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Kristen de Groot
News Officer
krisde@upenn.edu
History
Gouverneur Morris: A Founder, disabled American
Gouverneur Morris: A Founder, disabled American
Best known for writing the “We the People” preamble to the Constitution, Gouverneur Morris also lived with painful disabilities. History doctoral candidate Jennifer Reiss looks at him through this underexplored lens.
What happens to a dream deferred? 60-Second Lectures on racial injustice
What happens to a dream deferred? 60-Second Lectures on racial injustice
In an effort to amplify the messages of the recent protests against racist violence, Penn Arts & Sciences created a special series: What Happens to a Dream Deferred? 60-Second Lectures on Racial Injustice.
Brazil’s coronavirus crisis
Brazil’s coronavirus crisis
Brazil has become one of the world’s deadliest hotspots for the novel coronavirus, second only to the United States in deaths and infections. Melissa Teixeira, a historian of modern Brazil, shares her thoughts on the nation’s response and challenges it faces in battling the virus.
Newly digitized Marian Anderson collection now accessible online
Newly digitized Marian Anderson collection now accessible online
Penn Libraries has completed digitization of more than 2,500 items from its Marian Anderson collection, now available for public view on a new website.
Cholera vs. flu: Philadelphia’s historical epidemic successes and failures
Cholera vs. flu: Philadelphia’s historical epidemic successes and failures
Philadelphia’s response to the 1918 influenza might be the poster child of how not to handle an epidemic. Timothy Kent Holliday makes the case that the city was well equipped for outbreaks decades and even centuries earlier.
Children’s literature as ‘seed work’
Children’s literature as ‘seed work’
Penn GSE’s Ebony Elizabeth Thomas discusses the importance of more diverse books for kids and the challenges that continue to stifle early anti-racist learning. She also shares a curated list of recommended books for youth catered to this particular moment.
What the 1968 Kerner Commission can teach us
What the 1968 Kerner Commission can teach us
Criminologist and statistician Richard Berk, who worked on the report as a graduate student, explains the systemic racism and poverty found to underlie violent unrest in the 1960s and where COVID-19 and the economy fit today.
Juneteenth: A day for reflection, conversation, and learning
Juneteenth: A day for reflection, conversation, and learning
As the Penn community takes time today to consider the significance of Juneteenth, Penn Today also pauses for critical reflection
Final chapter in a pandemic’s shadow
Final chapter in a pandemic’s shadow
Historian David Ruderman was set to publish a new book and celebrate his retirement. Then the pandemic hit.
A virtual tour of architectural masterpieces
A virtual tour of architectural masterpieces
David Brownlee, Frances Shapiro-Weitzenhoffer Professor of 19th Century European Art in the School of Arts and Sciences, leads a virtual tour of some of Penn’s best-known historic buildings.
Media Contact
In the News
The Wall Street Journal
‘Slouch’ review: The panic over posture
In her new book, “Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America,” Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences traces society’s posture obsession to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
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Time
Don’t be fooled by Trump’s failure to endorse a nationwide abortion ban
In an Op-Ed, Serena Mayeri of Penn Carey Law says that a second Trump administration would empower an anti-abortion movement determined to make abortion illegal everywhere.
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The New Yorker
The truth behind the slouching epidemic
Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences traces the history of a poor-posture epidemic in the U.S. which began at the onset of the 20th century.
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Inside Higher Ed
The activist academy
In her book “Chasing the Intact Mind,” Amy S.F. Lutz of the School of Arts & Sciences argues that the current approach to disabilities studies marginalizes the most severely disabled.
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
Our political parties have become unrecognizable
Brian Rosenwald of the School of Arts & Sciences says that the Republican lean to the right during the last few decades has distorted labels like moderate and conservative.
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Toronto Star
Few options available to Western leaders weighing response to Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny’s death
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Western countries have little practical leverage to push Russia off its authoritarian path after Alexei Navalny’s death, given the economic and diplomatic sanctions already levied against Vladimir Putin.
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