History | Penn Today

Split image showing book jacket reading "Everyday Utopia" on the left and picture of author Kristen Ghodsee on the right.

‘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.

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

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.

The new Bridgerton prequel is ‘fiction inspired by fact’. So who was the real Queen Charlotte?

Ania Loomba of the School of Arts & Sciences says that a person historically described as a Moor or “blackamoor” wasn’t necessarily Black.

This might be the world’s oldest tree. And it could die of thirst

Jared Farmer of the School of Arts & Sciences says that long-lived plants and elderflora deserve protection and care, regardless of their status as “numerical champions.”

More is more: Reimagining relics of the gilded age

In discussing Philadelphia’s Lynnewood Hall mansion, Aaron Wunsch of the Weitzman School of Design says that reactionary simplification doesn’t do justice to its historical context or the possibility for creative imagination.

The Ten Commandments could be in every Texas classroom next fall

Jonathan Zimmerman of the Graduate School of Education discusses whether three Texas bills about religion in schools bear any resemblance to the push against the teaching of history, gender, and sexual orientation.

A century of newspaper ads shed light on Indigenous slavery in colonial America

A new paper, co-authored by Annenberg Doctoral Student Anjali DasSarma, uses a century of newspaper advertisements to document Indigenous slavery in the American colonies.

Detail of the painting “Pleasure Pillars” by Shahzia Sikander.

Exploring heritage in all corners of the humanities

Fellows of the 2022-2023 Undergraduate Humanities Forum share their collaborative research on “The World We Inherit.”

Jing Jing Piriyalertsak stands in front of Perry World House.

Who, What, Why

Who, What, Why: Jing Jing Piriyalertsak on political messaging, Punch Bowl, and puns

The international relations major explores how narratives are shaped and how we understand the world through writing.

Filters