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Ben Franklin: Four things that made him great
Philadelphia Inquirer

Ben Franklin: Four things that made him great

In an Op-Ed, PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel outlines the four qualities that characterized Ben Franklin’s wisdom and greatness.

A look at the history of affirmative action with Mary Frances Berry
resident Lyndon B. Johnson reaches to shake hands with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson reaches to shake hands with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after presenting the civil rights leader with one of the 72 pens used to sign the Civil Rights Act in Washington. Surrounding the president, from left: Rep. Roland Libonati, D-Ill., Rep. Peter Rodino, D-N.J., Rev. King, Emanuel Celler, D-N.Y., and behind Celler is Whitney Young, executive director of the National Urban League.

(Image: AP Photo)

  • Q&A

    • A look at the history of affirmative action with Mary Frances Berry

    The Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history emerita shares the origins of the term, discusses the practice’s early champions and highlights the ensuing controversies.

    Kristen de Groot

    On public education, Pennsylvania can look like New Jersey or Texas
    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

    On public education, Pennsylvania can look like New Jersey or Texas

    In an Op-Ed, doctoral candidate Angus McLeod of the School of Arts & Sciences urges the Pennsylvania legislature to follow the example of New Jersey’s educational system rather than that of Texas.

    The struggle for equality in antebellum America
    Robert Purvis, center, surrounded by others in a historical photo from 1851.

    Robert Purvis (seated, center) with other members of the Board of the Pennsylvania Antislavery Society in 1851.

    (Image: Courtesy of Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College)

    The struggle for equality in antebellum America

    A new article tells the story of Robert Purvis, a Black Philadelphian and abolitionist whose quest to secure a passport reflects the lives of other free Black people in the decades leading up to the American Civil War.

    From the Annenberg Public Policy Center

    Wharton sophomore climbs world’s tallest volcano on a bike
    Philadelphia Inquirer

    Wharton sophomore climbs world’s tallest volcano on a bike

    Wharton School second-year Ryan Torres from Barcelona biked up the world’s tallest volcano in the Andes mountains during Winter Break, breaking the world record for highest altitude reached on a bike.

    Sophia Rosenfeld and Peter Struck discuss 2,800 years of ideas through history
    Sophia Rosenfeld and Peter Struck.

    Sophia Rosenfeld, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History, and Peter Struck, professor of classical studies. (Images: Winky Lewis; Lisa J. Godfrey)

  • Q&A

    • Sophia Rosenfeld and Peter Struck discuss 2,800 years of ideas through history

    The Penn Arts & Sciences professors discuss editing their new book series, “A Cultural History of Ideas.”

    From Omnia

    The 2023 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings
    Education Week

    The 2023 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings

    Several Penn scholars are lauded for having shaped educational practice and policy in 2022, including Angela Duckworth of the School of Arts & Sciences and Jonathan Zimmerman of the Graduate School of Education.

    Russian hypocrisy and the death of a Zambian student in Ukraine
    Al Jazeera

    Russian hypocrisy and the death of a Zambian student in Ukraine

    In an Op-Ed, Ph.D. student Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon of the School of Arts & Sciences examines the contrast between Russia’s narrative as a protector of African interests and its own mistreatment of Africans.

    Has the United States ever been a democracy?
    The Nation

    Has the United States ever been a democracy?

    Sophia Rosenfeld of the School of Arts & Sciences reviews a new book, “Two Cheers for Politics,” which questions whether the United States is truly subject to the rule of the people.

    The science behind the oldest trees on earth
    Smithsonian Magazine

    The science behind the oldest trees on earth

    Jared Farmer of the School of Arts & Sciences shares an excerpt from his recent book, “Elderflora: A Modern History of Ancient Trees.”