7.30
Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander: The first of many firsts
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander: The first of many firsts
Despite encountering racism, sexism, and bigotry to get her Penn education, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander became the first Black woman in the U.S. to get her Ph.D. in economics, and was one of the first three Black women to get a doctorate in any subject.
Hope and help for wrongfully incarcerated Pennsylvanians
Hope and help for wrongfully incarcerated Pennsylvanians
With Project HOPE, President’s Engagement Prize winners Carson Eckhard, Natalia Rommen, and Sarah Simon will address the lack of support to wrongfully incarcerated people in Philadelphia and across the state.
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs increased among users of conservative and social media
COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs increased among users of conservative and social media
Belief in conspiracies about the COVID-19 pandemic increased through the early months of the U.S. outbreak among people who reported being heavy users of conservative and social media.
Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw on the future of Cuban politics, economy, and art
Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw on the future of Cuban politics, economy, and art
On April 19, Raúl Castro stepped down from his role as the head of Cuba’s communist party. Penn Today talked with Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw of the School of Arts & Sciences about the future of Cuban politics, the economy, and art after the close of the Castro era.
Penn’s new Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies
Penn’s new Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies
The new center will stimulate and support research and teaching on the Latin American region and the Latinx populations of the U.S. and provide an integrated academic base for scholars, students, and programs that focus on these topics.
Empowering refugee communities with access to clean water
Empowering refugee communities with access to clean water
With project Maji, seniors Martin Leet and Leah Voytovich will use their President’s Engagement Prize to install a solar-powered water tank and provide agricultural and first aid training for members of the Olua I community.
Biden’s big plans through the lens of history
Biden’s big plans through the lens of history
Historian Walter Licht shares his thoughts on the American Jobs Plan and how it compares to national projects of the past.
Students’ spring shows go virtual
Students’ spring shows go virtual
COVID-19 restrictions have forced nearly all student shows to go virtual this year, and they are cropping up throughout this month and next as Facebook livestreams, Zooms, and YouTube posts.
Four Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Four Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The new members of the Academy, honored scholars recognized for their unique and ongoing contributions to original research, include researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Annenberg School for Communication.
A new theory for what’s happening in the brain when something looks familiar
A new theory for what’s happening in the brain when something looks familiar
This novel concept from the lab of neuroscientist Nicole Rust brings the field one step closer to understanding how memory functions. Long-term, it could have implications for treating memory-impairing diseases like Alzheimer’s.
In the News
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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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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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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