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School of Arts & Sciences
Lessons from Hiroshima, 75 years later
Lessons from Hiroshima, 75 years later
Penn Today asks scholars and experts to share their thoughts on the 75th anniversary of America’s atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Gouverneur Morris: A Founder, disabled American
Gouverneur Morris: A Founder, disabled American
Best known for writing the “We the People” preamble to the Constitution, Gouverneur Morris also lived with painful disabilities. History doctoral candidate Jennifer Reiss looks at him through this underexplored lens.
Is the threat of COVID vaccine hesitancy getting enough attention?
Is the threat of COVID vaccine hesitancy getting enough attention?
The ultimate key to ending the coronavirus pandemic is developing an effective vaccine and administering it to the population. But a number of trends are converging in ways that may prevent the achievement of that population-wide herd immunity.
Why the pandemic introduces language that is ‘hard to explain’
Why the pandemic introduces language that is ‘hard to explain’
Linguist Andrea Beltrama discusses new words and phrases that have entered the language during the current health crisis, and the “massive” impact the pandemic has had on language.
James Primosch continues to compose during COVID
James Primosch continues to compose during COVID
The professor of music, who won an award and released two new albums during the pandemic, discusses composition, text as music, and embracing electronic music in the absence of concert halls.
Brain scans of 9- to 11-year-olds offer clues about aggressive, antisocial behavior
Brain scans of 9- to 11-year-olds offer clues about aggressive, antisocial behavior
Two new papers, one about gray matter, the other about reward behavior, suggest that at the neural level not all conduct problems look the same.
Free speech advocate discusses growing talk of ‘cancel culture’
Free speech advocate discusses growing talk of ‘cancel culture’
Sigal Ben-Porath, a professor of education, political science, and philosophy, talks de-platforming, toppling statues, rescinding admissions, Twitter, the First Amendment, and hate speech.
Jay Kirk on writing, teaching, and his new nonfiction book, ‘Avoid the Day’
Jay Kirk on writing, teaching, and his new nonfiction book, ‘Avoid the Day’
Penn and Philadelphia are woven throughout a new book by Jay Kirk as he pursues the mystery of a missing music manuscript by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, traveling from Vermont to Europe to the Arctic Circle. Penn Today spoke the lecturer in nonfiction creative writing about “Avoid the Day: A New Nonfiction in Two Movements.”
Russia, bounties, and the U.S. elections
Russia, bounties, and the U.S. elections
Amid allegations of Russian bounties on U.S. soldiers and of hackers trying to steal vaccine research, Penn Today spoke to two experts to get their take and how the developments play into the U.S. presidential election cycle.
Cancel culture on the silver screen
Cancel culture on the silver screen
Iconic films like the 1939 blockbuster “Gone With the Wind” are being scrutinized in light of the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice. Cinema studies’ Meta Mazaj says framing films within context is more valuable than erasure and disclaimers.
In the News
ABC Australia
Are very long-lived trees immortal and what can they teach humans?
Brenda Casper of the School of Arts & Sciences said it’s hard to measure age-related deterioration in trees that are older than 1,000 years. “It’s not just internal physiology per se but it’s the interaction of the tree with its environment,” she said.
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The New York Times
Massachusetts court won’t use term ‘grandfathering,’ citing its racist origins
Nicole Holliday of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the phasing out of words with direct links to slavery, such as “grandfathering.” “This is the legal system, and there are wrongs to be righted,” she said.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Is the word ‘picnic’ racist? How to deal with questions about language right now
Nicole Holliday of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about avoiding offensive nomenclature. “The default should be whatever that person wants to be called,” she said.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Frustration and misunderstanding: For deaf folks, masking can cause communication barriers
Jami Fisher of the School of Arts & Sciences weighed in on how face masks can make communication difficult for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. “ASL (and other sign languages) rely on facial cues and other non-manual features to convey grammatical information as well as emotive expression,” she said. “With much of the face covered, this information is lost, as is a lot of the meaning.”
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NBC Philadelphia
‘Reassurance that future is better’: What Americans want from leaders
Ian Lustick of the School of Arts & Sciences was interviewed about U.S. politics and economics. Americans are looking to political leaders for “reassurance that the future will be better than the present,” he said.
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