Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

The future of technology

As new technologies emerge, they bring with them new ethical challenges. The topic of the future of technology was front and center on day three of the Penn Teach-in.

Ali Sundermier

Honoring Women of Color at Penn

On March 16, the Women of Color at Penn 31st Annual Awards Luncheon drew more than 300 people to the Inn at Penn to honor women whose work has promoted education, cultural diversity, and positive change on campus and in the world. 

Jacquie Posey

Opening the Teach-in by breaking down barriers

The first full day of the Penn Teach-in engaged participants with expert panels on vaccine denial and firearm violence, an "evolutionary walk through time," and a dialogue on the production and dissemination of knowledge.

Katherine Unger Baillie, Michele W. Berger

Lauding a transformative scholar

Chosen for her expertise in Southern and African-American literature, author and poet Thadious Davis was one of the first professors recruited by Penn President Amy Gutmann. Davis was honored at a reception and a symposium which focused on her work exploring race, region, and gender.

Louisa Shepard

Short-term effects of Daylight Saving Time

Assaults decrease by 3 percent the Monday after the switch to Daylight Saving Time in the spring, according to research from Penn criminologists.

Michele W. Berger

Cleaning up vacant lots makes neighborhoods safer

Removing trash and debris, grading land, planting new grass, and maintaining lots resulted in a 29 percent reduction in gun violence, 22 percent decrease in burglaries, and 30 percent drop in nuisances.

Michele W. Berger

Pets pick up on their owner’s personality

When a baby is born, many new moms and dads pore over parenting books, striving to strike the right balance of firmness and warmth to raise their children into kind, intelligent, strong individuals. While nature plays a critical role, research supports the idea that parenting style and parents’ personalities do influence a child’s behavior.

Katherine Unger Baillie



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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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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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 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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