2.19
School of Arts & Sciences
Black feminism 101
Author and alum Feminista Jones joined Tanji Gilliam of Africana Studies in a discussion of her new book “Reclaiming Our Space,” examining how Twitter and modern liberation movements are all borne from black women’s words, struggle, and history.
A conversation with Kristen Ghodsee
In the second episode of Penn Today’s “Office Hours” podcast series, a casual chat with Professor of Russian and East European Studies Professor Kristen Ghodsee.
Celebrating 150 years of the periodic table
Judith Currano of Penn Libraries and Jenine Maeyer of the School of Arts and Sciences share their perspectives on how all types of chemists still use the periodic table of elements.
The Venezuelan crisis, explained
A Q&A with Tulia Falleti, a political science professor and the director of the Latin American and Latino Studies Program, on the past, present, and possible future of Venezuela.
A physical model for forming patterns in pollen
Physicists have developed a model that describes how patterns form on pollen spores, the first physically rigorous framework that details the thermodynamic processes that lead to complex biological architectures.
How one gene in a tiny fish may alter an aquatic ecosystem
Linking genomics to evolution to ecology, the work takes an unusual approach to reveal broad implications of how species adapt to their local environment.
The dynamics of light-harvesting chemistry
A new paper provides insights into the chemistry that underlies human-made, light-driven catalytic systems and paves the way to better understand how light-induced reactions can be controlled more effectively.
And the Oscar goes to…a Penn sophomore?
Claire Sliney is a co-executive producer of one of five films nominated for an Academy Award in the Documentary Short Subject category. “Period. End of Sentence.” explores the stigma of menstruation for girls in India and Sliney’s work to address the issue.
Spicy foods: To eat, or not to eat
Cold months come with fiery foods—but is that heat good for you? Penn’s Paul Rozin and Nitin Ahuja, along with a registered dietician, chime in to explore its effects on mind and body.
Supreme Court decision a boon for truck drivers and, potentially, the gig economy
Three Penn experts discuss the ruling, which gives transportation workers the ability to sue their employers in class-action lawsuits, sidestepping forced arbitration.
In the News
Allentown (Pa.) Morning Call
Pennsylvania Supreme Court relents for now on medical malpractice changes
Responding to threats by a large health network outside Philadelphia to end cross-county partnerships if venue restraints on medical malpractice lawsuits were lifted, Hanming Fang of the School of Arts and Sciences and the Leonard Davis Institute said changing the venue rule would allow lawyers to file lawsuits in Philadelphia regardless of affiliations with the city’s health systems. “I don’t see that logic,” said Fang.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn Libraries and venerable Philadelphia Athenaeum form bookish alliance
The Libraries have entered a partnership with the Athenaeum, Philadelphia’s last remaining subscription library. “Our new library partnership with the Athenaeum of Philadelphia makes easily accessible the Athenaeum’s unmatched collection of historic architectural publications and other documentation for the study of this rich legacy,” said David Brownlee, a School of Arts and Sciences professor and an Athenaeum board member. Jon Shaw and Constantia Constantinou were also quoted.
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Christian Science Monitor
Have you heard the buzz? Honeybees can count
Elizabeth Brannon and postdoc Rosa Rugani of the School of Arts and Sciences discussed new research about honeybees’ ability to add and subtract numbers. Brannon said bees use ratios, rather than exact digits, to understand quantities. “When animals are comparing two numerical values, they’re much better if they differ by a large ratio than if they differ by a very small ratio,” she said.
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The New Yorker
Does democracy need truth?: A conversation with the historian Sophia Rosenfeld
The School of Arts and Sciences’ Sophia Rosenfeld was interviewed about her new book, “Democracy and Truth: A Short History.” Addressing the rise of social media, Rosenfeld said, “we don’t have many tools, most of us, for distinguishing between legitimate stories and illegitimate ones, or we don’t care that much. The end result is a world of truth and falsehood all circulating, undifferentiated, globally.”
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The New York Times
Overlooked no more: Forough Farrokhzad, Iranian poet who broke barriers of sex and society
The School of Arts and Sciences’ Fatemeh Shams memorialized the late Iranian poet, Forough Farrokhzad. “She always had one eye back on tradition, and one eye toward the future,” said Shams.
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