9.30
Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Gouverneur Morris: A Founder, disabled American
Gouverneur Morris: A Founder, disabled American
Best known for writing the “We the People” preamble to the Constitution, Gouverneur Morris also lived with painful disabilities. History doctoral candidate Jennifer Reiss looks at him through this underexplored lens.
James Primosch continues to compose during COVID
James Primosch continues to compose during COVID
The professor of music, who won an award and released two new albums during the pandemic, discusses composition, text as music, and embracing electronic music in the absence of concert halls.
Why the pandemic introduces language that is ‘hard to explain’
Why the pandemic introduces language that is ‘hard to explain’
Linguist Andrea Beltrama discusses new words and phrases that have entered the language during the current health crisis, and the “massive” impact the pandemic has had on language.
Free speech advocate discusses growing talk of ‘cancel culture’
Free speech advocate discusses growing talk of ‘cancel culture’
Sigal Ben-Porath, a professor of education, political science, and philosophy, talks de-platforming, toppling statues, rescinding admissions, Twitter, the First Amendment, and hate speech.
Brain scans of 9- to 11-year-olds offer clues about aggressive, antisocial behavior
Brain scans of 9- to 11-year-olds offer clues about aggressive, antisocial behavior
Two new papers, one about gray matter, the other about reward behavior, suggest that at the neural level not all conduct problems look the same.
Expressions of color, comfort, and creativity in the fight against COVID-19
With many summer internships disrupted by the pandemic, the Architecture Department at Penn partnered with Surface magazine to create the Summer School at Penn, a month-long virtual lecture series and design competition.
Jay Kirk on writing, teaching, and his new nonfiction book, ‘Avoid the Day’
Jay Kirk on writing, teaching, and his new nonfiction book, ‘Avoid the Day’
Penn and Philadelphia are woven throughout a new book by Jay Kirk as he pursues the mystery of a missing music manuscript by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, traveling from Vermont to Europe to the Arctic Circle. Penn Today spoke the lecturer in nonfiction creative writing about “Avoid the Day: A New Nonfiction in Two Movements.”
Russia, bounties, and the U.S. elections
Russia, bounties, and the U.S. elections
Amid allegations of Russian bounties on U.S. soldiers and of hackers trying to steal vaccine research, Penn Today spoke to two experts to get their take and how the developments play into the U.S. presidential election cycle.
Graduate mentors provide undergrads with ‘any path to math’
Graduate mentors provide undergrads with ‘any path to math’
The Directed Reading Program pairs undergraduates with graduate student mentors for advanced learning.
Cancel culture on the silver screen
Cancel culture on the silver screen
Iconic films like the 1939 blockbuster “Gone With the Wind” are being scrutinized in light of the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice. Cinema studies’ Meta Mazaj says framing films within context is more valuable than erasure and disclaimers.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
They Shazamed songs blasting from cars on Philly’s Girard Avenue and created a ‘Girard Jams’ playlist on Spotify
Guthrie Ramsey of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about two Philadelphians who compiled a playlist of songs played from cars passing by their apartment. “If we all listen to playlists created in that manner for us, you might get a different understanding about the world surrounding you,” he said.
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CNBC
$300 unemployment benefits end in at least 9 states as stimulus hopes fade
Ioana Marinescu of the School of Social Policy & Practice spoke about the absence of a second stimulus detail and its impact on unemployed Americans. “This is going to be hardest on more disadvantaged, lower-income individuals and communities of color because they’ve been disproportionately impacted by job loss,” she said. “Also, a dollar means more to a poor person than a rich person. Losing those precious dollars is really a meaningful loss for those people.”
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Chicago Tribune
Commentary: Ruth Bader Ginsburg practiced anti-cancel culture
Jonathan Zimmerman of the Graduate School of Education wrote an op-ed about how Ruth Bader Ginsburg modeled a better way of engaging with political and intellectual opponents. “Her entire career reflected the faith that you could move others to your point of view,” he said.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
What scares Pa. teens about climate change and how do they want to fight back, a year after massive global protests?
Freshman Nia Peterson shared how she became passionate about combatting climate change. “To provide ourselves and our futures a fighting chance, we first need to acknowledge the situation,” she wrote.
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PBS NewsHour
Gehry-designed Eisenhower Memorial unveiled after 20 years—during a fraught moment
David Eisenhower of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about a new memorial to his grandfather, President Dwight D. Eisenhower. “I think memorialization is a process that is renewed,” he said. “So, when you dedicate the memorial, I think that you are investing or gambling, in a sense, on the future, that the message that a memorial conveys will have a kind of timeless quality to it.”
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