Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

Guobin Yang and the cover of the book called "The Wuhan Lockdown by Guobin Yang." The image shows a person fully covered in what appears like a hazmat suit next to a person in a hospital bed. They are outside.

Frontline voices from the pandemic’s early days

In his new book, “The Wuhan Lockdown,” Guobin Yang uses personal diaries from that city’s residents to recreate how it felt at the epicenter of what was then a scary and unknown new virus.

Following the trail of Elizabeth Thomas, fossil hunter

Claire Conklin Sabel, a doctoral student in Penn’s History and Sociology of Science department, uncovers the findings of 18th-century amateur naturalist Elizabeth Thomas, along with illustrator Alix Pentecost-Farren, who brings Thomas’ work to life.

The door of a prison cell open, with closed cells behind it.

Incarceration associated with negative mental health risks for Black men

A review of literature from the past decade found that for this group in the U.S. such a detention was linked to higher levels of psychological distress, more severe symptoms of PTSD and depression, and more.

Chad Payne beside podium and microphone with 'Penn Grad Talks' backdrop

The Lauder Institute’s Chad Payne on Web 3.0 in Africa

Chad Payne, a second-year student in the Lauder Institute’s Africa Program, talks about his winning speech for this year’s Penn Grad Talks and the potential of Web 3.0 in Africa.

mural with many illustrations in bright colors on a long wall with a sidewalk and cars

Mural expresses culture and belonging in South Philadelphia

Shira Walinsky of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design and fourth-grade teacher Lisa Yuk Kuen Yau, a fellow in the Penn-based Teachers Institute of Philadelphia, worked with students to create a mural across from Francis Scott Key School in South Philadelphia.

A hand holding a cigarette with just the torso of the person showing in the background.

How do media depictions of tobacco influence smoking decisions for young adults?

Two studies from the Annenberg School for Communication’s Robert Hornik find that media portrayals of such behaviors can change actions and perception, but how and by how much depends on a range of factors.

Baseball history, American history

Sarah Gronningsater’s popular course links the two in a study of the sport from the Civil War to Jackie Robinson to the current day.

graphic of person tending to plants growing out of a person's head, suggesting a flourishing mind

Both nature and nurture contribute to signatures of socioeconomic status in the brain

In the first study of its kind, Penn researchers and an international team of collaborators found that genetics and environmental factors contribute to how socioeconomic status shapes the architecture of the brain.

An empty hospital bed in a hospital room.

COVID mortality age patterns changed significantly during pandemic

Between March 2020 and October 2021, death rates from the virus decreased for those 80 and older and increased for those 25 to 54, results that held across racial and ethnic groups.

A multidisciplinary approach to considering the Earth’s changing systems

Bringing expertise from each of their disciplines, the School of Arts & Sciences’ Kathleen Morrison and Joseph Francisco and the Environmental Innovations Initiative’s Melissa Brown Goodall infused chemistry, anthropology, policy, and more into an introductory course on climate and the environment.

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