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Political Science

Former Indian foreign secretary discusses India, China, and the ‘Asian Century’
Saran shakes hands with diplomat

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, left, shakes hands with Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran during their meeting in New Delhi, India, Monday, Jan. 24, 2005. (AP Photo/Ajit Kumar)

Former Indian foreign secretary discusses India, China, and the ‘Asian Century’

In a lecture presented by the Center for the Advanced Study of India, former Foreign Secretary of India Shyam Saran discussed the relationship between India and China, as well as how the Russian invasion of Ukraine may shift geopolitics.
Solidarity walk for Ukraine
Person holding a Ukrainian flag at a solidarity with Ukraine rally on Penn’s campus.

The organizers played a recording of the Ukrainian national anthem to conclude the event. Many participants joined in, singing.

Solidarity walk for Ukraine

More than 100 members of the University community joined a student-led walk in support of Ukraine, rallying awareness and calling for action.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Russia’s attack on Ukraine, through the lens of history
Two people walk in front of a wall engraved with scenes of WWII soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine

People walk through the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War in Kyiv in 2022. (Image: STR/NurPhoto via AP Images) 

Russia’s attack on Ukraine, through the lens of history

Historian Benjamin Nathans offers background on Putin’s use of history in justifying his war in Ukraine

Kristen de Groot

Putin’s motivation behind the attack on Ukraine 
A Ukrainian flag is shown in front of a spray painted image of Vladimir Putin with a red handprint on his face

Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. (Image: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Putin’s motivation behind the attack on Ukraine 

In a Q&A with Penn Today, Michael C. Horowitz, director of Perry World House, provides insight into Putin’s motivations, nuclear threats, and expansionist views.

Kristen de Groot

A Paideia fellow finds a community for research and connection
Celia Kreth reading  papers in an office in Arkansas.

Celia Kreth reading papers at The Madison County Record in Huntsville, AR, where original papers from 1957 are archived.

A Paideia fellow finds a community for research and connection

For Celia Kreth, a junior in the School of Arts & Sciences, the SNF Paideia Fellows Program allows for a holistic, hands-on approach to her education.

Penn Today Staff

Russia’s disinformation campaign against the U.S.
People walking in Moscow's Red Square are reflected in a puddle on the ground

Moscow’s Red Square, Dec. 28, 2021. (Image: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russia’s disinformation campaign against the U.S.

Mitchell Orenstein of the Russia and East European Studies Program discusses the Kremlin’s manipulation tactics in a conversation with Russian politician and dissident Konstantin Borovoi.

Kristen de Groot

Studying the past through a modern-day lens
Lynn Meskell standing in front of a glass display case at the Penn Museum.

Lynn Meskell is the Richard D. Green Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor in the Department of Anthropology in the School of Arts & Sciences, a professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning and the graduate program in Historic Preservation in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, and a curator in the Middle East and Asia sections at the Penn Museum.

(Image: Eric Sucar)

Studying the past through a modern-day lens

In a Q & A, archaeologist and PIK Professor Lynn Meskell discusses her background, the subjects that interest her—from espionage to World Heritage sites—and collaborations that have organically arisen at Penn despite the pandemic and a mostly remote first year.

Michele W. Berger

Can Russia be stopped?
Trudy Rubin and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow sit in chairs on a stage with a sign between them reading Perry World House

Trudy Rubin (left), foreign affairs columnist with the Philadelphia Inquirer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow discuss tensions between Russia and Ukraine at Perry World House. (Image: Courtesy of Perry World House)

Can Russia be stopped?

Alexander Vershbow, former U.S. ambassador to Russia and Perry World House Distinguished Visiting Fellow, discusses Russia’s military buildup along the Ukrainian border that’s stoking invasion fears.

Kristen de Groot