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.

Veterans Day Flag Raising Ceremony

Virtual event | to

Featuring
Penn's NROTC Midshipmen and the Presentation of Colors from the Hollenback Center
Col. Vincent John Ciuccoli, USMC -- Commanding Officer, Philadelphia Consortium NROTC

Guest Speaker
Lynn Manuel, Veterans & Military Affiliated Coordinator, Penn Student Records & Financial Services

Buzzfeed's Inga Lam - Speaker - Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week

Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall |

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week is proud to present our headline speaker for 2021, Inga Lam, coming to Penn on November 10th. Come learn about Inga's experiences travelling the world and taking inspiration for her own dishes at home. Plus, watch as student's from Penn's very own Penn Appetite take on Inga's challenge and create their own dish for Inga to try!

Across Cultures and Time

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts |

Ania VuComposer and pianist, PhD Candidate, Penn Music. Born and raised in Poland, and of Vietnamese descent, Ania Vu has a passion for music, text, and languages. Join us for an intimate recital featuring a song cycle set to French poetry by Verlaine and Prévert, songs set to Vu’s own words in Polish, solo piano music, and a duo for percussion and piano. Vu will be accompanied by soprano Paulina Swierczek and percussionist Alyssa Resh. 

We’re All in this Together - Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week

ARCH 108 |

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week Event - This workshop, ‘We’re All in this Together’, aims to bring together people from different backgrounds to talk about their associations with both American and Asian cultures, and the similarities and differences that run between them. We will first do a speed dating icebreaker with a Squid Game twist (can you flip the ddakji over?! Think of the scene in the subway!) so that we can get to know each other. Afterward, the majority of the workshop will be held in an interactive, small-group format, with PAACH leaders guiding the activity and discussion. Each group will create a board which shows the different selves and identities that they feel they have to take on in their everyday lives.

Extravaganza - Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week

Bodek Lounge |

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Week 2021 kicks off with Extravaganza. We're bringing together dozens of Penn's clubs in 2 hours of jam-packed excitement. We'll be catering food and have groups lined up one after one to celebrate APAHW 2021 and our shared heritage and culture.

Sankofa Imperatives, Black Women, and the Archival Turn

401 Fisher Bennett Hall |

Gabrielle ForemanPaterno Family Professor of American Literature and Professor of African American Studies and History, Penn State University.  As founding director of the Colored Conventions Project and as the research historian for a decade-long performance project to bring buried Black history to the stage, Gabrielle Foreman discusses how digital archives and resurrectionary poetics stitch the ephemerality and partiality of the Black past-present into a quilt of historical recovery.

A Walk Through Indonesia

G22 Arch | to

Come take A Walk Through Indonesia to experience what's most fun and exciting about us! Learn about Indonesian college life, chat with our students while coloring traditional batik designs, and more!  PAACH/APSC event hosted by the International Guest Student Program students at Penn.

Addressing a More Complex and Encompassing Understanding of Identity

Online |

As part of Penn's Diversity Lecture Series Melissa E. Sanchez, Ph.D., Penn’s Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies, will discuss the new Center’s direction that addresses a more complex and encompassing understanding of identity.

Chinese American Contributions to the Fabric of America

Online |

A free presentation: "From Foundations to Frontiers," a landmark study of the challenges for and contributions of Chinese Americans to American society over the past 175 years.

The evidence-driven study details the contribution across Arts & Culture, Civil Rights, Public Service & Politics, Business Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Infrastructure, Military & National Security, Public Health, and Science & Technology.

The study was commissioned by Committee of 100, a non-profit membership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, healthcare, and the arts focused on public policy engagement, civic engagement, and philanthropy. For over 30 years, Committee of 100 has served as a preeminent organization committed to the dual missions of promoting the full participation of Chinese Americans in all aspects of American life and constructive relations between the United States and Greater China.

This virtual presentation will provoke curiosity and offer a new perspective on Chinese American contributions while identifying, quantifying, and showcasing the contributions of the Chinese American community through data and storytelling.

The event will be a 30-minute presentation followed by a facilitated discussion.

By registering for this event, you will be added to the Committee of 100 mailing list and have access to our future public programming. If you wish to unsubscribe, you can do so at any time via the email opt-out.

Honoring Indigenous Two Spirit & Queer Relatives

3907 Spruce St. and Online |

Join Natives at Penn, the LGBT Center, and La Casa Latina in celebration of National Coming Out Day and Indigenous People's Day, both on Oct 11 this year! Sharing their stories will be:

~Andrew Caldwell, Wa-Wa-Ti-In-In-Ne (Northern Lights Man) he/him/they
-Algonquin (Anishinaabe) two-spirit person
-from the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg community, Canada

~Sage Chanell
-Trans two spirit person
-Absentee-Shawnee, Ponca, and Otoe from Oklahoma
-Miss International Two Spirit 2016-17
-Co-chair of the Central Oklahoma Two Spirit Society

~Moréna Espiritual
-Queer Afro-Indigenous Dominican person
-Non-binary dancer and artist based in Mexico

After our guests speak, there will be Q&A and a small outdoor reception afterward for those attending in person.

Zoom link if attending virtually: https://vpul-upenn.zoom.us/j/94465435278?pwd=RG1Ob1Zub2ZOQUVKRjBBcy9xNldFUT09