11/15
Sociology
Comparing urban and rural excess mortality during COVID-19
Comparing urban and rural excess mortality during COVID-19
The first-ever county-level study of excess mortality in the United States shows monthly excess deaths spread from large cities to rural counties in the second year of the pandemic.
Ancient medicine in today’s world
Ancient medicine in today’s world
Taylor Dysart, a doctoral candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of History and Sociology of Science, probes modern science’s enthrallment with the powerful Amazonian intoxicant ayahuasca.
Reconsidering world heritage for the modern era
Reconsidering world heritage for the modern era
Through recent research, archaeologist and Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor Lynn Meskell has continued to highlight how World Heritage Sites have become flashpoints for conflict and out of touch with local communities.
Understanding the decline in racial disparities in COVID
Understanding the decline in racial disparities in COVID
The School of Arts & Sciences’ Irma Elo and Samuel Preston, with a collaborative team of researchers, assessed racial disparities in U.S. COVID-19 deaths, calling for continued efforts to better understand and implement targeted strategies for addressing health inequalities.
Remembering Harry Belafonte
Remembering Harry Belafonte
Tukufu Zuberi describes meeting the musician-turned-activist, plus how Belafonte used his talents for good and what legacy he leaves behind.
How have women in the workforce fared, three years into the pandemic?
How have women in the workforce fared, three years into the pandemic?
Despite hopeful signs that this demographic is returning to work, certain female-dominated sectors, like the care economy, still haven’t recovered, signaling there’s more to learn about COVID-19’s full effect.
Who, What, Why: Zoe Zhao on emerging digital labor
Who, What, Why: Zoe Zhao on emerging digital labor
Zoe Zhao, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology, studies digital labor related to video games and livestreaming.
States with high COVID-19 death rates also saw high mortality from other causes
States with high COVID-19 death rates also saw high mortality from other causes
Research from Penn, Boston University, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that between March 2020 and February 2021 non-COVID deaths accounted for some 20% of excess mortality.
New York Times journalist Brent Staples and Penn’s Tukufu Zuberi in conversation
New York Times journalist Brent Staples and Penn’s Tukufu Zuberi in conversation
At the inaugural W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture in Public Social Science, the two discussed Du Bois’ legacy and influence, Staples’ personal and professional journey, and the importance of speaking truth to power.
The future of health research in Malawi
The future of health research in Malawi
A workshop convened by Penn, University College Dublin, and the Young Researchers Forum in Malawi brought together stakeholders to discuss the African nation’s use of technology in health care and the double burden of non-communicable and infectious diseases.
In the News
Philadelphia Tribune
Engaging discussion at Center in the Park on conservative agenda Project 2025
At a Philadelphia panel on Project 2025, PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts said that Black women would have even greater numbers of unwanted pregnancies without access to legal contraceptives.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn law professor Dorothy E. Roberts named a MacArthur Fellow
PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts has received the “genius grant” for her efforts to expose racism embedded in social-support programs, such as the child welfare system.
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The New York Times
MacArthur Foundation announces 2024 ‘genius’ grant winners
PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts has been named a MacArthur Fellow for her work on racial inequities in health and social-service systems.
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New Republic
The bad politics of bad posture
In her book “Slouch,” Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences outlines how societal pressures have driven huge swaths of people to embrace falsehoods about posture.
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USA Today
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.
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Stat
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.
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