2.19
Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
‘One of the highlights of my life’
As his time as dean of the Annenberg School comes to a close, Michael X. Delli Carpini reflects on the impact he hopes he’s had.
In negotiations, one strategy leads to better economic gains, but worse relationships
Behavioral scientist Nazli Bhatia found that aggressive but retracted offers known as ‘phantom anchors’ can improve outcomes—but only when employed with finesse.
Engaging citizen curators
An innovative exhibition at the Arthur Ross Gallery features 50 works from Penn’s art collection chosen by the public in a crowdsourced exhibition. More than 600 people voted for their favorite to be included in “Citizen Salon,” on display through March 24.
Pigment and parchment
Undergraduate and graduate students were paired with visiting scholars during a Penn Libraries workshop to paint illustrations like those in centuries-old illuminated manuscripts.
The economic impact of India’s self-help group movement
Doctoral candidate Allison Russell of the School of Social Policy & Practice works with professor Femida Handy to examine how the self-help group movement leads to job creation in India.
Cutting and folding toward innovations in medicine, design, and more
Artist-in-residence Mike Tanis and physicist Randall Kamien use kirigami, literally “cut paper,” to better grasp scientific concepts and to solve real-world challenges.
Ten trends in American animation
Linda Simensky, a visiting professor of cinema studies and the vice president of children’s programming at PBS, talks top trends in animation today.
Bridging the gap between Penn students and the West Philly community
In a seminar co-taught by Herman Beavers and Suzana Berger, undergraduates work alongside Sayre High School students and West Philadelphia residents to study the works of August Wilson.
Meeting of minds
With the Penn Alumni Reading Club, the Center for Africana Studies delivers intellectual engagement directly to alumni—and the public.
VAWA renewal is overdue—but approval is contentious
The landmark 1994 legislation—the Violence Against Women Act—is up for reauthorization, and includes a firearm-related provision.
In the News
NextCity.org
Philly applies a ‘light touch’ to get dollars flowing for middle-income homes
Vincent Reina of the School of Design discussed Philadelphia’s new Workforce Housing Credit Enhancement program, which guarantees loans to small and mid-size developers building income-restricted projects. The enhancement “is a nice way of releasing pressure on the housing market,” says Reina.
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Miami Herald
Sex and violence were pumped up to “Americanize” Jane the Virgin, study finds
A new study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that “Jane the Virgin,” like many other English-language adaptations of telenovelas, was augmented to feature more sex and violence than the original version in order to appeal to American audiences. These changes “could in turn adversely affect its adolescent Hispanic audiences,” wrote the report’s co-authors, Darien Perez Ryan and Patrick E. Jamieson.
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Forbes
What the Middle Ages can teach us about Star Wars’ ancient Jedi texts
The Schoenberg Institute was highlighted for its series of weekly videos in which the Libraries’ Dot Porter discusses parallels between fictional texts in the Star Wars universe and medieval manuscripts.
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The New Yorker
Does democracy need truth?: A conversation with the historian Sophia Rosenfeld
The School of Arts and Sciences’ Sophia Rosenfeld was interviewed about her new book, “Democracy and Truth: A Short History.” Addressing the rise of social media, Rosenfeld said, “we don’t have many tools, most of us, for distinguishing between legitimate stories and illegitimate ones, or we don’t care that much. The end result is a world of truth and falsehood all circulating, undifferentiated, globally.”
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The New York Times
Overlooked no more: Forough Farrokhzad, Iranian poet who broke barriers of sex and society
The School of Arts and Sciences’ Fatemeh Shams memorialized the late Iranian poet, Forough Farrokhzad. “She always had one eye back on tradition, and one eye toward the future,” said Shams.
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