Penn Arts & Sciences in the News

“Higher education is fundamentally misunderstood,” wrote Harun Küçük, Associate Professor of History and Sociology of Science, and Ezekiel Emanuel, Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, in a New York Times op-ed. The answer, they say, is for colleges and universities to reassert the liberal arts ideals that made them great.

An analysis by The New York Times revealed that the number of people living close to fatal violence grew drastically during the pandemic years. Professor of Criminology John MacDonald reviewed the findings. “You don’t want people to think that everywhere is so dangerous in a way that it’s not,” he says. “On the other hand, you don’t want people to think that, oh, this is just somebody else’s problem. It’s not happening in my neighborhood.”

Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, Howard Marks Presidential Professor of Economics, estimates that global fertility fell to between 2.1 and 2.2 last year, which he says would be below global replacement for the first time in human history. “The demographic winter is coming,” he notes.

Political Science Professor Matthew Levendusky thinks the erosion of trust in the  high court is partly due to a perception of partisanship. “If it seems like it’s just  another conservative institution, then that will further erode trust,” he says. “But if  they can combat that perception, that will help to go a long way toward restoring at  least some of that.”

Professor Beth Linker of History and Sociology of Science is featured in the New Yorker for her new book, Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America, that explores fears of a “poor-posture epidemic.”

The Associated Press interviewed sociologist Camille Charles in an article about how O.J. Simpson still reflects America’s racial divides.

Michael Mann, Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, is quoted in on a new report that the “record-shattering” heat wave in Antarctica in March 2022 was powered by the most extreme “atmospheric river” ever observed due to climate change.

Professor of Archaeology Brian Rose spoke with the BBC about the ancient city of Gordion, in Turkey, believed to be the burial place of King Midas.

Professor of Psychology Sara Jaffee spoke with NPR about a new initiative that gives direct cash assistance to low-income renters in Philadelphia.