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Jill DiSanto
News Officer
jdisanto@upenn.edu
History
Representing slavery in children’s literature
Ebony Elizabeth Thomas of the Graduate School of Education discusses her work exploring depictions of slavery in children’s books.
Reclaiming a fragmented history
Digital humanities scholars are orchestrating an epic crowdsourcing effort to sort and transcribe handwriting on thousands of documents discarded hundreds of years ago, known as the Cairo Geniza.
Examining 20th-century America’s obsession with poor posture, a forgotten ‘epidemic’
Poor posture was considered a real threat to the nation’s health through much of the 20th century. Beth Linker of the School of Arts and Sciences is investigating the history of this forgotten “epidemic” and how its legacy is reflected in notions of health and disability today.
Fifty years ago, RFK’s speech at The Palestra on Vietnam
Senator and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy’s assassination on the campaign trail was just weeks after he called for a fair draft, unbiased housing legislation, and an end to the war
Immersive trip exposes students to the complex narratives of Israel
15 undergraduates took part in the inaugural Encompass fellowship, a project run by Penn Hillel, with a tour around Israel examining cultural and political sites with a focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
English professor explores poetic expressions of Japanese-American internment
Josephine Park, professor of English and interim director of the Asian American Studies Program, on the poetry that originated in Japanese-American internment camps, and poetry by incarcerated populations.
Honoring the fallen: a Q&A with Ken Lum
The School of Design professor and chair of the Fine Arts Department discusses the challenge of designing a war memorial, and shares which memorials he finds most compelling.
Reexamining the Vietnam War, four decades after America’s defeat
An Asia expert looks back on lessons learned and unlearned, and the war’s effect on the Vietnam generation and the country today.
French lit professor discusses her new book, a stranger-than-fiction tale of finance and fashion
Joan DeJean’s book of French society in the 17th and 18th century is not unlike a modern soap opera, complete with high fashion, murder, bad investments, and family betrayal.
Scholar of Britain discusses the royal family and upcoming nuptials
Historian Alex Chase-Levenson talks the impending wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and Americans’ fascination with the British royal family.
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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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