Penn Arts & Sciences

The University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences forms the foundation of the scholarly excellence that has established Penn as one of the world's leading research universities. We teach students across all 12 Penn schools, and our academic departments span the reach from anthropology and biology to sociology and South Asian studies.

Members of the Penn Arts & Sciences faculty are leaders in creating new knowledge in their disciplines and are engaged in nearly every area of interdisciplinary innovation. They are regularly recognized with academia's highest honors, including membership in prestigious societies like the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society, as well as significant prizes such as MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships.

The educational experience offered by Penn Arts & Sciences is likewise recognized for its excellence. The School's three educational divisions fulfill different missions, united by a broader commitment to providing our students with an unrivaled education in the liberal arts. The College of Arts and Sciences is the academic home of the majority of Penn undergraduates and provides 60 percent of the courses taken by students in Penn's undergraduate professional schools. The Graduate Division offers doctoral training to over 1,300 candidates in more than 30 graduate programs. And the College of Liberal and Professional Studies provides a range of educational opportunities for lifelong learners and working professionals.

 

 

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  • Publication
    Toward a Culture of Connection: Sharing a Love Letter to Nature
    (2024) Molly M Peterson
    The relationship between human well-being and environmental well-being is deeply intertwined. This paper explores the constructs of gratitude, nature connectedness, and social relationships to establish the scientific foundation for a positive psychology intervention titled Toward a Culture of Connection: Sharing a Love Letter to Nature. The randomized controlled study will use research on the pathways to nature connectedness by targeting emotional and cognitive leverage points for greater systemic change, addressing calls for more comprehensive, system-informed approaches in positive psychology. As we confront unprecedented environmental challenges and a surge in loneliness and mental health issues, this intervention for couples seeks to enhance both human connection and nature connectedness. Social connection is one of the leading contributors to happiness, and by fostering stronger emotional bonds and a greater cognitive understanding of our interdependence with nature, the intervention aspires to promote happiness and drive positive behavioral changes that support human and environmental well-being.
  • Publication
    Exploring Masculine Strengths Through Character Strengths: A Pilot Study of Positive Masculinity in Boys
    (2023) Ann C. Vanichkachorn
    Media driven debates arguing the fate of boys and men are commonplace, but little has been done to bring consensus in finding solutions. This study aims to explore how character strengths may be leveraged to enhance the healthy embodiment of masculinity. A sample of 107 preadolescent and adolescent males participated in this exploratory study of correlations between masculinity measured by the Children’s Personal Attributes Scale and character strengths identified through the VIA Inventory. Secondarily, the subject's self-reported willingness to express emotions was assessed by questions based on the Emotion Expression Scale for Children. Fifteen character strengths were found to be significantly positively correlated with masculinity scale scores and one character strength (humility) negatively correlated with masculinity. Leadership was found to be negatively correlated with emotional expression. Collectively, top strengths were less masculine than expected for students attending an all-boy school. When broken down by grade levels, significant differences were found that support prior studies assessing the differences in character strengths in boys from late childhood to late adolescence. While these findings are specific to the population studied, it may inform continued research in positive masculinity in boys and identify specific ways that character strengths-based interventions can help address the “plight” of boys and men.
  • Publication
    Exploring Grassland Bird Occupancy On Farm Fields in Pennsylvania’s Chester County
    (2024) Liam Hart
    In North America, roughly three-quarters of grassland bird species have experienced population declines since 1970. These declines have a variety of causes, but the degradation, fragmentation, and outright loss of natural habitat stand out among them. As a result of this habitat loss, many grassland birds now rely on farm fields for nesting territory. This often results in the destruction of nests and young birds by combines or mowers, as many crops are harvested during peak breeding season for birds. Combating this crisis requires conservationists to work closely with farmers and landowners to find solutions that work for them as well as the birds that depend on their land. Understanding how birds respond to different crops and management regimes can inform conservation decisions on a regional level. Pennsylvania’s Chester County is an ideal area to study these dynamics as it has historically had an agricultural economic base but has seen losses in overall farmland resulting from population growth and economic diversification. This study used point count bird surveys, conducted from May 9 to July 16, 2022, across 21 fields in Chester County to assess nesting habitat suitability for three ground nesting grassland birds: Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), and Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum). Fields were categorized into four groups: hayfields mowed before June 1, hayfields mowed after July 1, wheatfields, and row crop fields (corn or soybeans). The data collected in this study show that Bobolinks had a strong preference for hayfields mowed after the end of June, while Grasshopper Sparrows preferred hayfields that were mowed before June. Eastern Meadowlarks occurred in both early cut and late cut hayfields in roughly equal numbers. All three species showed a strong preference for hayfields over the other crops surveyed, although more data may be needed to further assess whether there may be underappreciated value amongst the non-hay crops. Additionally, all three species exhibited edge avoidance, favoring field interiors.
  • Publication
    The First Bank of the United States
    (1907) John Thom Holdsworth
  • Publication
    Helping Environmental Groups Build Environmental Capacity with DEIJ
    (2024-12) Kaila Beatriz Cantens
