Living the Olympic Dream
The Paris Games will mark the second for Regina Salmons, C’18, who will represent the U.S. in women’s eight boat. She reflects on her experience and what it means to push yourself “to the absolute limits of human ability.”
Inside the Dumping Grounds of Mumbai
PhD candidate Adwaita Banerjee was on a mission to trace the path of recycled plastics through his city. The work led him to ask bigger questions about caste, racialization, class, and dignity.
Numbers on the Brain
In trying to learn more about how our understanding of quantity and numbers develops, Francesca Luzzi, C’24, has been studying how children experience a perceptual illusion involving dots and lines. The results have been surprising.
A Proud American
In his new book The Ballad of Roy Benavidez, historian William Sturkey explores the life of this Hispanic war hero, his fight to maintain veteran disability benefits, and the ways in which Hispanic Americans have long shaped U.S. history with scant acknowledgement.
Humanities
Using Animation to Spread Strength and Hope
Ejun Hong, C’25, has been making animated films since high school. The prizewinning Echoing, It Doesn’t Stop is her fourth, inspired by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Kicking Off Summer With a Casual PWA Networking Event
The Professional Women’s Alliance Summer Networking Social is an annual way for students and alums to connect. Seventy women gathered at the Wilson Rose Garden in New York for the 2024 edition.
Humanities
Lessons in Philosophy
As philosophers-in-residence at the Academy at Palumbo in South Philadelphia, Ph.D. students Jacqueline Wallis and Afton Greco are teaching high schoolers how to contemplate life’s big questions.
Humanities, Social Science
Addressing Tough Topics
The Living the Hard Promise dialogue series offers a chance for frank conversation about subjects from free speech on campuses to the role of universities.
Humanities
Just Right
The certificate programs offered by the College of Liberal & Professional Studies fill an educational need for students who want to learn about an area but don’t need a full degree.
Print Edition
Spring/Summer 2024
In this issue, we feature research on sound, Africana studies at Penn, the LPS certificate program, alums working in the art auction world, the Vageloses, and so much more.
Popular Stories
Summer Reading Picks
Eleven faculty and lecturers from Penn Arts & Sciences share the books they’re reading now that the academic year has wound down.
Peter Struck Named Stephen A. Levin Family Dean of College of Arts & Sciences
Struck, a distinguished classicist, award-winning teacher, and innovative program leader, starts the new appointment on Aug. 1, 2024.
From English Major to Doctor, Lawyer, VP
At a panel put on by the Department of English, three alums discussed their career trajectories and how study in the humanities led them there.
Numbers on the Brain
In trying to learn more about how our understanding of quantity and numbers develops, Francesca Luzzi, C’24, has been studying how children experience a perceptual illusion involving dots and lines. The results have been surprising.
Penn Arts & Sciences in the News
Salon
Expert: UK’s Tories Committing “Electoral Suicide”—but the Far Right Will Be Back
June 30, 2024
Brendan O’Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science, discusses the upcoming 2024 election in the United Kingdom and its potential long-term consequences.
Philadelphia magazine
Philadelphia Lost More Than 50,000 Residents During the Pandemic. Now What?
June 22, 2024
Emilio Parrado, Dorothy Swaine Thomas Professor of Sociology and director of Penn’s Population Studies Center, discusses the three main drivers of population change: natural increases or decreases, domestic migration, and migration from abroad.
STAT News
This Federal Rule Didn’t Stop Coercive Sterilization—but it Blocked Contraceptive Access. Can it Be Fixed?
June 18, 2024
In Part 3 of STAT’s yearlong examination of reproductive autonomy for people with sickle cell disease, Dorothy Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology, notes the “widespread devaluing of certain people’s childbearing,” seen in negative stereotypes, laws that deny someone extra benefits if they get pregnant while on welfare, and more.
CNN
The Forgotten Racial History of Red Lobster
June 8, 2024
Marcia Chatelain, Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana Studies and author of the book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, that Red Lobster attracted both working-class and affluent Black diners at a time during the 1970s and ’80s when many sit-down restaurants were unwelcoming of Black patrons.