11/15
History
Patterns of Soviet Jewish emigration in the post-Stalin era
For four decades, more than one million Jews left the USSR despite the Soviet Union’s complex bureaucracy and opposition to emigration. Doctoral candidate Sasha Zborovsky explores the intricate dynamics.
Teaching and learning abroad in Vietnam
In a Q&A, Fred Dickinson of the Department of History discusses his semester as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in Vietnam and building out Southeast Asian studies at Penn.
Stringing together the history of an ancient Incan textile
Kyle Marini, a Barra Dissertation Fellow in Art and Material Culture at The McNeil Center for Early American Studies, is developing an interdisciplinary methodology to recreate an ancient Incan rope to illuminate Inca modes of artistic representation.
Omnia podcast: Democracy and Decision 2024
The new season of Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences podcast examines the state of U.S. democracy in the context of the upcoming presidential election.
University announces Penn Global Middle East Distinguished Visiting Scholar Initiative
The program will formally launch in fall 2025 with the arrival of the inaugural visiting scholar, Dahlia Scheindlin, followed by Shay Hazkani in spring 2026, and Amal Jamal in fall 2026.
‘What is the Enlightenment? Questions for the 18th Century’
In a new exhibition in Berlin, Liliane Weissberg of the School of Arts & Sciences curates hundreds of objects reflecting on the nature of Enlightenment and its continued significance today.
60 years of civil rights with Mary Frances Berry
The emeritus Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought reflected on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in conversation with Marcia Chatelain.
A vast collection related to public markets comes to the Penn Libraries
Tens of thousands of items related to public markets acquired by Penn alum David K. O’Neil create a collection unique in size and scope. Spanning four centuries from locations near and far, his collection now has a home at the Penn Libraries.
A historian’s look at abolition and citizenship
In the late 1700s, New York and four other northern states passed laws that freed children born to enslaved women. Sarah Gronningsater, an assistant professor of history in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences, wanted to know more about how this extraordinary situation affected those children.
How food moves around cities
Domenic Vitiello, an urban and regional planning expert, teaches classes that invite students to locations in and around Philadelphia to better understand how its denizens dine.
In the News
Stop treating students like babies
Jonathan Zimmerman of the Graduate School of Education organized an in-person 2016 discussion between Penn students and Republican students at Cairn University to foster productive conversation and find common ground.
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Presidential historian assesses Trump’s 2024 win
Mary Frances Berry of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential victory and upcoming second term.
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The bad politics of bad posture
In her book “Slouch,” Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences outlines how societal pressures have driven huge swaths of people to embrace falsehoods about posture.
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Time will tell if Kamala Harris made the right choice by picking Tim Walz
In an opinion essay, Brian Rosenwald of the School of Arts & Sciences outlines the thought process behind past picks for vice-presidential running mates.
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This should be our response to Donald Trump’s comments that ‘you won’t have to vote anymore’
In an opinion article, Jonathan Zimmerman of the Graduate School of Education argues that voting should be mandatory.
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The local democratic mission of HE: Lessons from the U.S.
A paper edited by Ira Harkavy and Rita A. Hodges of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships examines how urban universities can further democracy and inclusion by working with their local communities.
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