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Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Inaugural SNF Paideia fellows reflect on an inspiring first year
Inaugural SNF Paideia fellows reflect on an inspiring first year
The fellowship program for undergraduates connects their general education and major requirements to public engagement and community building through dialogue across differences.
‘Cities in water’
‘Cities in water’
Architect and landscape architect Anuradha Mathur and anthropologist Nikhil Anand are collaborating on questions of design and human practices to create new ways of thinking about low-lying coastal cities in India and around the world.
Scientists say active early learning shapes the adult brain
Scientists say active early learning shapes the adult brain
Through the Abecedarian Project, an early education, randomized controlled trial that has followed children since 1971, Penn and Virginia Tech researchers reveal new discoveries about brain structure decades later.
A mental health checkup for children and adolescents, a year into COVID
A mental health checkup for children and adolescents, a year into COVID
As a whole, this group experienced a significant short-term psychological toll. Though the long-term consequences aren’t yet known, particularly given how the year disproportionately exacerbated adverse childhood experiences, Penn experts remain cautiously optimistic.
Reconsiderations of past, present, and future in a new environmental humanities book
Reconsiderations of past, present, and future in a new environmental humanities book
Featuring contributions from scholars representing a range of disciplines, ‘Timescales: Thinking Across Ecological Temporalities,’ is an outgrowth of the Penn Program for Environmental Humanities.
The potential role of vaccine certificates in the next phase of the pandemic
The potential role of vaccine certificates in the next phase of the pandemic
Public health law expert Eric Feldman and medical ethicist Emily Largent discuss the legal and ethical implications of companies and organizations requiring proof of vaccination to reengage with different sectors of the economy.
Belarus plane ‘hijacking,’ journalist’s arrest brings international condemnation
Belarus plane ‘hijacking,’ journalist’s arrest brings international condemnation
Penn Today spoke to former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow, currently the Wolk Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Perry World House, to get some background, his take on the ordeal, and what should happen next.
Urban planning and politics in Atlanta
Urban planning and politics in Atlanta
Akira Rodríguez’s new book, “Diverging Space for Deviants: The Politics of Atlanta’s Public Housing” explores how the intersection of race and public housing development planning in Atlanta created a politics of resistance.
Mystics and visionaries: A fine arts seminar
Mystics and visionaries: A fine arts seminar
The Weitzman School’s Jackie Tileston’s seminar looks at the ways in which alternative forms of knowledge have fed artistic practices, both in the past and for contemporary artists in cultures around the globe.
Turning an archaeological practice on its head
Turning an archaeological practice on its head
In a new book, Megan Kassabaum challenges the field to take a forward-looking approach, rather than one that looks backward. She does this through the study of a Native American architectural feature called platform mounds.
In the News
U.S. News & World Report
How trust in science can make you vulnerable to ‘pseudoscience’
Research co-led by PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín found that those who trust science are more likely to believe and share false claims containing scientific references than those who do not. “A critical mindset can make you less gullible and make you less likely to believe in conspiracy theories,” she said.
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The New York Times
How to get things done when you don’t want to do anything
Damon Centola of the Annenberg School for Communication authored a 2016 study that found competition can motivate behavioral change.
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NPR
Afro-Cubans come out in droves to protest government
Amalia Dache of the Graduate School of Education spoke about the history of racial disparities and injustices in Cuba. “When we're thinking about global solidarity with Black people, especially right now, we need all hands on deck,” she said.
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USA Today
System failure: How federal laws shield sexual predators like Dr. Larry Nassar
Marci Hamilton of the School of Arts & Sciences wrote an opinion piece calling for President Biden to establish a national commission on child sex abuse in order to address the problem’s systemic factors.
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Fast Company
Want to go viral? Influencers won’t be much help if you’re trying to spread a complex idea
Damon Centola of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about findings from his recent study showing that social influencers may be ineffective when it comes to changing people’s beliefs and behaviors. Rather, he said, “every network has a hidden social cluster in the outer edges that is perfectly poised to increase the spread of a new idea by several hundred percent.”
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