Humanities
The Hidden History of Harriet Tubman’s Civil War Service
Edda Fields-Black, GR’01, who earned her PhD from the Department of History and is today a professor at Carnegie Mellon, recently won a Pulitzer Prize for her account of the Combahee River Raid, which she argues was the largest slave rebellion in U.S. history.
Creating a Classroom Democracy
Through a Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia course, Assistant Professor of History Sarah Gronningsater and her students resuscitate early American history.
Faculty Bookshelf
Recent books from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty
Democracy Past, Present, and Future
Four Penn Arts & Sciences faculty offer ideas about democracy and its relationship to wealth, modern information environments, social identities, and shared norms.
Risky Business
In a new book, Cam Grey, Professor of Classical Studies, explores the vital role of human agency in experiencing and mitigating risk and disaster in the late-Roman world.
Quaker Quotes: What Was Your Favorite Class at Penn?
We asked, you answered. Alums share their memories, thoughts, and ideas with Omnia.
Choice and Consequence
Sophia Rosenfeld, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History, and Sudeep Bhatia, Associate Professor of Psychology, explore the ramifications of choice in everyday life and society.
Recent Gifts Advance Key Educational Priorities
Support from William J. Levy, W’57, L’64, The Robert K. Johnson Foundation, and The Neubauer Family Foundation expands opportunities for undergraduates and professional master’s students.
Exemplary Teaching Honored
The University and Penn Arts & Sciences annually recognize faculty, lecturers, and graduate students for their distinguished teaching. This year’s honorees include 22 people from 10 departments and two programs.
Out and About
Penn Arts & Sciences alums gathered on campus, in New York City, and Boston to meet Dean Peter Struck, mentor undergrads, mingle, and learn.
Three Questions: On Anime
Associate Professor of Religious Studies Jolyon Thomas studies anime to better understand the role of religion in Japan. Here, he shares how the two influence each other in surprising ways.
In the Footsteps of History
When William Adger completed a degree at Penn in 1883, he became the first African American to graduate from the College of Arts & Sciences. Now it’s time for Faruq Adger, C’25—William’s fifth-great nephew—to take his turn.
Broadening Asian American Scholarship Across Penn
The Panda Express Postdoctoral Fellowship, about to begin its third year, is expanding the breadth of courses offered through the Asian American Studies Program, while creating a pipeline for Asian American scholars.
Benjamin Nathans Wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction
Nathans, Alan Charles Kors Endowed Term Professor of History, won for his book “To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement.” He joins just a handful of others from Penn who have earned this prestigious award.
At the Intersection of Science and AI
At a Data Driven Discovery Initiative event, faculty from psychology, chemistry, philosophy, criminology, economics, and earth and environmental science, shared their thoughts on how AI is fueling scientific advancements—and raising new questions.