News

• March 29, 2021

  Philadelphia Orchestra and Covid

  Physicians, engineers, and scientists from Penn are working with The Philadelphia Orchestra to study the aerosol droplets that wind and brass musicians produce when playing. Their findings, aimed at reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission, could help the Orchestra once again play together in person.

• March 29, 2021

  History is The ‘Narratives We Tell’

  To understand how ideas about racial difference took root in American history, Makiki Reuvers, a Ph.D. candidate in history, examines 17th-century encounters between British colonists and Native Americans. As a Ph.D. candidate in history and, this semester, a teaching assistant for Afro-American History, 1876–Present, Reuvers is interrogating how these narratives get written and by whom. “I always like to talk to my students about how history is written by individuals, by people with their own agendas and perspectives,” she says.

• March 29, 2021

  Husnaa Haajarah Hashim Sees Poetry as Transformative

  A former Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate, Penn junior Hashim reflects on her writing and scholarship during this moment when Amanda Gorman, the youngest presidential inaugural poet, is bringing national attention to poetry.

• March 26, 2021

  Middle East Film Festival Highlights Five Directors From Five Countries

  A year ago, what should have been the 10th anniversary celebration of Penn’s Middle East Film Festival had to be canceled as the coronavirus pandemic put the country and the University on lock down. This month, the festival returned in a much different format. On March 23, the Middle East Center (MEC) virtually hosted five filmmakers from across the Middle East for an event called “Five Degrees of Separation: A Dialogue on Middle East Cinema in 2021.”

• March 25, 2021

  Supporting AAPI Artists and Practitioners within the Penn Community

  As we mourn the lives lost in Atlanta last week and persistent, continued, and escalating racial violence directed at Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the United States, The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation unequivocally condemns racism, white supremacy, and all acts of violence and hate. In response to the urgency of this moment, we are launching a new funding opportunity for AAPI artists and communities. The deadline for submission is May 5th. Applicants will be notified by May 31st.