Barbara Earl Thomas: The Illuminated Body - Exhibition

February 17 – May 21, 2024  Barbara Earl Thomas’ most recent series of portraits weave an exquisite tapestry of light and color to depict individuals illuminated in moments of creativity. Invoking the history of portraiture, Thomas’ nine large-scale cut paper pieces celebrate great Black cultural icons such as August Wilson, Seth Parker Woods, and Charles Johnson, alongside Thomas’ friends, family, and acquaintances. Set in contexts ranging from public performance to the quiet of daydreaming, they honor the creative spark in all its manifestations. Thomas describes her subjects with nuance and care, encouraging extended viewing of these vibrant and layered portraits. The portraits are presented with The Transformation Room, a luminous installation created from light and intricately cut Tyvek, which offers a moment of respite for reflection and inspiration.

Lecture Series: Jews and the University: Antisemitism, Admissions, Academic Freedom

January 23 - March 14, 2024  The integration of Jews into the university is one of the great success stories of modern American culture and Jewish life. But recent events at Penn and at other campuses have led to accusations that the university has been too tolerant of antisemitism and become less welcoming to Jews. This free lecture series is an effort to share insights from history, sociology, education studies, and other fields that can help put the present moment into context.

The series kicks off with Dara Horn's in-person appearance at Penn Hillel on January 23, and continues with online talks through February and March.

Campus Conversation

Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts | to

We invite you to join us in a Campus Conversation designed to strengthen and support our community.

This has been a challenging year for everyone in the Penn community. While there is no quick and easy fix to the many challenges we face, the Campus Conversation will be one part of our ongoing effort to support and care for one another. 

At this event, we will be joined by members of our community from across campus to discuss what we can do, individually and collectively, to take care of ourselves and others and to foster individual and community resilience.  

We intend to have follow-up conversations around campus in the coming weeks, through which we hope to gather and refine additional ideas to support our community. We welcome your input.

Work-in-Progress: Jasbir Puar, Homonationalism in Trump Times

3810 Walnut Street, GSWS/APC Conference Room | to

APC Works in Progress Seminar with Jasbir Puar, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

Jasbir Puar, 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot': Debility, Capacity, Disability

401 Fisher-Bennett Hall (34th & Walnut) | to

A talk by Jasbir K. Puar, Associate Professor of Women's & Gender Studies at Rutgers University. She has also been a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Performance Studies at NYU and a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Cultural Inquiry in Berlin.

The Real Record on Racial Attitudes, Talk by Dr. Camille Z. Charles

World Cafe Live Upstairs |

Issues of race and racial division have been prominent features of  social organization and culture in the United States from as far back as the historical record goes. As a leading scholar in American race relations, Dr. Camille Z. Charles maps the major divisions of, and trends in, U.S. racial attitudes, and documents both significant progressive changes as well as substantial enduring frictions and conflicts that continue to make race such a fraught terrain. She will tackle the conceptually broad and analytically powerful record which is a strong caution against glib generalities that attempt to reduce an enormously multifaceted social phenomenon to simplistic catch phrases like “racist America,” “the end of racism” or, more recently, “post-racial America.” --Camille Z. Charles, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Social Sciences, School of Arts & Sciences, professor of sociology, Africana studies and education, School of Arts & Sciences, and director of the Center for Africana Studies.

Rhoda Reddock, Up Against a Wall: Muslim Women’s Struggle to Reclaim Masjid Space in Trinidad and Tobago

Location TBD | to

Rhonda Reddock discusses her paper, providing a detailed discussion of women’s mosque movements globally as a backdrop for a historical exploration of the changing position of women in Islamic religious practice in Trinidad and Tobago during the 20th and early 21st century with specific emphasis on their use of masjid (mosque) space.

Under the Gun: A Conference on State Violence & Black Populations

Perry World House, 3803 Locust Walk | to

The inaugural conference of the Marginalized Populations Project in Africana Studies at Penn, brings together scholars from the UPenn community with internationally renowned scholars and activists to examine the role of organized violence in the lives of black populations in multiple societies.

LGBT Center's 35th Anniversary Celebration

Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce Street | to

Join us celebrating the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) Center's 35th anniversary.  Registration recommended ($35/person, $10/student).

LGBT Center 35th Anniversary Rededication Ceremony

The Carriage House/LGBT Center, 3907 Spruce Street | to

As a part of the 35th Anniversary Celebration of the LGBT Center, you are invited to join the rededication of the Carriage House in honor of founding director Bob Schoenberg upon his retirement.  All are welcome at no cost.

Latinx Heritage Month Closing Ceremony

ARCH 208, 3601 Locust Walk | to

Community Leader and Chef, Cristina Martinez emigrated to the U.S. crossing the desert in unimaginable heat and at a dangerous risk. She met her husband Miller when they worked in a restaurant in Philadelphia together, a restaurant that would soon fire her when they discovered her undocumented status. “This is something that can be achieved only through struggle, perseverance, and hard work,” said Martinez, whose decision to declare her status puts her business and livelihood at risk, but whose success has been an inspiration to the Mexican/Latinx communities in Philly.

Penn in Latin America & the Caribbean Conference

Perry World House 38th and Locust Walk | to

The PLAC 3rd Annual Conference - Right, Left, Right: U-Turns and their Impact in  Latin America and the Caribbean - will bring together colleagues and scholars from  multiple disciplines across the University of Pennsylvania regarding social and political shifts in Latin America and the Caribbean.