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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon on the war in Ukraine
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon.

Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, Ph.D. student in history. (Image: OMNIA)

Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon on the war in Ukraine

The Ph.D. student in history, and former resident of Ukraine discusses the nation, how things got to this point, and what’s being overlooked in the discussion about the war.

Alex Schein , Susan Ahlborn

Russia’s attack on Ukraine, through the lens of history
Two people walk in front of a wall engraved with scenes of WWII soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine

People walk through the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War in Kyiv in 2022. (Image: STR/NurPhoto via AP Images) 

Russia’s attack on Ukraine, through the lens of history

Historian Benjamin Nathans offers background on Putin’s use of history in justifying his war in Ukraine

Kristen de Groot

The now-faded walls of a medieval structure, reimagined in digital form
serbian church fresco

The now-faded walls of a medieval structure, reimagined in digital form

History of Art’s Ivan Drpić is working with sophomore Logan Cho to create 3D renderings of what once-gilded paintings on the walls of a medieval church in Serbia would have looked like.

Louisa Shepard

Nixon’s China visit, 50 years later
President Richard Nixon smiles and shakes hands with a smiling Chairman Mao

In this Feb. 21, 1972 file photo, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, left, shakes hands with Chinese communist party leader Chairman Mao Zedong during Nixon's groundbreaking trip to China, in Beijing. Forged in absolute secrecy at the height of the Cold War 30 years ago, the diplomatic ties established between the United States and China were meant to balance out the Soviet threat. (Image: AP Photo/File)

Nixon’s China visit, 50 years later

On the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to the People’s Republic of China, David Eisenhower discusses the significance of the milestone amid the fraying relations between the two nations. 

Kristen de Groot

‘Weaving is like a prayer’: Barnes Foundation shows its Native art collection for the first time

‘Weaving is like a prayer’: Barnes Foundation shows its Native art collection for the first time

The Penn Museum contributed objects to a new exhibit at the Barnes Foundation that combines older and contemporary Native artworks. Penn’s Lucy Fowler Williams said she and her fellow curator “sought out artists whose work is really substantively engaging with the community and with the historical traditions.”

The Ottawa trucker convoy is rooted in Canada’s settler colonial history

The Ottawa trucker convoy is rooted in Canada’s settler colonial history

Taylor Dysart, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, wrote an opinion piece about the legacy of settler colonialism and white supremacy in Canada. “Canada’s history of freedom then, was founded in the unfreedom of Indigenous people,” she said. “This dynamic has been unnoticed and misconstrued by organizers, attendees, and supporters of the Freedom Convoy.”

Orthodox Jews and slavery in antebellum America
Top of a synagogue spire with a star of David.

Orthodox Jews and slavery in antebellum America

School of Arts & Sciences undergraduate Samuel Strickberger investigates how 19th century Jewish migrants to the U.S. squared assimilation with the existence of slavery.

Susan Ahlborn