Social Science

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.

A First-of-its-Kind Master’s Program for Police Leaders

The new graduate degree from the Department of Criminology and the College of Liberal & Professional Studies will begin next fall. It aims to teach evidence-based research to foster more equitable practices.

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.

Omnia Podcast: Democracy and Decision 2024 Episode Six (Audio)

In our final episode of the season, PORES Executive Director Stephanie Perry speaks with Rogers M. Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Political Science, about what a second Trump presidency means.

The Social Structures That Shape AI

There’s more hype than ever around artificial intelligence, but Assistant Professor of Sociology Benjamin Shestakofsky says it’s important to fully examine how the new technology fits into broader society.

Emergency Response

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

Beyond the Policy Paper

PDRI-DevLab, only two years old, is on the ground in developing nations to generate better evidence that can influence real-world decisions.

Knowledge by the Slice: Election Roundtable (Video)

During this lunch-time conversation, which took place a little more than a week after the 2024 presidential election, faculty from the Department of Political Science examined the results, the general state of U.S. elections, and what comes next.

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.

Dorothy Roberts Named MacArthur Fellow

Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology, was honored for “exposing racial inequities embedded in social service systems and uplifting the experiences of people caught up in them.”

Good Cop, Bad Cop

Associate Professor of Criminology Aaron Chalfin reevaluates a 2017 research study on proactive policing and finds it not credible.

Omnia Podcast: Democracy and Decision 2024 Episode Five (Audio)

PORES Executive Director Stephanie Perry and John Lapinski, Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor of Political Science, PORES Director, and Director of Elections at NBC News, discuss election night results from their vantage point at the Decision Desk.

Fox Leadership Program Turns 25

The program, founded in 1999 through a gift from Robert A. Fox, C’52, and Penny Fox, ED’53, aims to equip and empower Penn students and alums for present and future roles as ethical and effective leaders.

Faculty Bookshelf

Recent books from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty