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Sociology

The data at the heart of Green New Deal public housing legislation
Two people installing solar panels on a chilly day, wearing gloves and snow hats.

Funding in the recently proposed Green New Deal for Public Housing legislation would go toward energy-retrofitting interventions such as installing solar panels. 

The data at the heart of Green New Deal public housing legislation

Beyond improving living conditions, greening these spaces would reduce emissions and create 250,000 jobs annually, according to research from Penn and Data for Progress.

Michele W. Berger

Social interactions in the housing market
For Rent sign on front gate of a brick apartment building

Social interactions in the housing market

Doctoral candidate in sociology Doron Shiffer-Sebba’s prize-winning research paper examines the interpersonal dynamics of landlords and tenants.

Penn Today Staff

The culture of coworking spaces
Person sitting at a table with an open book, a picture, glasses, a coffee cup and wearing headphones looking at a cellphone. Three people are in the background.

The culture of coworking spaces

As Penn sociologist David Grazian discovered through hundreds of hours of fieldwork, despite today’s digital work-anywhere economy, having a physical place to conduct business still matters.

Michele W. Berger

A conversation with Julia Ticona
Julia Ticona smiles with her hands in her pockets

Julia Ticona, assistant professor of communication at the Annenberg School for Communication. 

A conversation with Julia Ticona

In the latest episode of “Office Hours,” a Penn Today podcast, Assistant Professor of Communication Julia Ticona explains her research about the gig economy and chitchats about cooking, campus, and superpowers.
How race informed the 6th Amendment right to counsel
Shaun Ossei-Owusu

Penn Law’s Shaun Ossei-Owusu

How race informed the 6th Amendment right to counsel

A new article by Shaun Ossei-Owusu reveals the critical role of race in the development of a staple of the American criminal justice system: the constitutional guarantee of an attorney for defendants too poor to afford one.

Penn Today Staff

Dissecting the Green New Deal
Two people sitting on a stage, one gesturing with his hands. In front of them is a brown wooden table with two water bottles.

Billy Fleming (left), Wilks Family Director for the Ian L. McHarg Center at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design and Daniel Aldana Cohen, who runs the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative (SC)2 at Penn, organized the day-long event. (Photo: Lou Caltabiano)

Dissecting the Green New Deal

During what’s likely the largest climate event ever held at Penn, leaders in a range of fields discussed the practicalities and implications of the resolution introduced into Congress in February aimed at stemming climate change.

Michele W. Berger

Black boys, grief, and guns in urban schools
A young student of color looks upward with their hand on their mouth

Black boys, grief, and guns in urban schools

Nora Gross, a joint doctoral candidate in sociology and education, examines how students grieve and recover after gun violence kills peers.

Penn Today Staff

Where does affirmative action leave Asian-Americans?

Where does affirmative action leave Asian-Americans?

Two studies led by Camille Z. Charles of the School of Arts and Sciences found an overrepresentation of black immigrant students at “highly selective” colleges and universities, compared to black American descendants of enslaved people. “I think there are American blacks whose families have suffered generationally who are being squeezed out,” she said.