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Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
A day in shining armor
A day in shining armor
Grad students get a close-up view of artwork and materials from museum collections—including a 500-year-old painting and two sets of armor from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Angela Davis ‘refuses to give up’
Angela Davis ‘refuses to give up’
Angela Davis and Gina Dent joined Margo Natalie Crawford of the Center for Africana Studies for this year’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture in Social Justice.
Battling longer, more intense fire seasons
Battling longer, more intense fire seasons
In a Q&A, doctoral student Clare Super describes her research into wildland firefighting, the impact on firefighters, U.S. policy around wildfires, and parallels to what’s happening in Australia.
Drug epidemic likely ‘killing more Americans than we think’
Drug epidemic likely ‘killing more Americans than we think’
Research from Penn and Georgetown shows that the estimated number of drug-associated deaths in the U.S. in 2016 was approximately double the number of deaths attributed to drugs.
First Ivy League Quechua Fulbright scholar elevates indigenous values
First Ivy League Quechua Fulbright scholar elevates indigenous values
Nico Suárez-Guerrero of the School of Arts and Sciences is the first Quechua Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant in the Ivy League, and the only one currently in the United States.
Bolivia: Coup or election fraud?
Bolivia: Coup or election fraud?
Quechua scholar Américo Mendoza-Mori and political scientist Tulia Falleti discuss the ousting of the country’s first indigenous president and the tumultuous state of Bolivian politics as the country prepares for elections in May.
Visualizing future cities with Zhongjie Lin
Visualizing future cities with Zhongjie Lin
A new three-year project called called “Spatial Visions Connecting China and the West: A Centennial Review and New Perspectives on Future Urban Environments” will address global issues like climate change and migration will begin at Penn and travel to Beijing.
A history of U.S.-Iran relations
A history of U.S.-Iran relations
John Ghazvinian, interim director of the Middle East Center and an expert on Iran/U.S. relations, talks about the countries’ historical relationship and what led to the current situation.
New intervention for ‘aging out’ youth from foster care
New intervention for ‘aging out’ youth from foster care
Caring Adults R Everywhere (C.A.R.E.), a social support program for young adults aging out of foster care, has released a new treatment manual designed to help practitioners build effective mentoring programs.
The religious battle over birth control and the unpleasant motivation that fueled it
The religious battle over birth control and the unpleasant motivation that fueled it
In a Q&A, sociologist Melissa Wilde discusses her new book, which probes the racism and elitism that spurred religious groups to fight for legalizing contraception.
In the News
Inside Higher Ed
An intelligent argument on race?
Quayshawn Spencer of the School of Arts and Sciences said it’s a “fatal flaw” for an article on the role of heredity in determining character traits to not address how race effects both the researchers and their subjects.
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Architectural Record
Why removing the melted scaffolding from Notre Dame is the key to its preservation
Frank Matero of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design said removing the Cathedral of Notre Dame’s melted scaffolding is key to protecting the cathedral’s masonry vaults. “Vault collapse would destabilize the entire structure and significantly compromise its overall integrity in every way,” he said.
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The New York Times
Why Trump persists
Diana Mutz of the Annenberg School for Communication and School of Arts and Sciences spoke about the effects of education on individual world views. “Every study I’ve ever seen across the social sciences shows that education promotes less in-group favoritism and greater tolerance toward those unlike ourselves,” she said. “In panel studies that track the same people over time, as people gain advanced levels of education, they become more tolerant and favorable toward liberal democratic norms.”
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The Wall Street Journal
Can a woman win in 2020?
Sarah Shaiman, a student in the College of Arts and Sciences, wrote an opinion piece encouraging voters to look beyond identity politics when selecting a presidential candidate. “Electing a woman to be president means nothing if she doesn’t commit to materially improving the lives of the nation’s women, including working-class women,” she wrote.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
With 2020 election, Women’s March on Philadelphia ‘more important now than ever,’ organizers say
Dawn Teele of the School of Arts and Sciences spoke about the Women’s March, calling it “a cathartic show of solidarity rather than a solid movement with a specific end.”
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