The School of Arts and Sciences announced a new academic initiative to bring students, faculty, and the public together last week.
The program — titled “SAS Commons” — is set to take effect later this year. In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, SAS Dean Mark Trodden wrote that the initiative “epitomizes” the school’s strategic goals.
According to an April 7 announcement, SAS Commons will include “courses, symposia, workshops, and related initiatives” related to a “single, timely theme” which will rotate biennially. The inaugural theme — “Democracy and Knowledge” — will be directed by History professor Sophia Rosenfeld.
Rosenfeld shared her inspiration in an interview with the DP.
“Partly, it came from the strategic plan of the University,” Rosenfeld said. “Partly, it came from the fact that everyone will be here in Philadelphia when eyes will be on this city because of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.”
The school’s new strategic vision — which is committed to “fostering community, culture, and belonging” and “partnering with the public” — was announced in February.
Trodden wrote to the DP that the theme emphasizes incorporating natural science disciplines “into a topic that at first glance one might think would be more the domain of the humanities and social sciences.”
“To my mind, even the most abstract sciences say physics or mathematics contribute a lot to the way you are trained to think as a citizen,” Rosenfeld explained. “Imagine thinking about voting but having no idea about numbers and how they work.”
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According to the press release, the theme will investigate how various aspects of the liberal arts “contribute to democratic revitalization and the flourishing of democratic citizenship.”
Rosenfeld said that her plan for the program included three levels: introducing new courses to the School of Arts and Sciences’ curriculum, organizing a series of “more public-facing events that will be open to the larger campus,” and establishing a scholarly society for postdoctoral researchers and graduate students.
She described the “Society of Fellows in Public Knowledge” as an “effort to try to help budding scholars translate what they're doing into accessible terms.”
Trodden wrote that he hoped the initiative would offer the Penn community a “chance to think deeply” about democracy, “especially at a moment of sweeping change like the one academia is facing today.”
According to Rosenfeld, the new programs will take effect in August.
“We’re now still in the planning stages, which means it will really kick off with the new term in the fall,” Rosenfeld added. “It will evolve again as people weigh in on it.”
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Staff reporter Kathryn Ye covers central administration and can be reached at ye@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies biochemistry and philosophy.
