Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations

Huda Fakhreddine holding the poetry book outside

The ‘music’ of one poet’s words, translated

With help from her daughter, scholar Huda Fakhreddine published an English version of 30 poems for children written by her father in Arabic, paying tribute to their endearing and enduring subject matter and to the musicality and richness of their sound.

Michele W. Berger ・ January 31, 2022

students looking at manuscripts in a penn libraries course

From the archives, a class on different communities of Jews in China

Kathryn Hellerstein created an opportunity for her first-year seminar students to study archival material from a collection donated to the Penn Libraries by her mentor, Israeli scholar Irene Eber.

Louisa Shepard ・ January 18, 2022

An American flag flaps in front of the tip of a white church steeple topped by a cross, with a blue sky and clouds in the background

Nationalism, American evangelicals, and conservatism

Historians Anthea Butler and Heather J. Sharkey and political scientist Michele Margolis share their thoughts on the history of American evangelicals in politics, Trump’s appeal, and what it means for the future of the GOP.

Kristen de Groot ・ May 19, 2021

‘A Revolution in Rhyme’

While building the Persian language and studies program at Penn, Fatemeh Shams draws from the millennium-old Persian literary tradition to write a new book about poetry and politics in modern Iran. She will embark on her next book project during an upcoming fellowship in Berlin.

Louisa Shepard ・ April 23, 2021

Alice Paul in her graduation gown and a handwritten page from her dissertation.

Alice Paul’s mysterious manuscript

Heather J. Sharkey and three students transcribed a hand-written manuscript of the doctoral dissertation by Alice Paul, who earned her Ph.D. from Penn in 1912. As part of a virtual symposium, they joined John Pollack of the Libraries to discuss their efforts.

Louisa Shepard ・ March 29, 2021