    Traditional environmental organizations have historically overlooked or inadequately addressed environmental justice (EJ) issues that disproportionately affect people of color. An example that illustrates this problem can be seen in the history of the "Not In My Backyard" (NIMBY) movement, where environmental concerns were often centered around white, affluent communities, leading to the marginalization of communities of color in the environmental discourse. In recent years, environmental groups have implemented departments, programs, or frameworks to address environmental justice issues that disproportionately affect people of color but struggle to acquire the appropriate staff, tools, or knowledge to address these issues appropriately. The history and philosophy of the traditional environmental movement juxtaposed with that of the environmental justice movement will show the persistent racial divide between the two separate movements. This study suggests that a diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice program can arm environmental organizations with the tools, knowledge, and staff recruitment and retention to execute environmental justice programs and initiatives more effectively and appropriately. The history and concepts of DEIJ are intertwined with those of EJ, including connections between the movement leaders, how many EJ activists and groups define justice, and how DEIJ implements that conception of justice. To this extent, DEIJ can align the organization’s internal values with their external ones concerning EJ. Many DEIJ programs are not successful due to their short training session, their inability to follow up with their participants, the lack of trust or credence they are given, and other challenges. Although there are many considerations on the efficacy of DEIJ programs, studies show evidence of positive changes in organizational output and positive staff experience after implementing a mature DEI program. The Cream City Conservation DEIJ program, founded by August Ball, is a case study that will show a mature program's intricacies and how such a program can implement sustainable DEIJ practices and structures rooted in anti-racism. The field of DEIJ is operated by individual practitioners and academics without any group consensus on the most effective type of program, thus not benefitting from an agreed-upon standard of practice. In the future, this topic would benefit from further dialogue in the DEIJ community about setting a standard that can prevent organizations from investing in unsuccessful programs.
  • Publication
    Ch2ROMA: A Positive Psychology Approach to Transitioning Optimally
    (2024) Patricia Adelfa Cantu
    Researchers have found that enhancing strengths and using the humanities to explore and express one's emotions increases well-being. These findings are particularly important for third culture kids (TCKs). Third culture kids are children who spend their developmental years constantly relocating and estranged from their passport or their parent ́s culture. Because of their high mobility lifestyle, TCKs face two major challenges: unresolved grief and unestablished identity. In this capstone, the author proposes the implementation of a positive intervention that teaches TCKs to harness their strengths and interact with the humanities to achieve well-being. In this intervention, TCKs will complete self-reflection activities that will help them harness the power of their strengths and develop an optimistic mindset to become more resilient while relocating.
  • Publication
    Measuring the weight of love: Have relationships deteriorated over time?
    (2019-08-09) Cheuk, Chung H
    We are healthier, richer, safer, and better educated than ever before. Yet paradoxically, depression is on the rise in the United States. Given the strong emphasis that positive psychology places on the importance of social relationships, I review direct and proxy evidence that relationships are deteriorating in the United States. Additionally, I outline next steps to strengthen this hypothesis. The implications of this work point toward a need to complement the joys of modernity with interventions and policies that support strengthening our weakened relationships.
  • Publication
    So She May Thrive: Psychological Flexibility As A Pathway To Flourishing For Teenage Girls
    (2019-08-01) Christy Curtis Peterson
    Adolescence is a heightened period of storm and stress due to the many developmental changes taking place during the teen years. For teenage girls, these challenges are often exacerbated by environmental stressors including impossible cultural standards of success, media overuse, and daily harassment by peers that threaten overall well-being. This capstone reviews research in positive psychology that promises to improve teenage girls’ ability to navigate life stressors, and to embrace adolescence as a time of wonder—of curiosity and exploration, passion, novelty-seeking and building new relationships. Psychological flexibility is proposed as a cornerstone of adolescent health and well-being, and its presence may help girls navigate the challenges posed by the adolescent years with greater resilience, connection and courage. Psychological flexibility refers to the ability to connect to the present moment and to change or persist in behaviors that align with deeply held personal values (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 2012). Although a fluid construct, research suggests that emotion regulation flexibility, mindfulness, self-compassion, positivity, and valued action increase psychological flexibility and its many benefits. Targeted interventions including Mindful Self-Compassion and a modified Acceptance and Commitment Therapy training are discussed as promising strategies to help teenage girls cultivate psychological flexibility as they transition from girls into thriving adults.
  • Publication
  • Publication
    Pitch Variability Cues Perceptions of Singlish: A Perceptually-guided Approach to Sociophonetic Variation
    (2024-10) Tan, Yin Lin; Lin, Ting; Sumner, Meghan
    Multiple models have been proposed to understand variation in the use of English in Singapore, many of which posit a distinction between Singlish, a colloquial variety of English in Singapore, and standard Singapore English. In contrast, an indexical, feature-based model does not draw such distinctions, but instead requires linguists to identify relevant linguistic features and the social meanings indexed by them. Using a perceptually-guided approach for prosodic features, this paper investigates the prosodic features that are associated with listeners' perceptions of Singlish. In an online study, 132 participants completed a speeded forced-choice task, where they chose which of two audio clips sounded 'More Singlish', and a post-task questionnaire. Listeners' descriptions of more Singlish-sounding speakers and clips were leveraged to identify prosodic features associated with Singlish. The results showed that a clip was more likely to be chosen as 'More Singlish' if it had more local pitch variability, less global pitch variability, and faster speech rate. We argue that pitch variability and speech rate cue perceptions of Singlish and are important for an indexical account of English in Singapore. The present study also underscores the utility of speeded forced-choice tasks in investigating sociophonetic variation. Future work can more precisely control for the features of pitch variability and speech rate, identify the specific social meanings indexed by these features, and disentangle the indexical pathways by which these features and their social meanings are connected.