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Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Report predicts aging homeless population will nearly triple by 2030
The national population of people 65 or older experiencing homelessness is estimated to grow from 40,000 to 106,000 by 2030.
Walt Whitman up close
As part of the Penn Manuscript Collective, students transcribe rare documents and original works by Walt Whitman in the University’s collection. Their discoveries will be included in an international symposium at Penn this spring, Whitman at 200, led by the Penn Libraries marking the anniversary of the poet’s birth.
Free Thinking
The free, public Lightbulb and Science Cafes for spring 2019 will feature professors talking about everything from the Middle East peace process to translating “The Odyssey.”
What do opponents of genetically modified foods really know about the science?
The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, found that the strongest critics actually know less—a pattern similar for gene therapy, but not for climate change.
Writers House reborn
Renovations were recently completed at Kelly Writers House to expand its premier Arts Cafe and make the space more technologically friendly.
Historic Philly playbills get modern-day crowdsourcing
An innovative online crowdsourcing project led by Laura Aydelotte of the Penn Libraries allows the public to transcribe digitized 19th-century Philadelphia theater playbills. An upcoming conference will explore digital approaches to researching theater history.
A classic hat trick
In one year, Sheila Murnaghan, Alfred Reginald Allen Memorial Professor of Greek, published a translation of Medea and books on the Beat generation and classics for children.
By the Numbers: Pennovation Works’ ascendant 2018
In its second year, Pennovation Works, a strategic blend of offices, labs, and production space that pushes for the advancement of knowledge and economic development, continued to move the needle on activating its space as an innovation destination.
Stewards of the University collection
Planning chief and multiple alumnus Mark Kocent is named University Architect in the Division of Facilities and Real Estate.
Celebrating MLK
The annual Commemorative Symposium on Social Change features events to commemorate and honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
In the News
Comcast’s Sports Complex plan for South Philly would make our city less livable
In an Op-Ed, Vukan R. Vuchic of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that Philadelphia should make transit more accessible rather than striving to accommodate more cars.
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We don’t see what climate change is doing to us
In an Op-Ed, R. Jisung Park of the School of Social Policy & Practice says that public discourse around climate change overlooks the buildup of slow, subtle costs and their impact on human systems.
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Far fewer young Americans now want to study in China. Both countries are trying to fix that
Amy Gadsden of Penn Global says that American interest in studying in China is declining due to foreign businesses closing their offices there and Beijing’s draconian governing style.
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‘Slouch’ review: The panic over posture
In her new book, “Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America,” Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences traces society’s posture obsession to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
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In death, three decades after his trial verdict, O.J. Simpson still reflects America’s racial divides
Camille Charles of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Black Americans have grown less likely to believe in a famous defendant’s innocence as a show of race solidarity.
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