Humanities

2024 Year in Review

As the calendar flips to 2025, we look back at a few of the dozens of stories we had the privilege of sharing this past year.

Archaeological Science, Hands On

The Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials, a joint endeavor between Penn Arts & Sciences and the Penn Museum, celebrates 10 years of teaching students how to interpret the past in an interdisciplinary context.

Building New Worlds

Bing Chen, C’09, discusses his vital role in shaping the YouTube content creation ecosystem, his Pan-Asian cultural investment companies, and his dream of becoming a 21st-century Walt Disney.

How Do You Authenticate a Long-Lost Chopin Waltz?

Jeffrey Kallberg, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Music and incoming Interim Dean of Penn Arts & Sciences, recently helped verify the first major manuscript from the famous composer since the 1930s. Kallberg explains the intricate process.

Jeffrey Kallberg Named Interim Dean of Penn Arts & Sciences

Kallberg, Deputy Dean and William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Music, will step into the role as of January 1, 2025. Josephine Park, School of Arts and Sciences President’s Distinguished Professor of English, will succeed Kallberg as Associate Dean for Arts and Letters.

Penn Arts & Sciences Pathways: Tova Tachau, C’25 (Video)

Tachau entered Penn as a biochemistry and biophysics double-major, but a class in 20th-century Russian literature inspired her academic journey, which now includes a major in Russian and East European Studies.

Emergency Response

Solving the complex challenge that is climate change requires breadth in approach. Penn Arts & Sciences is positioned to lead.

History of the Book

Whitney Trettien, associate professor of English and faculty director of the Price Lab for Digital Humanities, talks about the how books came to be and their continuing evolution.

What History Can Be

Assistant Professor Hardeep Dhillon’s first-year seminar explores the history of children in America while equipping students with foundational skills.

The Wallace Tales

David Wallace’s life has been guided by his love of medieval literature and his certainty that it has much to say to today’s world. But he finds time for a day at the races, too.

Penn Arts & Sciences: Then and Now

As Steven J. Fluharty steps down as Dean, we look back at how the School has evolved during his tenure.

Memory Lane

Scholars across Penn Arts & Sciences are exploring memory. What they’re learning may change how we understand our minds, bodies, and histories.

Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department Renamed Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures

The new name better represents the scope of research and teaching by the department.

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw Named Inaugural Arthur Ross Gallery Faculty Director

Shaw, a renowned scholar and teacher of American art who has been at Penn for almost 20 years, assumed the new role effective June 1.

Faculty Bookshelf

Recent books from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty