2.19
Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
How news media cover gene editing and scientific retractions
The Annenberg Public Policy Center has released a pair of Science Media Monitor reports analyzing how the news media cover two important issues in science—gene editing and scientific retractions.
Cells and cinema
As a biology major, senior Andrew Ravaschiere spends much of his time in a laboratory conducting cellular research. But as a cinema and media studies minor, he got out of the lab and into the world of filmmaking during the summer, working as an intern for a documentary filmmaker.
How tactical preservation can save endangered buildings in Philly and Detroit
PennDesign studios are beginning a three-year project called Detroit/Philadelphia Preservation Exchange, investigating preservation issues in distressed neighborhoods in the two cities.
Does teen cannabis use lead to behavior problems—or vice versa?
Research led by the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that cannabis use among teens does not appear to lead to greater conduct problems or greater affiliation with other teens who smoke cannabis, which previous research had suggested to be possible.
Fighting the assault on free press
In The Philadelphia Inquirer, commentary from Penn President Amy Gutmann emphasizes the importance of open expression for any democracy to survive and flourish.
World AIDS Day: What’s happening with the epidemic today
Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief of the Infectious Diseases Division Ian Frank explains progress made and challenges still faced in the world of HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and treatment.
Extreme weather won’t sway climate skeptics
Experiencing extreme weather is not enough to convince climate change skeptics that humans are damaging the environment, according to a new study based on research at the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
Students take gold in Japanese language contest
In a Japanese-language speaking competition hosted at George Washington University, two Penn students won among university-level competitors from across the country.
In this photography class, students become curators—at the Barnes
This year’s Spiegel-Wilks Curatorial Seminar has taken students inside the world of the Barnes Foundation, where they learn about the history of photography and get a hands-on look at museum operations.
Becoming a mother reduces a woman’s earning potential by up to 10 percent per child
In a Q&A, Sandra Florian, a post-doctoral fellow in sociology and the Population Studies Center, discusses motherhood’s short- and long-term effects on a woman’s career.
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.”
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →