Arts and Sciences faculty dish knowledge, one minute at a time

With only a minute to spare, Kimberly Bowes is going for the “wow factor.”

As part of the School of Arts and Sciences’ (SAS) 60-Second Lectures series, Bowes, an associate professor of classical studies, will discuss “Poverty and the Past” on Wednesday, April 18. Open to the public, including soon-to-be Penn students at Quaker Days, those interested in attending the speed-talk should meet at noon at the Benjamin Franklin statue on College Green.

Bowes, whose research addresses the archaeology of poverty and Roman economics, is planning to highlight the “imagined Rome” versus the “real Rome,” which was actually dominated by poor people, she says.

“With only 60 seconds, I plan to ask more rhetorical questions than give actual answers,” Bowes explains. “I’ll ask the audience to call to mind how they imagine the ancient world, and hypothesize what we might be able to learn from the ancient world about inequality.”

Bowes, who joined Penn in 2010, spent the past five years on leave at the American Academy in Rome, first as the Mellon Professor and later as the Academy’s director. Having attended a couple 60-Second Lectures in the past, she finds them most intriguing because they challenge faculty to not only share their expertise in a condensed form, but, she says, also because they ask, “What really matters to you?” 

“I realized that, increasingly, as I talk about my work, people say, ‘I’ve never imagined poor people and economic inequality as something to consider when thinking about ancient history,’” Bowes says. “It really forces faculty to talk about the heart of what they do, and why it matters.”

And, of course, it provides faculty an outlet to disseminate information on a topic that’s possibly never crossed certain people’s minds.

“If you can generate that ‘Wow, I never thought about that’ in just 60-seconds, you’ve done your job,” Bowes says. “And that can actually really be transformative.”

SAS began the 60-Second Lectures series back in 1999. Originally, the talks were only offered in the summer. 

Now, lectures occur each fall and spring semester—every Wednesday in September and April—with faculty members taking a minute to share their perspectives on topics that have varied from human history and the knowable universe, to fractions and fly-fishing. 

Most recently, Joan DeJean, the Trustee Professor of French, discussed “The French Enlightenment and Benjamin Franklin’s University;” Nikhil Anand, an assistant professor of anthropology, considered the “Water Crisis;” and Meredith Tamminga, an assistant professor of linguistics, talked about the “Changing Sounds and Changing Signs in Philadelphia Dialects.” 

Alex Schein, director of digital communications for SAS, helped launch a live-stream option of the lectures on Facebook and Twitter in the fall of 2016. Lectures—which have been recorded since 2005—can be found on the school’s 60-Second Lectures Vimeo channel, which boasts an archive of more than 165 videos. 

“The short format is a pretty ideal fit for the new media landscape in which any video over three minutes begins to feel—sadly—like an eternity,” says Schein. “The live-streaming, we hope, can also provide more accessibility for anyone who is not able to make it down to College Green at noon for the live lecture.” (But, Schein says, a major perk of going in person is having the opportunity to engage faculty with follow-up questions, if their schedules permit. Plus, he adds, there are usually free cookies.)

Schein describes the 60-Second Lectures video archive as an “amazing source of content” that SAS continuously returns to, highlighting areas of research or themes that are trending.

“It’s really incredible to see the diversity of topics that are covered by Penn Arts and Sciences faculty,” he says. “I’m always impressed with their ability to distill an aspect of their work in such a short segment of time.”

Schein recalls one of the first lectures he saw by the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Paul Sniegowski, a professor of biology. His talk, “Persistence of Error: Why You Are a Mutant” was “really thought-provoking,” says Schein. “It started with, ‘The person next to you is a mutant,’ which was a great opening line.” 

Schein says he’s also discovered several interesting lectures in the video archive, notably Camille Zubrinsky Charles’ “An Open Letter to Mr. Rogers” from 2007. 

“It is a brilliant lecture addressing residential segregation along racial and ethnic lines,” Schein says. 

After this week’s talk featuring Bowes, the next 60-Second Lecture, slated for Wednesday, April 25, will feature Eric Schelter, an assistant professor of chemistry, who will discuss “Scarcity and Sustainability: The Future of Rare, Precious, and Critical Metals.” In the case of inclement weather, lectures are held at the Bistro, inside Houston Hall.