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Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
What is a ‘mass shooting’ and how do we talk about gun violence?
What is a ‘mass shooting’ and how do we talk about gun violence?
In a Q&A, criminologist Richard Berk discusses why definitions matter and what role social media and mental illness play in this context.
Through gemstones, a glimpse into ancient Egyptian civilization
Through gemstones, a glimpse into ancient Egyptian civilization
Doctoral student Shelby Justl’s research expands what we know about who controlled semiprecious stones like red jasper and carnelian, plus their cultural and economic significance.
Stage presence
Stage presence
Senior music major Leo Sarbanes has become a leading voice on the little-known opera “The Love for Three Oranges” during his summer internship with Opera Philadelphia.
Minorities in majority spaces
Minorities in majority spaces
Ashleigh Cartwright, doctoral candidate in sociology, examines how nonwhite students are selected and prepared to integrate historically white schools.
An early start at research
An early start at research
As part of the Jumpstart for Juniors program through the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, rising seniors can spend the summer working with faculty on unique and fascinating projects.
When you watch online porn, who is watching you?
When you watch online porn, who is watching you?
A forthcoming study from the Annenberg School for Communication analyzed over 22,000 pornography websites and found that 93% of them were sending user data to at least one third party.
Uncovering the roots of discrimination toward immigrants
Uncovering the roots of discrimination toward immigrants
New research from political scientist Nicholas Sambanis finds that religion may matter more than ethnicity in how immigrants are treated, even if they comply with local social norms.
A deep dive into digital humanities at Penn
A deep dive into digital humanities at Penn
The weeklong DReAM Lab, put on by the Price Lab for Digital Humanities and the Penn Libraries, offered participants the chance to study a range of subjects, from text analysis to augmented reality and Afrofuturism.
A ‘holding pattern’ for MFA grads culminates in New York exhibit
A ‘holding pattern’ for MFA grads culminates in New York exhibit
Working together, 11 recent graduates of the Master of Fine Arts program will display their work through a new exhibit in Brooklyn.
When a fix for one vision problem causes another
When a fix for one vision problem causes another
Aging diminishes the ability of the eyes to focus up close. New Penn research reports that monovision, a common prescription lens correction to mitigate this issue, can cause dramatic misperceptions of depth and 3D direction for objects in motion.
In the News
The Washington Post
Tiny township saves, transforms historic quarantine station
Built in 1799, a quarantine station helped protect Philadelphia against epidemic diseases for nearly a century. “It’s part of American history that we never learn about,” said David Barnes of the School of Arts and Sciences who is writing a history of the building. “It gives us entry to a lost world and into the hidden story of how our country came to be and grow, how it accommodated immigrants and dealt with disasters.”
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
China’s multiple crises
Jacques deLisle of the Law School and the School of Arts and Sciences joined a conversation about pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and about U.S.-China relations during the ongoing trade war.
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The Atlantic
The mystery of ‘Skeleton Lake’ gets deeper
Kathleen Morrison of the School of Arts and Sciences weighed in on the origins of human remains found in India’s Skeleton Lake. “I suspect that they’re aggregated there, that local people put them in the lake,” she says. “When you see a lot of human skeletons, usually it’s a graveyard.”
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NPR
Understanding Kashmir
Suvir Kaul of the School of Arts and Sciences talks about political conflict between Indian and Pakistan. “I’m watching this [Indian] government doing all it can to change that kind of unitary sense of the nation and that’s what worries me enormously,” said Kaul.
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The Washington Post
Is a recession looming? Here’s what experts on the economy are watching
Ioana Marinescu of the School of Social Policy & Practice weighed in on the possibility of a recession in the near future. “I expect a recession any day now, because it’s been almost 12 years since the last trough,” she said. “However, it’s impossible to predict with high accuracy when it will happen since recessions are often precipitated by market panics coalescing around a particular event that is usually hard to anticipate.”
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