12.8
Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Robert Drake’s super sounds of the ’80s at the ICA
The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, PennDesign, and the Institute of Contemporary Art collaborate to throw the “Paint the Dance Floor” evening party at the ICA.
Best seller: author and alum Jennifer Egan to teach spring semester literature course
Best-selling author and journalist Jennifer Egan, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, will teach a literature course at Penn in the spring as an artist-in-residence.
Widening the lens on language study
Penn Arts and Sciences faculty use language to unravel mysteries of culture, cognition, and communication.
Behind the scenes of election night projections
John Lapinski, director of elections at NBC and the Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor of Political Science at Penn, discusses projecting elections and what to expect from the midterms.
Writing with purpose
Students in Lorene Cary’s creative writing course focus on voting, midterm elections, and exploring the big questions of their generation.
Getting science right in the fake news era
Over his career as a science journalist, Carl Zimmer has seen legitimate science reporting denied and illegitimate science news taken as fact. In advance of a talk at Penn, Zimmer discusses the problem of misinformation and offers tips for avoiding being fooled by bogus science stories.
A plan to balance growth, quality housing, poverty, and construction for an entire city
PennDesign’s Vincent Reina helped Philadelphia complete its first comprehensive housing plan.
A medieval minute
For their 60-second lecture, English professor Emily Steiner and doctoral student Aylin Malcolm put a dramatic twist on medieval English.
GovLabPHL embeds academic research into city government
As a part of the Philadelphia Behavioral Science Initiative, Penn faculty members connect with the City of Philadelphia to use innovative research data to inform more effective programs and policies.
Gruesome photos on cigarette boxes can propel anti-smoking campaigns
Warning messages on cigarette packs are most effective when diseased body parts and testimonials are pictured.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
In Philly galleries, three must-see shows for December
The Arthur Ross Gallery is host to “Citizen Salon,” a crowd-sourced exhibition of works chosen by Philadelphia’s art community. The show will be on display through March 24.
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The Washington Post
Why the speech George H.W. Bush didn’t give may be his most important
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center said the late George Bush’s notable restraint after the Berlin Wall fell characterized his presidency. “Sometimes the right thing to do is not celebrate and engage in a rhetoric of triumph,” she said.
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WHYY Radio (Philadelphia)
Penn study: Marijuana doesn’t cause bad behavior — it’s the other way around
A new study, co-authored by Dan Romer of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, has found that marijuana may not be the “gateway drug” it was once thought to be. “Previous research had suggested that using marijuana would lead to conduct problems,” said Romer. “We found the exact reverse.”
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The Washington Post
Parenthood lost: How incarcerated parents are losing their children forever
PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts said the child-welfare system is biased against poor parents, especially incarcerated women of color. “Instead of actually responding to the struggles of poor families …. we’ve decided that it’s simpler to take their children away,” said Roberts.
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CNN
Why would police ever destroy a rape kit belonging to a child or teenager?
Marci Hamilton of the School of Arts and Sciences co-authored an op-ed about the lack of protocol for the preservation of rape kits of child and teenage victims.
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