11/15
Sociology
How a perfect storm of factors led to ‘the mother of all supply chain disruptions’
How a perfect storm of factors led to ‘the mother of all supply chain disruptions’
Penn experts reflect on the global supply chain snags that have stressed systems during the fall and holiday season.
Partnered, but still poor
Partnered, but still poor
Regina Baker, an assistant professor of sociology, challenges literature that touts marriage as a cure for poverty.
‘Black Families Matter’
‘Black Families Matter’
In a lecture organized by the Penn Program on Regulation, PIK Professor Dorothy E. Roberts argued that the U.S. child welfare system is designed to police Black families, not to protect children, and must be abolished and replaced with a new vision of family support and child safety.
Alexander Adames explores the ‘Costs of the American Dream’
Alexander Adames explores the ‘Costs of the American Dream’
The Ph.D. candidate in sociology examines the predictors and consequences of social mobility for people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Penn Libraries acquires the personal papers of historian and activist Elizabeth Fee
Penn Libraries acquires the personal papers of historian and activist Elizabeth Fee
The papers of the pioneering historian and health advocate, who died in 2018, adds to the Libraries’ growing collection of materials charting the history of public health activism.
A watershed created to power New York City
A watershed created to power New York City
Anna Lehr Mueser, a doctoral candidate in history and sociology of science, studies memory, loss, and technology in the New York City Watershed and the villages that were destroyed to construct it.
How gender norms and job loss affect relationship status
How gender norms and job loss affect relationship status
Research from Penn sociologist Pilar Gonalons-Pons shows that, in cultures that value men as breadwinners, their unemployment can affect the long-term success of a romantic relationship.
How child tax credits will affect American families
How child tax credits will affect American families
Social scientists Amy Castro Baker and Pilar Gonalons-Pons weigh in on how expanded child tax credits beginning July 15 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 will impact poverty, gender relations, and future policy
In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020
In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020
Comparing death rates in the United States with those of the five biggest European countries, Penn and Max Planck demographers found that significant excess mortality cost more lives annually than the epidemic itself.
COVID communications and first generation students
COVID communications and first generation students
Marcus Wright, undergraduate program manager and academic coordinator in the Department of Sociology and doctoral student at the Graduate School of Education, analyzes academic messaging to expose blind spots.
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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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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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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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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