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Through gemstones, a glimpse into ancient Egyptian civilization
In a room with stacks of books on bookshelves, a person sits at a table wearing rubber gloves to analyze materials sitting in a basket on her right. She holds them over two white papers, and to her left are a notepad, phone, and computer.

Doctoral student Shelby Justl studies the semiprecious stones of ancient Egypt in an effort to better understand the role that red jasper, carnelian, and others played in that society. Here, she is seen at the British Museum in 2018. (Photo: Courtesy Shelby Justl)

Through gemstones, a glimpse into ancient Egyptian civilization

Doctoral student Shelby Justl’s research expands what we know about who controlled semiprecious stones like red jasper and carnelian, plus their cultural and economic significance.

Michele W. Berger

Indigenous ethnologist
Gladys Tantaquidgeon seated on a beach with four other people and a black umbrella on the ground.

Gladys Tantaquidgeon kneeling in the foreground, interviewing Wampanoag elders in Aquinnah, Massachusetts, circa 1928. (Photo: The Pennsylvania Gazette)

Indigenous ethnologist

Gladys Tantaquidgeon, the first Native American student in Penn’s anthropology department, published a series of academic articles, authored a book on ethnobotany and accompanied the department chair as his assistant, interviewing tribes and collecting folklore.

Penn Today Staff

Adolph Reed is retiring. But he’s still got more to say
adolph reed, political science professor

Reed's broad influence extended to countless students, who say he was life-altering in the classroom. “I feel like Adolph provided a role model for how to be an academic and still act with integrity in the real world,” former student Gordon Lafer says.

Adolph Reed is retiring. But he’s still got more to say

After more than 40 years as a political science professor, incisive commentator, and mentor to countless students, Reed is ending his teaching career. Now, he can turn his full attention to writing, and the 2020 campaign.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

Training physician-scholars to see patients as people, not categories
Two people walking on a brick path, talking, in a courtyard surrounding by green bushes and a tree.

The anthropology M.D.-Ph.D. program, run by Adriana Petryna (left) of the Anthropology Department, in concert with Lawrence Brass of the Perelman School of Medicine, combines clinical and ethnographic training with an eye toward preparing students like Utpal Sandesara (right) to tackle health inequalities. Sandesara, who will graduate this month, is one of nine students in the 10-year-old program.

Training physician-scholars to see patients as people, not categories

The anthropology M.D.-Ph.D. program, recently graduating its first two students, combines clinical and ethnographic skills aimed at working with and caring for society’s marginalized.

Michele W. Berger

Latin American and Latino Studies celebrates 30 years of growth, plans for the future
Balloons spelling out LALS 30

More than 100 people gathered for dinner and salsa dancing to mark the program's anniversary. (Photo: Gwyneth K. Shaw)

Latin American and Latino Studies celebrates 30 years of growth, plans for the future

What began as a handful of faculty and students has matured into a program offering a major and minor, grants, and a local and international community hub.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

Night at the (Penn) Museum
Kids with statue and flashlights

The flashlight expedition included a trip through the Egypt gallery, with artifacts like this statue of Ramses II. 

Night at the (Penn) Museum

What it’s like to sleep over with mummies and more than 10,000 years’ worth of artifacts.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

Four Penn faculty receive Guggenheim fellowships
Jed Esty, Carmen Maria Machado, Adriana Petryna, and Michelle Lopez

Four Penn faculty were named 2019 Guggenheim Fellows. Clockwise from left: Jed Esty for literary criticism, Carmen Maria Machado for fiction, Adriana Petryna for anthropology and cultural studies, and Michelle Lopez for fine arts. 

Four Penn faculty receive Guggenheim fellowships

Declassified images from U2 spy planes reveal bygone Middle Eastern archaeological features
Satellite images of a desert in Jordan in the Middle East.

Desert kites, stone wall structures that date back 5,000 to 8,000 years like those shown above, were used to trap gazelle and other similar animals. The dry desert of eastern Jordan preserved many of them, but agricultural expansion in western Jordan dismantled or destroyed many more.

Declassified images from U2 spy planes reveal bygone Middle Eastern archaeological features

Researchers from Penn and Harvard are the first to make archaeological use of U2 spy plane imagery, and have created a tool that allows other researchers to identify and access the Cold War-era photos.

Michele W. Berger

Genetic research has a white bias, and it may be hurting everyone’s health
PBS NewsHour

Genetic research has a white bias, and it may be hurting everyone’s health

PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff and Giorgio Sirugo of the Perelman School of Medicine collaborated on a paper that concluded that predominately European genetic databases may lead to difficulties treating people from other racial backgrounds. “If we don’t include ethnically diverse populations, we are potentially going to be exacerbating health inequalities,” said Tishkoff.