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The story the bowls tell
penn museum incantation bowl being examined

Gross and Elitzur-Leiman are studying some intact, pristine bowls and others, like the one above, that are in pieces. “The sherds tell a story, too,” says Blanchard.

The story the bowls tell

In an ambitious new project, historian Simcha Gross and Harvard’s Rivka Elitzur-Leiman are studying hundreds of ancient incantation bowls housed at the Penn Museum. They hope to better understand the objects and eventually, build a database of all these bowls worldwide.

Michele W. Berger

The ‘music’ of one poet’s words, translated
Huda Fakhreddine holding the poetry book outside

(Homepage image) As a scholar, Fakhreddine works hard to retain as much of a poem as possible when it moves from Arabic to another language. “It’s a challenge that all translation involves. We talk about what’s lost and what’s gained,” she says. “It’s all exaggerated here with these short musical pieces. Their meaning is ground in their sound.”

The ‘music’ of one poet’s words, translated

With help from her daughter, scholar Huda Fakhreddine published an English version of 30 poems for children written by her father in Arabic, paying tribute to their endearing and enduring subject matter and to the musicality and richness of their sound.

Michele W. Berger

From the archives, a class on different communities of Jews in China
students looking at manuscripts in a penn libraries course

Homepage image: Students brought their own expertise to the experience of working with the archival materials, including translation of Chinese characters written on the back of photographs. Working together (center) were College freshmen (from left) Louis Dong, Nancy (Ziqi) An, and Alice (Yucheng) Feng.

From the archives, a class on different communities of Jews in China

Kathryn Hellerstein created an opportunity for her first-year seminar students to study archival material from a collection donated to the Penn Libraries by her mentor, Israeli scholar Irene Eber.

Louisa Shepard

Nationalism, American evangelicals, and conservatism
An American flag flaps in front of the tip of a white church steeple topped by a cross, with a blue sky and clouds in the background

Three experts on evangelical Christianity shared their thoughts with Penn Today on the history of American evangelicals in politics, Trump’s appeal to them, and what it all means for the future of the GOP.

Nationalism, American evangelicals, and conservatism

Historians Anthea Butler and Heather J. Sharkey and political scientist Michele Margolis share their thoughts on the history of American evangelicals in politics, Trump’s appeal, and what it means for the future of the GOP.

Kristen de Groot

‘A Revolution in Rhyme’
Professor Fatema Shams and book cover

Poet Fatemeh Shams, assistant professor in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department, has published a new book in English about politics and poetry in modern Iran. She has rebuilt the Persian language and studies program during her four years at Penn. 

‘A Revolution in Rhyme’

While building the Persian language and studies program at Penn, Fatemeh Shams draws from the millennium-old Persian literary tradition to write a new book about poetry and politics in modern Iran. She will embark on her next book project during an upcoming fellowship in Berlin. 

Louisa Shepard

Alice Paul’s mysterious manuscript
Alice Paul in her graduation gown and a handwritten page from her dissertation.

Alice Paul received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1912. Professor Heather Sharkey and three students have spent the past year transcribing a manuscript of Paul’s doctoral dissertation that is held in the Penn Libraries collection. (Left image: Courtesy of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institute, and the Alice Paul Centennial Foundation, circa 1912) (Right image: Courtesy of the Penn Libraries)

Alice Paul’s mysterious manuscript

Heather J. Sharkey and three students transcribed a hand-written manuscript of the doctoral dissertation by Alice Paul, who earned her Ph.D. from Penn in 1912. As part of a virtual symposium, they joined John Pollack of the Libraries to discuss their efforts.

Louisa Shepard

Middle East Film Festival highlights five directors from five countries
A woman with a red headscarf, red red jacket and red lipstick holding a red geranium is seen in a reflection in a car's side mirror

Still from Iman Behrouzi's 2019 documentary "Love in Close-Up." (Image courtesy of Iman Behrouzi) 

Middle East Film Festival highlights five directors from five countries

Transformed by the pandemic, this year’s festival featured a virtual dialogue with directors and watch-at-home film offerings.

Kristen de Groot

Lost and found: The art of translation
Abstract painting of books, writing utensils, flowers, and decorative brush strokes.

Lost and found: The art of translation

For faculty in the School of Arts & Sciences, translation is an art that allows us to communicate across cultural difference.