History

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.

Susan Ahlborn

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.

Kristen de Groot

Seeing disability differently

Scholars are trying to understand—and change—how the world works for people with disabilities.

Susan Ahlborn



In the News


Time

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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The New York Times

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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The Telegraph

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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Chronicle of Higher Education

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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CBS News

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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New Republic

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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