Mural expresses culture and belonging in South Philadelphia Mural artist Shira Walinsky of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design and fourth-grade teacher Lisa Yau, a fellow in the Penn-based Teachers Institute of Philadelphia, worked together with students to transform a blank wall across the street from the Francis Scott Key School entrance on 8th Street in South Philadelphia. (Image: Steve Weinik, courtesy of Mural Arts Philadelphia) 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.
Regular folks in the Roman Empire Kimberly Bowes, archaeologist, classical studies professor, and director of the Integrated Studies Program, focuses not on the elite during the Roman Empire, but on the lived experience of the working poor and the economies that dominated their lives. Bowes has received both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship to expand her research. Q&A Regular folks in the Roman Empire Kimberly Bowes of the School of Arts & Sciences focuses on the lived experience of the Roman Empire’s working poor and the economies that dominated their lives 2,00 years ago.
How bacteria store information to kill viruses (but not themselves) A group of bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, imaged using transmission electron microscopy. New research sheds light on how bacteria fight off these invaders without triggering an autoimmune response. (Image: ZEISS Microscopy, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) How bacteria store information to kill viruses (but not themselves) Researchers from the School of Arts & Sciences have discovered that the balance between fighting viruses and avoiding autoimmunity has a key role in shaping how bacteria “remember” old infections.
May graduate Ethan Kallett named a 2022 Yenching Scholar Ethan Kallett, a May graduate of Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded full funding to pursue an interdisciplinary master’s degree in China studies with a concentration in economics and management at the Yenching Academy of Peking University in Beijing. May graduate Ethan Kallett named a 2022 Yenching Scholar Ethan Kallett has been awarded full funding to pursue an interdisciplinary master’s degree in China studies, with a concentration in economics and management, at the Yenching Academy of Peking University in Beijing.
Cosmic Writers brings free creative writing education to school-aged children May graduates Rowana Miller (right) and Manoj Simha lead Cosmic Writers, a project supported by President’s Engagement Prize that provides free creative writing instruction to K-12 students virtually throughout the world, taught by college students. The new nonprofit is expanding to offer in-person workshops in Philadelphia and several other U.S. cities. Cosmic Writers brings free creative writing education to school-aged children May graduates Rowana Miller and Manoj Simha lead Cosmic Writers, a project supported by President’s Engagement Prize that provides free creative writing instruction to K-12 students virtually throughout the world.
Lighting the way for rare disease To commemorate Rare Disease Day, Magnolia Wang organized a lighting of the Pavilion of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in support of the National Organization for Rare Disorders. Lighting the way for rare disease After finding out about STAC3, a rare disease without a cure, biology major Magnolia Wang of the College of Arts and Sciences set out to raise awareness and advocate for those struggling with the illness.
Baseball history, American history 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.
An arms race that plays out in a single genome Like Alice furiously running to keep up with the Red Queen, but remaining in one place, two genetic elements in the fruit fly genome are engaged in an evolutionary arms race to simply keep the biological status quo, according to new research by Penn scientists. (Image: John Tenniel in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass) An arms race that plays out in a single genome School of Arts & Sciences biologist Mia Levine and Cara Brand, a postdoc, shed light on an example of coevolution in fruit flies that has implications for human health.
Engaging in intersectional conversations on race and racism Students in American Race: A Philadelphia Story, a Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia Program course, examined intersectional topics on race and racism through a broad, multidisciplinary lens. The course included directed readings, guest speaker presentations, such as this discussion led by Jessie Harper from the Graduate School of Education, and in-depth conversations about the city of Philadelphia. Engaging in intersectional conversations on race and racism In the spring, students engaged with complex topics, both intellectually and civically, as part of American Race: A Philadelphia Story, a Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia Program course.
Undergraduate research projects look at migration from multiple angles For the 2021-2022 academic year, the Wolf Humanities Center explored the topic of migration. Image: The Migration of the Negro, #18: The migration gained in momentum, 1941. Casein tempera on hardboard, 12"x18". Lawrence, Jacob (1917-2000) ©ARS, NY Location: The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, U.S.A. Undergraduate research projects look at migration from multiple angles The Wolf Undergraduate Humanities forum takes on the topic of migration, with individual research projects ranging from slavery debates within the Jewish Orthodox community to Southeast Asian refugee youth.