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Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Luck Plays a Role in How Language Evolves, Penn Team Finds
Read a few lines of Chaucer or Shakespeare and you’ll get a sense of how the English language has changed during the past millennium. Linguists catalogue these changes and work to discern why they happened. Meanwhile, evolutionary biologists have been doing something similar with living things, exploring how and why certain genes have changed over generations.
ICA Appoints Daniella Rose King as New Whitney-Lauder Curatorial Fellow
Amy Sadao, Daniel W. Dietrich, II Director at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania announced today the appointment of Daniella Rose King as the Whitney-Lauder Curatorial Fellow, effective immediately.
Seven Penn Faculty Members Elected to National Academy of Medicine
Seven University of Pennsylvania faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), one of the nation’s highest honors in biomedicine. They are among 70 new U.S. and 10 international members of the globally renowned organization.
Penn Freshman English Seminar Explores Philadelphia as Its Classroom
A 20-minute trolley ride and a world away, the woods of Bartram’s Garden became an outdoor classroom for a group of University of Pennsylvania students this fall.
Researchers discover which brain region motivates behavior change
Have you ever been stuck in a rut, going through the same motions day in and day out? How do you motivate to change your behavior?
Larry Ceisler Named Chair of WXPN Policy Board
WXPN, the member-supported, public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania, announced today that media strategist Larry Ceisler has been named Chair of the WXPN Policy Board. Ceisler will serve as Chair for a term of three years.
Amid Devastation of Hurricane Maria, Penn Researchers with Puerto Rico Connections Focus on Helping Colleagues
As Hurricane Maria formed in the Atlantic, then turned into a powerful storm barreling toward Puerto Rico, Arjun Yodh watched the news closely.
The Penn Community Responds to Recent Natural Disasters
The University of Pennsylvania is lending a helping hand after a series of disasters leveled areas across the Western Hemisphere.
Penn Senior Studies Ancient Inscriptions Documenting Greek God’s Slave ‘Purchases’
If the old adage holds true to “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life,” University of Pennsylvania senior Claudia Kassner will enjoy a long and happy career studying ancient languages and history.
Ph.D. Student Advances Cultural Heritage and Local Engagement in Jordan, Egypt
After witnessing the destruction of archeological treasures firsthand, Robbie Vigar, a second year anthropology Ph.D.
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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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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‘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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