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Penn Museum
Christopher Woods appointed director of Penn Museum
Christopher Woods appointed director of Penn Museum
Woods, an award-winning scholar of Near East civilizations, will begin his position on April 1, carrying on the Museum’s missions of research, teaching, and public outreach.
Penn Museum awarded National Endowment for the Humanities grant
Penn Museum awarded National Endowment for the Humanities grant
The Penn Museum has been awarded a $750,000 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.The grant will help catalyze fundraising for the renovation of the Museum’s Egyptian Wing, part of its major Building Transformation project.
Lynn Meskell appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Lynn Meskell appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
The world-renowned archaeologist has joint appointments in the Department of Anthropology, the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation and the Department of City and Regional Planning, and the Penn Museum as a curator in both the Asian and Near East sections.
‘Living with the Sea’
‘Living with the Sea’
A student-led exhibition at the Penn Museum features objects from the rarely seen Oceanian collection.
Southeast Asian megadrought dating back 5,000 years discovered in Laos cave
Southeast Asian megadrought dating back 5,000 years discovered in Laos cave
In a Q&A, Penn archaeologist Joyce White discusses the partnership with paleoclimatologists that led to the finding, plus possible implications of such a dramatic climate change for societies at that time.
Celebrate the arts, history, and nature from home
Celebrate the arts, history, and nature from home
While Penn’s arts and culture centers remain closed, they are still finding ways to sustain connections through online collections and programs.
The Sachs Program unveils 2020 grants
The Sachs Program unveils 2020 grants
The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation revealed 34 new art projects from students, faculty, and staff that will receive funding.
Naskapi connections: Restorative research in the Penn Museum collection
Naskapi connections: Restorative research in the Penn Museum collection
A blog post about a child’s hunting jacket made of caribou hide caught the attention of a high school students in the Naskapi Nation in Quebec. A group visited the Penn Museum to view artifacts made by their ancestors.
Five events to watch for in March
Five events to watch for in March
On the calendar for March: an orchestral performance at Penn Museum, the annual Silfen Forum, and a conversation about Philadelphia as a science capital.
The inaugural Provost’s Graduate Academic Engagement fellowship cohort
The inaugural Provost’s Graduate Academic Engagement fellowship cohort
The Provost’s Graduate Academic Engagement fellowship supports scholarship and civic engagement in West Philadelphia. Paul Wolff Mitchell, an anthropology doctoral student, and Michael Vazquez, a philosophy doctoral student, are the inaugural cohort.
In the News
“All Things Considered,” National Public Radio
Refugee docents help bring a museum’s global collection to life
Ellen Owens, Julian Siggers, and Kevin Schott of the Museum were interviewed about the Global Guides program, which hires refugees and immigrants to work as docents. “We really wanted to have the narratives of lots of different people, to bring the authentic voices of people that live in other places into the galleries of the museum,” said Owens.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Return of the Rat: Chinese lunar new year honors the trickster
Haibin Wechsler of the Museum spoke about 2020 being the Year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac calendar. “A lot of famous writers are rats,” Wechsler said. “Shakespeare is a rat. Truman Capote is a rat. Charlotte Bronte is also a rat.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Trump’s threat to strike Iranian cultural sites puts him in league with ISIS, Taliban
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein of Perry World House and Brian Daniels of the Penn Museum spoke about the administration’s threat to strike Iranian cultural sites. “Just the threat is quite amazing, coming from the president of the United States,” said Zeid.
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The New York Times
A threat to Iran’s rich cultural heritage
Brian Daniels and Richard Leventhal of the Museum were among the signers of a letter about the administration’s threats of retaliation against Iran by striking cultural sites. “If carried out, this threat would constitute a war crime under international instruments such as the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which the United States has joined,” they and others wrote.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
After ‘long-term extended loan,’ Penn Museum sends ancient Iraqi artifacts home
The Penn Museum is bringing 3 boxes of ancient artifacts to the Iraq embassy in Washington, D.C. to be returned to their country of origin. “All the tablets were shipped out to be studied because no one in Iraq at the time could read them,” said the Museum’s Brad Hafford.
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The New York Times
Penn Museum redesign aims beyond academics
Julian Siggers of the Penn Museum spoke about the galleries’ reopening. “The collection is too good for it not to be a public museum,” he said. “This is the first time when you will really be able to see how we’ve opened this museum up, deliberately targeting it for public engagement.”
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