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Sociology
How the Africana Studies Summer Institute went virtual
The 2020 Africana Summer Institute adopted a new vision, working to prepare freshmen for a virtual life at Penn.
Understanding poverty and data
Regina Smalls Baker of the School of Arts & Sciences and Amy Castro Baker of the School of Social Policy & Practice explore how data can be better used to analyze and address poverty.
Pope Francis supports same-sex unions
The Catholic Church has long stated that marriage is between a man and a woman, a position Pope Francis supports. Melissa Wilde and Anthea Butler discuss the Pope’s recent support of civil unions that ensure legal rights for same-sex couples.
Latin American Green New Deal
Daniel Aldana Cohen, an assistant professor of sociology in the School of Arts & Sciences, organized and moderated an event on the Latin American Green New Deal, rethinking recession recovery and carbon emissions reduction.
England, Wales, Scotland among nations with highest death toll from COVID-19 pandemic
An international team including Penn demographer Michel Guillot found that from mid-February through May, 21 industrialized nations combined saw an 18% increase in deaths, or 206,000 more people dying from all causes than would have been expected had the pandemic not occurred.
U.S. COVID deaths may be underestimated by 36%
The research team found that more of these deaths occurred in places with greater income inequality, more non-Hispanic Black residents, and other factors indicating a pattern related to socioeconomic disadvantage and structural racism.
The striking shift in climate politics in a post-Sandy New York City
Analysis of conversations with 75 disaster responders, social activists, and others revealed that immediately following the superstorm, the city moved away from cutting greenhouse gas emissions and toward adaptation.
Police killings and Black mental health
Specialists from across the Penn community discuss the mental health impacts of Black people being subjected to videos of African Americans being killed by the police.
Exploring the links between jobs and health, reframed by COVID-19
More than half of America’s farm workers are immigrants, and most have been considered essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic. While this designation has ensured the continuity of their livelihoods, it has also increased their risk of becoming sick.
COVID-19’s assault on Black and Brown communities
Racism, inequality, and the coronavirus have combined to cause an alarming number of COVID-19 cases and deaths among African-American and Latinx populations.
In the News
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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‘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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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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How two Mass. lawyers are helping DACA recipients stay in the US
Carlos Águilar González of the School of Arts & Sciences says that streamlining the D3 authorization process for DACA recipients may limit the number of people who can benefit by focusing only on the most prestigious and educated.
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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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Ready or not, self-driving semi-trucks are coming to America’s highways
Steve Viscelli of the School of Arts & Sciences says that autonomous trucking could change the geography of the U.S. economy in the way that railroads and shipping did.
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