60-Second Lectures in Quarantine

When the COVID-19 pandemic upended everyday life, information and analysis were at a premium—so Penn Arts & Sciences converted its long-running 60-Second Lectures series into a virtual “In Quarantine” edition, with a wide variety of scholars and experts shedding light on the pandemic. More than 20 professors recorded lectures from their homes, touching on the science; the complex social, cultural, historical, and economic issues; and the response on campus. A set of lectures went live at noon each Wednesday in April.

The series kicked off with Hanming Fang, Class of 1965 Term Professor of Economics, who spoke about using public policy tools to address the pandemic. “Any good policy needs to balance a tradeoff between health and economy: What are the alternatives?” he asked, giving South Korea’s combination of extensive testing and targeted quarantine as a useful example.

Other speakers included Sarah Barringer Gordon, Professor of History and Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law, who spoke on the history of epidemics and individual rights, and Jonathan Moreno, David and Lyn Silfen University Professor of Ethics, who explained how vaccine recipients would be prioritized. Cristina Bicchieri, Sascha Jane Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics, discussed norm-nudging, and David Wallace, Judith Rodin Professor of English, reflected on the “greatest pandemic” in 1348.

“In this spring’s 60-Second Lectures, we looked to the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences for perspectives on meaning in times of illness and death, perspectives on human societies in times of crisis, and reliable knowledge and control of threats from the natural world,” says Paul Sniegowski, Stephen A. Levin Family Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, who introduced the lectures. “They are dedicated to understanding and hope in an extraordinarily difficult time.”

The lectures are available at www.sas.upenn.edu/60-second.