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Languages
Who, What, Why: Discovering Jewish identity through Yiddish studies
Who, What, Why: Discovering Jewish identity through Yiddish studies
Third-year Tyler Kliem has used his Yiddish and Ladino studies as a steppingstone to connect with his Jewish heritage.
Experimental Italian theater comes to the Annenberg Center
Experimental Italian theater comes to the Annenberg Center
In “fedeli d’Amore,” Italian theatre company Teatro delle Albe immerses audiences in the last visions of Dante.
James Ker and students are helping Latin live
James Ker and students are helping Latin live
The professor of classical studies researches new approaches to teaching the language that reflects the 21st century.
Joan DeJean on ‘Mutinous Women’
Joan DeJean on ‘Mutinous Women’
In her latest book, Joan DeJean of the School of Arts & Sciences investigates the lives of female prisoners deported in 1719 from Paris to the French colony of Louisiana.
Talking about Chinese diasporas
Talking about Chinese diasporas
History Ph.D. candidate Sarah Yu’s class transformed students into tour guides and podcasters as they honed their public speaking skills while learning about Chinese migration.
At Fuyao Glass factory, students put Chinese language skills into practice
At Fuyao Glass factory, students put Chinese language skills into practice
At Fuyao Glass America in Moraine, Ohio, the subject of the Oscar-winning 2019 film “American Factory,” students and faculty were led on a tour and dialogued with the Fuyao America CEO.
People imitate accent features they expect to hear, even without hearing them
People imitate accent features they expect to hear, even without hearing them
Research from postdoc Lacey Wade confirmed this idea, what she calls expectation-driven convergence, in a controlled experiment for the first time. The work reveals just how much the subconscious factors into the way people speak.
Latin American and Latinx studies becomes a center
Latin American and Latinx studies becomes a center
With over 30 years of Latin American and Latinx Studies at Penn, the academic program was established as a center in July.
Art from Mexico
Art from Mexico
During visits to the Penn Museum this semester, nearly 200 students in intermediate Spanish classes had the chance to learn about yarn paintings by the Huichol people, an indigenous group in Northwest Mexico.
Centering Black students in language education
Centering Black students in language education
Ensuring equity for Black students in language education was the focus of a conference co-organized by the Graduate School of Education’s Nelson Flores, an expert in bilingual education.
In the News
Psychology Today
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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WBUR Radio (Boston)
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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The Washington Post
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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The New York Times
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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Vice
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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