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Political Science

The politics of health inequality
A person in a black dress and glasses stands against a wooden wall with arms crossed, looking at the camera, in the background is a huge window and people in chairs in front of the window.

Julia Lynch, associate professor of political science. Her new book "Regimes of Inequality: The Political Economy of Health and Wealth" looks at why health inequality as framed by politicians is impossible to tackle.

The politics of health inequality

The eight major Democratic candidates for president agree that Americans need expanded and more affordable health care. According to Julia Lynch, none of their proposed plans will solve the problem of heath inequality in the U.S.

Kristen de Groot

Does anyone have a clue about how to fight back against Trump

Does anyone have a clue about how to fight back against Trump

Rogers Smith of the School of Arts and Sciences co-authored a forthcoming paper that argues that President Trump has taken substantive action to address the concerns of his anti-immigrant and socially conservative supporters. “The cult of personality Trump has inspired means that he is a far more effective voice for this view than anyone else in American politics,” he said.

Bernie Sanders is surging with Latinos. But Mike Bloomberg might have hidden appeal in Pa.

Bernie Sanders is surging with Latinos. But Mike Bloomberg might have hidden appeal in Pa.

Michael Jones-Correa of the School of Arts and Sciences said that while people tend to think of Latino voters as immigrants, “there’s a big bloc of voters in Philadelphia in particular who are Puerto Ricans and their concerns, while overlapping, are not all about migration issues.”

How the Iowa caucuses fell apart and tarnished the vote

How the Iowa caucuses fell apart and tarnished the vote

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center commented on the use of voting technology in recent Democratic caucuses. “My concern is that it calls into question the integrity of voting, whether you can trust the technology associated with voting in an environment in which people capitalize on those sorts of mishaps,” she said.

There’s no point in fighting

There’s no point in fighting

Daniel Hopkins of the School of Arts and Sciences said passing liberal legislation would still be difficult even if the Democrats were to take control of the U.S. Senate in the November elections. “They would be limited by their own most centrist members. Maybe they have 50 seats, but they’re only going to pass what their entire caucus votes for,” he said.

Semester in D.C. offers capital connections
A group of students standing in front of two flag. The Penn in Washington Fall 2019 cohort visited U.S. Senate offices in September. (Image: Penn in Washington)

Semester in D.C. offers capital connections

Students participating in the Penn in Washington program gain a true sense of day-to-day working life in the nation’s capital.

Kristen de Groot

How the coronavirus has tested China’s system of information control

How the coronavirus has tested China’s system of information control

Guobin Yang of the Annenberg School for Communication and School of Arts and Sciences spoke about the Chinese supreme court’s decision to clear eight people in Wuhan accused of spreading rumors about coronavirus. The verdict “says that you can’t punish these eight people. It also reaffirms the rule that you can’t spread rumors,” Yang said. “But what is a rumor, and what is not? That’s still up to the public-security people to decide.”

Experts weigh in on the future of U.S.-China relations
Person stands in front of podium with read banner reading "Perry World House" Ambassador Huang Ping, China's consul general in New York, speaks at Perry World House.

Experts weigh in on the future of U.S.-China relations

Huang Ping, China’s consul general in New York, and Robert Work, former U.S. deputy secretary of defense, were among the speakers at the annual Penn China Research Symposium.

Kristen de Groot

Meet the biology major who brought an Iowa caucus to Philadelphia
A group of people talking and laughing in a cluster, with a video camera being held in the top left corner.

Junior Jessica Anderson (center) of Titonka, Iowa, organized an Iowa satellite caucus in Philadelphia, one of more than 90 that took place worldwide. Fourteen people, mostly area college students, participated. 

Meet the biology major who brought an Iowa caucus to Philadelphia

Junior Jessica Anderson organized the satellite event because she wanted to participate in the political process. Politics aside, she’s aiming for a career that combines research and patient care.

Michele W. Berger