‘The Odyssey’

In July, a new adaptation of the famous poem hits the big screen. Three Arts & Sciences faculty members discuss Homer’s epic.

From Omnia

2 min. read