5.6
Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Fighting poverty with cash
Fighting poverty with cash
Amy Castro Baker has helped deliver promising data out of Stockton, California, about the effects of giving people no-strings-attached money every month. Now boosted by a new research center at Penn that she’ll colead, more cities are jumping on board.
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander: The first of many firsts
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander: The first of many firsts
Despite encountering racism, sexism, and bigotry to get her Penn education, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander became the first Black woman in the U.S. to get her Ph.D. in economics, and was one of the first three Black women to get a doctorate in any subject.
Hope and help for wrongfully incarcerated Pennsylvanians
Hope and help for wrongfully incarcerated Pennsylvanians
With Project HOPE, President’s Engagement Prize winners Carson Eckhard, Natalia Rommen, and Sarah Simon will address the lack of support to wrongfully incarcerated people in Philadelphia and across the state.
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs increased among users of conservative and social media
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs increased among users of conservative and social media
Belief in conspiracies about the COVID-19 pandemic increased through the early months of the U.S. outbreak among people who reported being heavy users of conservative and social media.
Penn’s new Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies
Penn’s new Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies
The new center will stimulate and support research and teaching on the Latin American region and the Latinx populations of the U.S. and provide an integrated academic base for scholars, students, and programs that focus on these topics.
Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw on the future of Cuban politics, economy, and art
Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw on the future of Cuban politics, economy, and art
On April 19, Raúl Castro stepped down from his role as the head of Cuba’s communist party. Penn Today talked with Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw of the School of Arts & Sciences about the future of Cuban politics, the economy, and art after the close of the Castro era.
Empowering refugee communities with access to clean water
Empowering refugee communities with access to clean water
With project Maji, seniors Martin Leet and Leah Voytovich will use their President’s Engagement Prize to install a solar-powered water tank and provide agricultural and first aid training for members of the Olua I community.
Biden’s big plans through the lens of history
Biden’s big plans through the lens of history
Historian Walter Licht shares his thoughts on the American Jobs Plan and how it compares to national projects of the past.
Students’ spring shows go virtual
Students’ spring shows go virtual
COVID-19 restrictions have forced nearly all student shows to go virtual this year, and they are cropping up throughout this month and next as Facebook livestreams, Zooms, and YouTube posts.
Four Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Four Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The new members of the Academy, honored scholars recognized for their unique and ongoing contributions to original research, include researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Annenberg School for Communication.
In the News
The Washington Post
When philanthropy’s power couple splits, Melinda French Gates’s influence could grow
Peter Frumkin of the School of Social Policy & Practice weighed in on the future of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “It is very hard to change directions quickly when you have a huge institution with multiyear commitments outstanding around the world,” he said.
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CNN
Study: Conservative media drove belief of COVID-19 conspiracies
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center spoke about research she co-authored with Dan Romer, which explored the links between beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and reliance on conservative and social media outlets for information.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Regional Roundup – 05/03/21
Fatemeh Shams of the School of Arts & Sciences was interviewed about her new book, “A Revolution in Rhyme,” which explores the role of poetry in modern-day Iran.
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The New York Times
They are their own monuments
Paul Farber of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design spoke about Monument Lab’s collaboration with the Village of Arts and Humanities. The organizations developed and installed art exhibitions celebrating influential community members in Philadelphia public parks.
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The Washington Post
Romney and Cheney were once quintessential conservative names. Then ‘conservative’ changed
Research co-authored by Dan Hopkins of the School of Arts & Sciences found that there isn’t necessarily a correlation between how conservative senators are based on their voting records and how conservative they’re perceived to by Republican activists. “For these activists, to be conservative is partly to support the Republican frontrunner/nominee,” wrote Hopkins and his co-author.
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