1.21
Michele W. Berger
Senior Science News Officer
mwberger@upenn.edu
Sociology
Exacerbating the health care divide
Exacerbating the health care divide
With rates of diagnoses and death disproportionately affecting racial minorities and low-income workers, experts from the School of Arts & Sciences address how COVID-19 has further exposed already dire health outcome inequalities.
A new vision for the Population Aging Research Center
A new vision for the Population Aging Research Center
For more than 25 years, PARC has been a hub for work on disparities in aging and mortality. Co-directors Hans-Peter Kohler and Norma Coe, who took over in July, want to expand its reach.
Latino voters and lessons from the 2020 election
Latino voters and lessons from the 2020 election
Political scientist Michael Jones-Correa, historian Ann Farnsworth-Alvear, and demographer Emilio Parrado share their thoughts on the election results and what both parties might take away from looking at how Latinos voted.
‘What makes us human’: Amy Lutz on autism and community
‘What makes us human’: Amy Lutz on autism and community
In “We Walk: Life with Severe Autism,” doctoral candidate Amy Lutz examines what it means to be in community.
In the pandemic’s early days, a third of U.S. adults felt depressed, anxious
In the pandemic’s early days, a third of U.S. adults felt depressed, anxious
According to new research from Penn, those feelings worsened as the month of March progressed, and economic worries rather than social distancing or fear of the virus itself played the largest role.
The sociology and science of genomes and biomes
The sociology and science of genomes and biomes
Rebecca Mueller studies how infectious microbes like the coronavirus can affect communities of people with genetic vulnerabilities.
How the Africana Studies Summer Institute went virtual
How the Africana Studies Summer Institute went virtual
The 2020 Africana Summer Institute adopted a new vision, working to prepare freshmen for a virtual life at Penn.
Understanding poverty and data
Understanding poverty and data
Regina Smalls Baker of the School of Arts & Sciences and Amy Castro Baker of the School of Social Policy & Practice explore how data can be better used to analyze and address poverty.
Pope Francis supports same-sex unions
Pope Francis supports same-sex unions
The Catholic Church has long stated that marriage is between a man and a woman, a position Pope Francis supports. Melissa Wilde and Anthea Butler discuss the Pope’s recent support of civil unions that ensure legal rights for same-sex couples.
Latin American Green New Deal
Latin American Green New Deal
Daniel Aldana Cohen, an assistant professor of sociology in the School of Arts & Sciences, organized and moderated an event on the Latin American Green New Deal, rethinking recession recovery and carbon emissions reduction.
Media Contact
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
What will sex, dating, and marriage look like on the other side of the pandemic?
Frank Furstenburg of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the pandemic’s impact on families and relationships. “I would be very surprised if we don’t see a sharp drop in fertility, and similarly a considerable decrease in cohabitation because the ability to experiment and form relationships has been severely curtailed,” he said.
FULL STORY →
Associated Press
US births fall, and virus could drive them down more
Hans-Peter Kohler of the School of Arts & Sciences commented on the possibility of a further decline in birth rates due to the coronavirus. The question isn’t whether or not there will be decline, but rather if the decline will be lasting, he said.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Wisconsin judge’s ‘regular folks’ remark shows how pandemic exposes classism
Annette Lareau of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the lack of contact between Americans from upper and lower classes. “There are few spaces where people of different classes encounter each other,” she said. “IKEA, the zoo, July Fourth parades. But increasingly, people stay within their own worlds. That helps them treat others with contempt and shame.”
FULL STORY →
The New York Times
Trump hasn’t given up on divide and conquer
Daniel Hopkins of the School of Arts & Sciences and alumna Samantha Washington were cited for their research about changes in white Americans’ views on race during the last few years.
FULL STORY →
FiveThirtyEight
Why the Democrats have shifted left over the last 30 years
Dan Hopkins of the School of Arts and Sciences was cited for his research, which found that racial prejudice in white Americans has decreased since 2007, particularly among Democrats.
FULL STORY →
Popular Science
Why a decline in U.S. birth rates could actually help our economy
Hans-Peter Kohler of the School of Arts and Sciences explained falling birth rates, saying, “There is a broader transformation in young adulthood where there is an increasing prominence in education, career building, human capital, and so forth so that children tend to be desired later in life.”
FULL STORY →