Roger Allen Named Sascha Jane Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics

Roger Allen, professor of Arabic and chair of the department of Near Eastern languages and civilizations, has been named the Sascha Jane Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics. Dr. Allen is the author of numerous articles and translations, in addition to a major study on the Arabic novel and an anthology of critical writings. His current research concerns the broader field of Arabic literature, including the challenges of evaluating literary works in light of post-colonial complexities.

The first person to obtain a doctorate in modern Arabic literature at the University of Oxford, Dr. Allen joined the Penn faculty in 1968. He served as faculty director of Penn’s Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business from the program’s inauguration in 1994 through 2006. He is currently serving as president of the Middle East Studies Association.

The Sascha Jane Patterson Harvie Professorship was established in 2008 with a bequest from Dr. Fred H. Harvie in honor of his wife. The chair is intended to support a faculty member who is engaged in the study and teaching of the ways in which societies, cultures, and religions of the world have addressed the central ethical and moral issues of their times.

Arts & Sciences News

Azuma and Hart Named Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professors of American History

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Arts & Sciences Students Honored during 37th Annual Women of Color Day

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Nine College Students and Alums Named Thouron Scholars; Will Pursue Graduate Studies in the U.K.

The Scholars are six seniors and three recent graduates whose majors range from neuroscience to communication.

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Irma Elo Named Tamsen and Michael Brown Presidential Professor in Sociology

Elo’s main research interests center on inequalities in health and mortality across the life course and demographic estimation of mortality. In recent years, she has extended her research to include predictors of cognition in high-, middle-, and low-income countries.

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Julia Hartmann Named Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor in Mathematics

She specializes in algebra and arithmetic geometry, a newer field that applies techniques from algebraic geometry to solve problems in number theory and co-developed the method of field patching.

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Holger Sieg Named Baird Term Professor of Economics

Sieg focuses his research on public and urban economics, as well as the political economy of state and local governments.

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