11/15
History
Past plagues, current pandemics, and public hygiene messaging
History Ph.D. candidate Sarah Xia Yu discusses her research on public hygiene in China and what the past might tell us about how governments could better communicate public health messages.
Gender and identity: A lecture on diversity
In the first in a series of diversity lectures offered through the Office of Affirmative Action & Equal Opportunity Programs, Melissa E. Sanchez of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke on “Addressing a More Complex and Encompassing Understanding of Identity.”
Past confronts present at ‘History Speaking’ lecture series
Penn historians will present a series of lively discussions of historical issues that seek to better orient attendees in the current moment.
Colin Powell’s legacy
Historian Mary Frances Berry and Perry World House Visiting Fellow Alice Hunt Friend share thoughts on Powell’s impact on and off the battlefield.
A generation shaped by a pandemic
Two Penn seniors travel the country to interview young adults about their experiences during the past year to create an oral history archive with stories, images, and video.
A watershed created to power New York City
Anna Lehr Mueser, a doctoral candidate in history and sociology of science, studies memory, loss, and technology in the New York City Watershed and the villages that were destroyed to construct it.
Honoring William Still on his 200th birthday
A conference, a website, and more are planned on campus and around the city to celebrate the abolitionist who helped nearly 1,000 enslaved people to freedom.
The Divine Comedy’s ‘universal message’
Seven centuries years after Dante Alighieri's death on Sept. 14, 1321, his “Divine Comedy,” a poem in which an autobiographical protagonist journeys through hell, purgatory, and paradise, is still widely influential.
Protecting and celebrating civil rights heritage and Black histories
Launched last fall, Penn’s Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights sites is fostering new and ongoing partnerships while preserving the legacy of civil rights in the U.S.
Penn commemorates 20th anniversary of 9/11
On Friday, the University community gathered at the Love Statue on campus to remember the precious lives of those lost on that tragic day in 2001.
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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