Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

Book cover of Curious Minds: The Power of Connection by Perry Zurn and Dani S. Bassett along side image of the two scholars

Exploring what it means to be curious

In a new book “Curious Minds: The Power of Connection,” Penn’s Dani S. Bassett and twin sibling Perry Zurn weave together history, linguistics, network science, neuroscience, and philosophy to unpack the concept of curiosity.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・

Two people standing in front of a wall of art. One of them is holding up a second piece of art in gloved hands. The other gestures toward the art, holding a computer or clipboard in the other hand.

Do art museums prioritize visitor well-being enough?

Research from the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project in Penn’s Positive Psychology Center reveals that the people working in these institutions want to see greater emphasis on human flourishing, but they feel ill-equipped to make it happen.

Michele W. Berger ・

Jed Esty in his office

The future of decline in America

In his new book “The Future of Decline: Anglo-American Culture at its Limits,” English Professor Jed Esty offers alternatives to America’s “language of greatness,” taking lessons from the experience of Britain during the past century.

Louisa Shepard ・

penn museum incantation bowl being examined

The story the bowls tell

In an ambitious new project, historian Simcha Gross and Harvard’s Rivka Elitzur-Leiman are studying hundreds of ancient incantation bowls housed at the Penn Museum. They hope to better understand the objects and eventually, build a database of all these bowls worldwide.

Michele W. Berger ・

A man walks past graffiti about Irish unification on a wall in Belfast.

Making sense of a United Ireland

In a new book, political scientist Brendan O’Leary explores the contentious issue of a reunited Ireland and why now is the time to consider the future of the island.

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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