Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

Penn junior Misha McDaniel named a Beinecke Scholar

English major Misha McDaniel has been awarded a 2020 Beinecke Scholarship to pursue graduate education. McDaniel is one of 18 Beinecke Scholars chosen from throughout the U.S., and the 13th recipient from Penn since the award was first given in 1975.

Louisa Shepard , Aaron Olson

The legal history of epidemics in America

Sarah Barringer Gordon, the Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law and Professor of History, offers a commentary on American political responses to epidemics past.

Why do people react differently when confronting the same threat?

In the face of the coronavirus, some people collected household goods. Others ignored the warnings altogether. Two Penn researchers explain why both responses are normal and how to find a middle ground if you disagree with those around you.

Michele W. Berger

Impact of COVID-19 on homelessness

A new report coauthored by researchers at SP2 finds that COVID-19 could hospitalize some 21,295 people who don’t have housing, or about 4.3% of the nationwide homeless population.

Penn Today Staff

Greener economy ‘not science fiction anymore’

A new book from Penn sociologist Daniel Aldana Cohen and colleagues describes four key facets of the Green New Deal and why they could become a reality in the not-too-distant future.

Michele W. Berger

Coronavirus and the election

Political science professor Marc Meredith shares his thoughts with Penn Today on what the coronavirus pandemic could mean for primaries, traditional campaigning activities, and voter turnout.

Kristen de Groot



In the News


U.S. News & World Report

Has RSV vaccine hesitancy subsided?

A survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that more Americans believe in the effectiveness of vaccines developed to protect newborns and seniors against RSV.

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The New York Times

Europe has a leadership vacuum. How will it handle Trump?

Amy Gutmann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Germany is front and center in the economic problems currently afflicting Europe.

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Los Angeles Times

Trump offers murky worldview ahead of second term, mixing dire warnings with rosy promises

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center says that Donald Trump is far more hyperbolic on average than traditional presidential candidates, who still routinely claim that they will do something alone that can’t be done without Congress.

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The Hill

Trust in court system at record low: Gallup

An October survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that the public’s trust in the U.S. Supreme Court has dropped to a record low.

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The New York Times

An epidemic of vicious school brawls, fueled by student cellphones

PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton says that many schools don’t have a playbook for addressing student violence or helping pupils engage more positively online, in part because few researchers are studying the issue.

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