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History
Who, What, Why: Catherine Sorrentino and a souvenir of historic Germantown
During a summer internship, history major Catherine Sorrentino encountered a 108-year-old book with insights into Black Philadelphia.
The Chilean coup, 50 years later
Two conversations mark the 50th anniversary of the military takeover on Sept. 11, 1973, discussing its political and historical implications.
Engineering changemakers: Honoring Cora Ingrum and Donna Hampton
Sharing a legacy of leadership and decades of service in Penn Engineering’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Cora Ingrum and Donna Hampton had a transformative impact on academic life at the school.
Amy Paeth on the ‘poetry industrial complex’
In her new book, the lecturer in critical writing in the School of Arts & Sciences uses the history of the U.S. poet laureate as a window into how the arts, government, industry, and private donors interact and shape culture.
A historian’s look at the ‘illusions of progress’
A new book by historian Brent Cebul looks at the successes and failures of American liberalism, from the New Deal to the 1990s and beyond.
A question of neutrality: Switzerland’s role in 19th-century imperialism
History undergraduate Sophie Mwaisela traveled to Geneva this summer to conduct research for her honors thesis.
Disability in America
In a Q&A, history and sociology of science professor Beth Linker discusses the history of disability in America.
Reinventing customary law in medieval France
A new book by historian Ada Maria Kuskowski of the School of Arts & Sciences traces the formation of customary law as a field of knowledge in medieval Europe.
Who, What, Why: Rich Lizardo on poverty in early modern Spain
The history Ph.D. candidate’s work traces the evolution of the ideas, institutions, and images of poverty in early modern Spain and highlights how much of the current debates on poverty echo those of the past.
Seeing disability differently
Scholars are trying to understand—and change—how the world works for people with disabilities.
In the News
Abortion has always been more than health care
In an opinion essay, Ph.D. student Christen Hammock Jones in the School of Arts & Sciences says that relying solely on expertise and professional judgment primes people to think about abortion rights as a matter of medical judgment instead of equality and autonomy.
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A century-old law’s aftershocks are still felt at the Supreme Court
PIK Professor Karen M. Tani says that granting the Supreme Court the power to set its own agenda has caused it to gravitate toward cases that have preoccupied the conservative legal movement.
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Bankruptcy, depression and random death: Xi’s China is tearing itself apart
Victor H. Mair of the School of Arts & Sciences says that people in China have many memes that represent opting out of society.
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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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