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Linguistics

Here’s why it’s a big deal to capitalize the word ‘Black’
Huffington Post

Here’s why it’s a big deal to capitalize the word ‘Black’

Nicole Holliday of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the importance of acknowledging the cultural ramifications of whiteness. “We call some classes ‘Black History’ but the ones that focus on ‘white history’ are just called ‘history,’” she said. “That kind of erasure is an issue, because it continues to situate whiteness as ‘normal’ and everything else as ‘other.’”

New database aims to make Alzheimer’s diagnosis easier and earlier
outline of a head in profile, the brain matter is filled in with question marks and the face, back of the head, and neck is outlined with roots resembling tree limbs and roots.

New database aims to make Alzheimer’s diagnosis easier and earlier

A five-minute online session will allow neural health to be tracked across time, so that doctors can make an earlier diagnosis and researchers can evaluate medications and other treatments.

Susan Ahlborn

Bridging the communication divide for Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities
Student Kate Panzer sewing protective mask

Alum Kate Panzer had just a little experience sewing before she began making the clear-fronted masks. “I’ve learned so much about sewing,” she says. “People across the world have pulled out their sewing machines to provide this resource.” (Image: Courtesy Kate Panzer)

Bridging the communication divide for Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities

Clear-fronted face masks, better and more frequent interpreters, and amped up involvement from local organizations have made a big difference during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michele W. Berger

Is it a cult, or a new religious movement?
Osho seated with disciples kneeling before him, circa 1980s

Is it a cult, or a new religious movement?

Many religious movements started off as fringe groups, and many modern-day cults have no religious doctrine. Why are cults and new religious movements conflated, and what makes them different?
Connecting with a Deaf community on the other side of the world
A group of people standing in front of a white statue in Rome, Italy.

A Penn Global Seminar on global deaf culture led by Penn linguist Jami Fisher (5th from left) included visiting sites in Rome, Italy, like Bernini’s Fontana dei Quatro Fiumi in Piazza Navona, above. Often, the group was led by a guide who was signing in Italian sign language. It gave the students a chance to experience what life is like not only for deaf people in general, but also a deaf community in another part of the world. (Photo courtesy: Jami Fisher)

Connecting with a Deaf community on the other side of the world

On a trip abroad to Italy that capped off the Penn Global Seminar taught by linguist Jami Fisher, students got a firsthand look at the diversity and variety of global deaf culture.

Michele W. Berger