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A historian’s take on Juneteenth
VanJessica Gladney speaking at a podium.

Doctoral candidate VanJessica Gladney speaking at Penn Spectrum Weekend in 2019.

(Image: Eddy Marenco)

A historian’s take on Juneteenth

In a Q&A, fifth-year Ph.D. candidate VanJessica Gladney talks about what the day means and what broader conversation she hopes it will foster.

Michele W. Berger

Mary Frances Berry and Kermit Roosevelt on Juneteenth’s history
juneteenth logo

Annenberg Classroom, part of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, has released a documentary “Juneteenth: Exploring Freedom’s Stories” that surveys the history of the holiday.

nocred

Mary Frances Berry and Kermit Roosevelt on Juneteenth’s history

A new documentary produced by the Annenberg Public Policy Center explores the history of the holiday and illustrates how and why freedom and citizenship were intertwined. The film features Berry and Roosevelt, among others.

Kristen de Groot

‘Undoing Slavery: Bodies, Race and Rights in the Age of Abolition’
Left side of image shows a book cover reading "Undoing Slavery" and the right side of the image shows the author, Kathleen Brown.

Kathleen Brown's new book sheds new light on the abolitionist movement.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Press/Kathleen Brown)

‘Undoing Slavery: Bodies, Race and Rights in the Age of Abolition’

Historian Kathleen M. Brown’s new book reexamines the antislavery struggle and is the focus of the first episode of a new podcast series from the McNeil Center for Early American Studies.

Kristen de Groot

War and welfare in colonial Algeria
A snowy field of marked gravestones, with yew hedges and a large obelisk in the background

The ossuary of Douaumont is a memorial to the soldiers of the Battle of Verdun of 1916, located on the border of the communes of Douaumont and Fleury-devant-Douaumont, a few kilometers from Verdun. It houses the remains of 130,000 unknown soldiers, French and Germans. In front of the ossuary, the national necropolis of Douaumont gathers 16,142 graves of French soldiers, mainly Catholic, including a square of 592 steles of Muslim soldiers.

(Image: Sipa via AP Images)

War and welfare in colonial Algeria

A new paper from political scientist Melissa M. Lee finds that veteran benefits were distributed unequally between citizens and colonized subjects.

Kristina García

Ancient medicine in today’s world
An ayahuasca plant in Brazil.

Image: Courtesy of Taylor Dysart

Ancient medicine in today’s world

Taylor Dysart, a doctoral candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of History and Sociology of Science, probes modern science’s enthrallment with the powerful Amazonian intoxicant ayahuasca.

From Omnia

‘Everyday Utopia’—a radically hopeful vision for contented and connected societies
Split image showing book jacket reading "Everyday Utopia" on the left and picture of author Kristen Ghodsee on the right.

Kristen R. Ghodsee’s new book offers a radically hopeful vision for how to build more contented and connected societies, alongside a practical guide to what we all can do to live the good life each and every day.

(Image: Courtesy of Simon & Schuster and Kristen R. Ghodsee)

‘Everyday Utopia’—a radically hopeful vision for contented and connected societies

In her new book, Kristen R. Ghodsee of the School of Arts & Sciences takes readers on a tour through history and around the world to explore places that have dared to reimagine how we might live our daily lives.

Kristen de Groot

Public health quarantines have a history in Philadelphia
Philadelphia Inquirer

Public health quarantines have a history in Philadelphia

In a Q&A, David Barnes of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses his new book, “Lazaretto,” which examines the public health history of a yellow fever quarantine site in Philadelphia.

California’s Black recovery panel begins historic voting
Bharat Express (India)

California’s Black recovery panel begins historic voting

Mary Frances Berry of the School of Arts & Sciences says that a California task force’s efforts to address reparations should be encouraging to advocates across the country.