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Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
‘May the force be with you’ and other fan fiction favorites
‘May the force be with you’ and other fan fiction favorites
Researchers have created a unique digital humanities tool to analyze the most popular phrases and character connections in fan fiction based on blockbuster film series, starting with “Star Wars,” “Lord of the Rings,” and “Harry Potter.”
Individuals find polls that favor their candidates more credible
Individuals find polls that favor their candidates more credible
Because voters use pre-election polls to consider the choices before them and to structure their expectations about an election, a new study highlights how individuals interpret them.
Restoring Indigenous knowledge systems and languages
Restoring Indigenous knowledge systems and languages
Penn’s Educational Partnerships with Indigenous Communities builds alliances with Native Americans.
Five things to know about the British election
Five things to know about the British election
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party won a decisive victory in last week’s general election. Political scientist Brendan O’Leary, an expert on U.K. politics, tells Penn Today his five main takeaways from the election results.
Engaging Minds showcases best part of Penn in New York
Penn Alumni’s Dec. 14 event featured a trio of impressive faculty: Michael Weisberg, Sarah J. Jackson, and Duncan Watts.
How rituals shape our world
How rituals shape our world
An Annenberg class about ritual communication encourages students to employ ethnography and textual analysis to think about the unique language of rituals and their endurance.
Understanding how information flows into and out of Gitmo
Understanding how information flows into and out of Gitmo
Annenberg doctoral student Muira McCammon studies the intersection of technology, law, and military policy. She’s on the quest to understand how people and data move through the Guantánamo Bay detention center.
New leadership at Fels Institute
New leadership at Fels Institute
The 82-year-old Fels Institute of Government’s signature Public Policy in Practice workshops continues the legacy of providing students with a practical program in public administration.
‘An Atlas for the Green New Deal’
‘An Atlas for the Green New Deal’
The McHarg Center releases a new collection of maps and datascapes capturing the spatial consequences of climate change in support of a coordinated national response.
On the condition of alienage for refugees
On the condition of alienage for refugees
Eilidh Beaton, doctoral candidate in philosophy, argues for the reconsideration of the alienage condition for refugee status.
In the News
The Washington Post
Trump’s sarcastic response to Mitt Romney’s negative test for coronavirus follows years of bad blood
Claire Finkelstein of the Law School commented on President Trump’s negative reaction to Mitt Romney’s self-quarantine. “[Trump] would have had a moment there to unify the country around this crisis and to show his moral leadership in doing so,” she said.
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The Washington Post
These social policies could help the U.S. cope with the coronavirus pandemic
Julia Lynch of the School of Arts and Sciences wrote about the U.S.’s structural vulnerabilities to the effects of COVID-19 and what we can learn from other wealthy democracies about how to cope.
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The Hill
Lessons learned in an emergency
PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno wrote about how the U.S. can apply lessons learned from the past to the coronavirus pandemic. “The country needs to reorient itself to the advantages that the U.S. military can provide in this crisis,” he wrote. “If we look at our recent history, we will find lessons that can help with tactics and strategy.”
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The Washington Post
How can Trump fight the pandemic when he’s chasing experts out of government?
John Gans of Perry World House wrote about the administration’s removal of “disloyal” civil servants and the effect on the effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic. “This sort of purge is undermining government at a time when it is needed most,” he wrote.
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The New York Times
Fed could bolster groups of businesses and localities with funds in G.O.P. bill
Peter Conti-Brown of the Wharton School said the Federal Reserve should avoid helping specific industries with emergency funding. The banking system has a “convenient set of easy tools that allow policymakers and politicians to skip the burden of their own accountability,” said Conti-Brown. “It’s the kind of set the Fed does not want to make today—which is to pick winners and losers.”
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