American Science’s Promoter-in-Chief
The great-grandson of a famous founder (of the nation and this University) and “boyhood’s friend” of the president of the Confederacy, educational reformer and onetime Penn professor Alexander Dallas Bache made his own reputation by championing the professionalization of American science in the mid-1800s.
Ice Man
Jonathan Rees C’88 knows all about Americans and ice.
The Olden Bough
Humans have revered ancient trees for about as long as we’ve chopped down forests. What does that fraught relationship reveal about our past? And can it illuminate a path toward a more hopeful future?
Sir Henry Thornton, On and Off the Rails
Knighted by Britain for his work as the Allies’ “railroad czar” in World War I, the Penn alumnus and Pennsylvania Railroad veteran went on to remake the Canadian National Railways before the Great Depression, poor health, and scandal brought him low.
Franklin’s World
Zeke Emanuel finds more to say on Benjamin Franklin in online course.
Framing History
A pair of history profs teams up with Getty Images to create a public-facing, photography-oriented window into Black history.
It’s Complicated
Ken Burns reflects on the filmic portrayal of historical heroes.
Marble Dignity, Hollow Soul
Allen Guelzo’s biography of Robert E. Lee depicts the Confederate general as a “complicated rather than complex person.”
Thinking About Ukraine
Penn faculty examine the conflict from multiple perspectives—sometimes clashing, sometimes meshing, and often thought-provoking. Plus: Mike Logsdon C’03’s photographs from Ukraine.
Reconstructing America’s Story
Kermit Roosevelt launches a provocative interpretation of the Declaration of Independence.
Constitution, Revised
Thomas Jefferson thought every generation should change the nation’s fundamental law. A new book imagines how that might have played out.
(Re)Introduction to US History
How two Penn professors revamped the entry-level history class for an age of instant information access and endless quarrels over the meaning of America’s past.
The History Wars
Education scholar Jonathan Zimmerman on how the US republic lost the ability to understand itself—and how we can help our children recover it.
Calling It
How John Lapinski and a squad of Penn faculty and students backing him up on the NBC News Decision Desk navigated an election season that was unprecedented—and could set a pattern for the future.
The Radical and Universal King
Virtual MLK Lecture features Cornel West.
Preserving Civil Rights Heritage
New center aims to preserve civil rights sites.
No Permanent Conflict?
Tracing America and Iran’s 300-year history.
Courage Through History
From storms to serial killers to shipwrecks, bestselling author Erik Larson has made his name writing about frightening moments in history. When a new one came in the form of a global pandemic, readers found unlikely comfort in his latest book—a story of leadership, perseverance, and hope in the bleakest of times 80 years ago.
Cloak, Dagger, and Card Catalogues
Kathy Peiss on WWII’s librarian-spies. Information Hunters.
Göttingen, 1987
Ending the Cold War wasn’t about US (maybe).
The Iranian Revolution at 40
How human rights lost in the Iranian Revolution.
William Walker’s Dark Destiny
Newly settled in Costa Rica, a recent alumnus investigates the legacy of “filibuster” William Walker M1843—largely forgotten in the US but still perhaps the most hated man in Central America.
Safe at the College
After the Armistice.
Horsehide Historian
John Rossi Gr’65 writes about America and baseball.