Sociology | Penn Today

Rainwater harvesting in Mexico City

Rising fourth-year Krishna Chandrasekhara spent three weeks in Mexico this summer as part of a project exploring the impact of water collection on public and community health.

The ACT’s new ties to a private equity firm are raising eyebrows

Benjamin Shestakofsky of the School of Arts & Sciences says it is not surprising that private equity firms are setting their sights on the standardized testing market.

HHS considering changes to sterilization consent process

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts says there’s widespread devaluing of certain people’s childbearing from negative stereotypes to laws that deny someone extra benefits if they get pregnant while on welfare.

Harrison White, groundbreaking (and inscrutable) sociologist, dies at 94

Randall Collins of the School of Arts & Sciences and PIK Professor Duncan J. Watts discuss the career of the late Harrison White, a theoretical physicist-turned-sociologist.

Fact-checking Byron Donalds’ ‘Jim Crow’ comments on Black families, conservatism

PIK Professor Dorothy E. Roberts and Kathleen M. Brown and Mary Frances Berry of the School of Arts & Sciences comment on Rep. Byron Donalds’ comparison of modern Black culture to the Jim Crow era.

Taussia Boadi and Cheryl Nnadi pose on Penn's campus in front of College Hall, green grass and a huge tree.

Positioned for Success

The program, launched by recent College of Arts and Sciences grads Taussia Boadi and Cheryl Nnadi, was a 2023 Projects for Progress winner and provides academic support to middle school students affected by gun violence.

A teenager with headphones slouching over their phone.

Beth Linker’s new book explores the science of posture

A new book from history and sociology of science professor Beth Linker investigates how and why a panic around posture emerged in America in the 20th century.

Higher education needs more Socrates and Plato

In an opinion essay, PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel and Harun Küçük of the School of Arts & Sciences say that higher education must reassert its classical liberal arts ideals.

Uplifting Filipino communities abroad and at home

Fourth-year student Vernon Wells has been working with Indigenous peoples in the Philippines, research they will expand on through a Fulbright award, while strengthening the Southeast Asian community at Penn.

Gearing up for research on aging

GEAR UP, an initiative offered by the Population Aging Research Center and the Leonard Davis Institute, gives students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds hands-on experience and mentoring to address a global challenge.

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