Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

Supporting less commonly taught languages

Recently elected president of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, Turkish Language Program coordinator Feride Hatiboglu discusses the value of learning languages beyond Spanish, French, German, and Italian.

Erica Moser

Reinventing customary law in medieval France

A new book by historian Ada Maria Kuskowski of the School of Arts & Sciences traces the formation of customary law as a field of knowledge in medieval Europe.

Kristen de Groot

In support of a wilder democracy

A new book from political science professor Anne Norton advocates for a system that embraces self-reliance, freedom, and courage.

From Omnia

Cultures of the book

In the Cultures of the Book course taught by Whitney Trettien, assistant professor of English, students “adopt a book” they select from the Penn Libraries collection, and their research projects are published on an academic website. 

Louisa Shepard

Simon Richter on animating climate change

The professor of Germanic studies works with colleagues and students to create animated videos to explain the risks of climate change in the Netherlands and Jakarta.

From Omnia

Young voters and online civic education

A collaborative new study by Guy Grossman of the School of Arts & Sciences and co-authors looks at the effects of low-cost online interventions in encouraging young Moroccans to turn out and cast an informed vote in the 2021 elections. 

Kristen de Groot



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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