5/18
Louisa Shepard
Senior News Officer
lshepard@upenn.edu
In a new book, Penn nutritional anthropologist Janet Chrzan and Kima Cargill of the University of Washington, Tacoma, explain the cultural, social, and psychological fixation on fad diets and why they don’t typically succeed.
Three Maya activists from Belize spoke with Richard M. Leventhal about the challenges and progress they’ve made on land rights in recent years.
College fourth-year Wes Matthews is combining writing, music, research, and service during his Penn experience. A former Youth Poet Laureate of Philadelphia, the anthropology major and religious studies minor works at the Kelly Writers House and is a Wolf Humanities Center fellow.
In a new book, anthropologist Deborah A. Thomas and political scientist Nancy J. Hirschmann look at who’s kept out of social governance and belonging.
In an ambitious new project, historian Simcha Gross and Harvard’s Rivka Elitzur-Leiman are studying hundreds of ancient incantation bowls housed at the Penn Museum. They hope to better understand the objects and eventually, build a database of all these bowls worldwide.
Penn anthropologist Theodore Schurr explains how the use of both ancient DNA and modern genetic materials revealed five paths into this western Pacific region of Oceania, and uncovered subtleties about the society’s marital customs.
May graduate Cam Landis, an anthropology major from Madison, Ohio, played on the offensive line for the football team, walked on to the track team as a thrower—and delved into his Jewish roots at Hillel.
Bringing expertise from each of their disciplines, the School of Arts & Sciences’ Kathleen Morrison and Joseph Francisco and the Environmental Innovations Initiative’s Melissa Brown Goodall infused chemistry, anthropology, policy, and more into an introductory course on climate and the environment.
In collaboration with author Amitav Ghosh, musician Ali Sethi, and Penn’s Brooke O’Harra, 14 students brought to life a parable Ghosh wrote about the world’s largest mangrove forest, human greed, and the environment.
In wartime, saving human lives is a top priority. But secondary considerations often include preserving the cultural heritage also under siege. Penn experts offer their thoughts as the situation in Ukraine continues to unfold.
Louisa Shepard
Senior News Officer
lshepard@upenn.edu
Patrick McGovern of the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Museum oversaw the first hi-tech molecular analysis of residues found in bronze drinking vessels during a 1950s excavation of an ancient Turkish tomb.
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The Penn Museum is noted for creating its “Native American Voices: The People—Here and Now” exhibit with the help of tribal representatives.
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Kristen Ghodsee of the School of Arts & Sciences explores International Women’s Day as a tool for activism in Russian history.
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Nikhil Anand of the School of Arts & Sciences identifies three key areas of focus to reduce the vulnerability of Mumbai’s residents facing the brunt of water infrastructure issues, particularly those living in slums.
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According to research from the School of Arts & Sciences, ancient Romans believed that the god Triton lived in a golden palace at the bottom of the sea.
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The Penn Museum plans to begin renovation on its $54 million Ancient Egypt and Nubia galleries this fall, with remarks from Christopher Woods.
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