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Connecting Latin American fiction through infrastructure and transit
Left: Valeria Seminario; right: An old illustrated map of the Americas.

Sixth-year Spanish & Portuguese Ph.D. student Valeria Seminario.

(Image: Courtesy of Omnia)

Connecting Latin American fiction through infrastructure and transit

Penn Arts & Sciences Ph.D. student Valeria Seminario’s dissertation explores themes of transportation and infrastructure in 19th- and early 20th-century Latin American fiction.

Marilyn Perkins

2 min. read

Sizing up Pennsylvania’s creative workforce
Alex Watrous throwing pottery on a wheel.

Waterhouse Pottery focuses on handmade functional wares for home and garden. Alex Watrous earned her BFA in Ceramics at Edinboro University and has since worked professionally in the ceramics industry through manufacturing, retail supply, gallery management and sales, as well as arts administration.

(Image: Courtesy of Bridge Perspective)

Sizing up Pennsylvania’s creative workforce

A new report prepared by Weitzman faculty for the Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, shows a large and diverse creative workforce in the state.

2 min. read

A study of the ancient built environment
An ancient excavation site.

A view of the trench with the early Hellenistic mosaic.

(Image: Courtesy Teos Archaeological Project)

A study of the ancient built environment

A book of essays co-edited by history of art professor Mantha Zarmakoupi dives into a historic movement focused on recentering how we think about ecological concerns and the built environment.

2 min. read

Three ways to reframe boredom
A person sleeping at their desk.

Image: iStock/cyano66

Three ways to reframe boredom

In modern society, boredom is largely considered a bad thing. Stephen M. Gorn Family Assistant Professor of English Lilith Todd thinks people can reframe how to think about being idle.

2 min. read

Reflecting on Jane Austen, 250 years after her birth
Jane Austen book by Robert Miles and Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.

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Reflecting on Jane Austen, 250 years after her birth

English professors Michael Gamer and Barri Joyce Gold have been teaching courses specifically dedicated to Jane Austen for years. They spoke with Penn Today about their approach to teaching her novels, how they challenge common readings and myths, and what makes Austen’s work so enduring—and adaptable to the screen—more than two centuries later.

3 min. read

One School, many schools of thought
Mark Trodden.

School of Arts & Sciences dean Mark Trodden joins faculty in discussion for Omnia’s latest podcast series.

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One School, many schools of thought

A special edition of the Penn Arts & Sciences “Ampersand” podcast features Dean Mark Trodden in conversation with SAS faculty from different disciplines.

Alex Schein

2 min. read

Performing Bach and considering his world
Hands playing a piano.

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Performing Bach and considering his world

Students in the Performance, Analysis, History class explore and perform on piano the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, regarded among history’s greatest composers. Taught by Jamuna Samuel and Yu Xi Wang, the class contextualizes and demystifies Bach through a historical and geographical lens.

Two 2025 project grants and a fellowship from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
A sculpture of a crocodile eatings its tail made in filament and resin.

“White Ouroboros II” by Allison Janae Hamilton. The Institute for Contemporary Art will feature the first museum survey of the artist in the spring of 2027.

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Two 2025 project grants and a fellowship from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage

WXPN and the Institute for Contemporary Art each received creative project grants and filmmaker Sosena Solomon, who teaches in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, was named a 2025 Pew Fellow.

3 min. read

Native North America Gallery opens at the Penn Museum
People visiting Penn’s new Native North American Gallery at the Penn Museum.

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Native North America Gallery opens at the Penn Museum

In partnership with eight Indigenous consulting curators, the newly renovated 2,000 sq. ft. gallery features more than 250 archaeological, historic, and contemporary items from the Museum’s North American collections.

3 min. read

U.S. Army veteran connects service to research on empathy in ancient Greece
Malcolm Nelson stands in front of the Penn Museum.

Malcolm Nelson, a new Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Penn’s Department of Classical Studies, draws on his U.S. Army experience in his research on empathy in ancient Greece.

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U.S. Army veteran connects service to research on empathy in ancient Greece

Serving in the Army from 2009 to 2012 informed the research of Malcolm Nelson, Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in classical studies, on empathy norms in ancient Greek culture.

2 min. read