11/15
Languages
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
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
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.
The new director of La Casa Latina creates ‘a sense of belonging'
As the new director of La Casa Latina, Krista Cortes brings a sense of inclusivity to welcome different people, cultures, races, and languages to the cultural resources center.
Lauder students put language skills into practice
In lieu of its in-country immersion program, which was canceled because of the pandemic, the Lauder Institute incorporated community engagement projects that connected students with communities in Philadelphia and beyond.
The winners and losers in post-Socialist Europe
Kristen Ghodsee and Mitchell Orenstein, professors of Russian and East European Studies, discuss their new book, “Taking Stock of Shock.”
A conversation about cross-cultural communication
In the latest episode of Penn Today’s “Understand This ...” podcast series, Penn experts discuss the importance of cross-cultural communication in today’s world.
Lost and found: The art of translation
For faculty in the School of Arts & Sciences, translation is an art that allows us to communicate across cultural difference.
Sensuality in Latin American literature and film
Ph.D. student Dana Khromov presented her research on the body as the site of sensuality in Latin American literature and film as part of the Latin American and Latinx Studies Internal Speakers series.
Examining race in East Asian Studies
The Center for East Asian Studies hosted a roundtable discussion between faculty assessing anti-racism in their fields of study.
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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