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Gwyneth K. Shaw
Science News Officer
gwyneths@upenn.edu
History
Unearthing a botanical legacy, one seed at a time
Painstaking work by Penn Museum archaeobotanist Chantel White and students has verified what the Bartrams sold and exported to Europe in the 1800s, and shed light on the family’s daily dietary habits.
Not-so-self-evident truths
In her new book, Sophia Rosenfeld, the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History, digs up the roots of the relationship between democracy and truth.
A meeting of medievalists
More than 500 medieval scholars from the U.S. and Europe will be on campus for the annual Medieval Academy of America conference. Dozens of panels, workshops, and lectures about the Middle Ages will convene, many led by Penn faculty.
The ignorance of blackface
Historian Mia Bay discusses the history of blackface, its intent, and why it is still occurring in the 21st century.
The times and life of W.E.B. Du Bois at Penn
In 1896, Du Bois was appointed an assistant instructor at Penn and began his investigation of the Seventh Ward of Philadelphia—research that he would turn into his groundbreaking work, “The Philadelphia Negro.”
Testing finds signs of African-American burial ground beneath Chestnut Street property
Portions of the cemetery, dating to the 19th century, may still lie beneath land owned by Penn. University officials are working with the community to decide what’s next.
Leafing through the pages of medical library history
Rare gems, anatomical and botanical volumes, and the original library catalog are all housed in the Historic Medical Library at Pennsylvania Hospital, the first of its kind in the country.
‘Lost world, lost lives, and the displacement of a culture’
Hundreds of books looted by the Nazis during World War II sit on the shelves of the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, a window into a different time in history and individuals we may have otherwise never known.
The scholar behind ‘Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism’
Kristen R. Ghodsee has been intrigued by the former Eastern bloc since she was in high school. Now, her research is reaching a new audience in a provocative book.
Annual social change symposium to honor Martin Luther King Jr.
The annual Commemorative Symposium on Social Change features events to commemorate and honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
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Touring Philly’s Black History Along South Street From Du Bois Home to Standard Theater
Penn students Helen Fetaw, Nathaniel Gertzman, and Ramon Garcia Gomez joined Penn chaplain and professor Chaz Howard to lead a Black History Month tour of South Street.
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Immanent Frame
Material Mourning in the Secular Sculpture Garden
Donovan Schaefer of the School of Arts and Sciences contributed an opinion piece about Treptow, a Soviet war memorial and mass grave in Berlin.
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