11/15
Languages
Is sustainable development an oxymoron?
Teresa Giménez, director of the Spanish Language Program and lecturer in foreign languages in the School of Arts & Sciences, discusses the tensions at play when considering this type of growth in Latin America.
A monumental view of the Ten Commandments
Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures Assistant Professor Timothy Hogue sees the foundational text as more than just words.
‘What is the Enlightenment? Questions for the 18th Century’
In a new exhibition in Berlin, Liliane Weissberg of the School of Arts & Sciences curates hundreds of objects reflecting on the nature of Enlightenment and its continued significance today.
Lauder students embark on odyssey through Georgia
As part of the Lauder Institute’s Lauder Intercultural Ventures program, graduate students traveled to Georgia, to the Russian border, and beyond, learning about wine, language, historical reckonings, and more.
Chinese Calligraphy Club makes an old art new again
The Penn Chinese Calligraphy Club, formed during the pandemic, endures as a meeting ground for amateur calligraphers who value the practice as meditation and art.
Filipino language and culture
Started in 1996, Penn’s Filipino language program is populated with students looking to connect with their culture and converse with their families.
Fellowship in South Korea offers language benefits, cultural reconnection
Third-year student Claire Jun used her FLAS fellowship this summer to participate in the study abroad program at Yonsei University and a health-policy internship at the National Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service.
Operatic notes: One student’s research on opera in society
Rising second-year Thomas Sharrock attended seven operas this summer at the Royal Opera House in London, studying audience perceptions of opera in the United Kingdom.
Supporting less commonly taught languages
Recently elected president of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, Turkish Language Program coordinator Feride Hatiboglu discusses the value of learning languages beyond Spanish, French, German, and Italian.
Simon Richter on animating climate change
The professor of Germanic studies works with colleagues and students to create animated videos to explain the risks of climate change in the Netherlands and Jakarta.
In the News
‘Everyday Utopia’ review: The road to nowhere
“Everyday Utopia” by Kristen Ghodsee of the School of Arts & Sciences is reviewed.
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Correcting non-native speakers may hinder their learning
In a co-authored Op-Ed, Benjamin Franklin Scholar Sangitha Aiyer writes that well-intentioned grammatical corrections can induce unintended negative effects on non-native English speakers.
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What makes the world’s first bar joke funny? No one knows
Phillip Jones of the Penn Museum explains the history behind a Penn Museum collection of Sumerian tablets, including the world’s first documented bar joke.
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Family is ‘my chittis’: Kamala Harris puts her Tamil roots on the prime-time stage like never before
Vasu Renganathan of the School of Arts & Sciences commented on Kamala Harris’ use of the Tamil language on the campaign trail.
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Peru’s queen of Quechua rap fuses the transgressive and traditional
Américo Mendoza-Mori of the School of Arts & Sciences translated the lyrics of a song by Renata Flores, a Peruvian musician who writes in Quechua.
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Renata Flores brought Quechua to YouTube, and then everything changed
Américo Mendoza-Mori of the School of Arts and Sciences spoke about the need to bring the Quechua language into contemporary art forms. “The stereotype where indigenous people are seen as timeless or pure must be challenged. When native people are put in that box, we are fossilizing them,” he said.
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