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Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
U.S. president vs. congressional investigators: How the battle of the branches could play out
Matthew Levendusky of the School of Arts and Sciences and Tobias Barrington Wolff of the Law School discuss the potential political, legal, and constitutional implications of the fight over a web of investigations and subpoenas.
A 2021 Rhodes Scholar for Penn
May graduate Mackenzie Fierceton from St. Louis been awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship for graduate study at the University of Oxford in England. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and is currently completing her master’s degree in clinical social work.
The psychology behind the well-being benefits of libraries
Penn’s Humanities and Human Flourishing Project at the Positive Psychology Center helped the New York Public Library contextualize results of a patron survey on well-being.
Tales of abuse from a ‘Dream House’
Carmen María Machado, who teaches speculative fiction as a writer in residence in the Creative Writing Program, has received extraordinary attention for her new memoir, “In the Dream House,” using multiple genres to describe an abusive relationship with her former girlfriend.
And the Oscar goes to…
Excellent writing is evident in many of the films nominated for Academy Awards this year, with several edgy alternative films sharing major categories with mainstream blockbusters, says Penn’s Timothy Corrigan, a professor of English and cinema and media studies.
Two Penn juniors named Truman Scholars
Two juniors, Annah Chollet and Camilo Duran, have received Harry S. Truman Scholarships, a merit-based award of as much as $30,000 for graduate or professional school to prepare for careers in public service.
In the News
After years of anti-vaccine advocacy, RFK Jr. said vaccines protect children. But experts say he must go further amid measles outbreak
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and Jessica McDonald of APPC’s Factcheck.org comment on the need to debunk vaccine misinformation in public health messaging.
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‘Marry or be fired’ and other global efforts to boost fertility
Jesús Fernández-Villaverde of the School of Arts & Sciences says that the world population will peak in 2055, followed by a systematic decline at a rapid rate.
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These two personality traits make you instantly more attractive, say studies of over 4,000 people
A study by postdoc Natalia Kononov of the Wharton School suggests that kindness and helpfulness can make someone more attractive, regardless of the situation or relationship.
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Formerly anti-vax parents on how they changed their minds: ‘I really made a mistake’
According to surveys from the Annenberg Public Policy Center, the proportion of respondents who believe vaccines are unsafe grew from 9% in April 2021 to 16% in the fall of 2023.
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Many Gen Zers deal with higher rates of mental health challenges and firearm suicides, according to a new report
PIK Professor Desmond Patton says that more young people are speaking openly about mental health, especially on social media. College of Arts and Sciences first-year Anvesha Guru says that cultural attitudes about guns and mental health need more than a simple shift.
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