On the 27th of January, the Philomathean Society will convene in the Second Meeting of the 522nd session. Come for tea, cheese, other edibles, and LitEx by Mr. Thadeus Dowad entitled: “Painting the ‘First’ Revolution: Hegel and the Semiotics of Blackness in French Revolutionary Visual Culture”.
Join us for the 1st meeting of the 522nd session! LitEx will be by Mr. Sam Bieler: “Everything is being taped: The Efficacy of CCTV Cameras in Preventing Crime”.
Friday January 20th, 4:00pm | 4th floor College Hall
Join the Philomathean society for tea this week with DeanThomas S. Robertson, theDean of the Wharton School and Reliance Professor of Management and Private Enterprise.
A seasoned business school administrator and a member of the Wharton faculty from 1971 to 1994, Dean Robertson has long been a champion of international and interdisciplinary education. Since returning to Wharton as Dean, his focus has been to expand Penn’s global footprint while advancing Wharton as a force for social and economic good.
So please join the Philomathean Society for tea and cookies and perhaps other treats this Friday at 4:00.
Comrades, it is time to throw off the chains of human oppression! Although now is the season to be rushin’, it is also the season to be Russian! Come join the Philomathean Society for an evening of food, conversation, and polite polemics. Meet the members this Wednesday, January 18th at 9 pm on the fourth floor of College Hall. Dress as you wish to be seen. And bring your own molotov cocktails.
Tuesday, February 21, 6:30—8:00 | 4th Floor College Hall
Dr. Robert Seyfarth (Psychology)
Dr. Elisabeth Camp (Philosophy)
Dr. Charles Yang (Linguistics)
Spectacularly varied in its manifestations and uses, a complex linguistic system remains one of the defining features of the human species. From politics to poetry, language is an indispensable feature of nearly all human endeavors, but its origins remain so poorly understood that the evolution of language has been dubbed by some to be the hardest problem in science. Noam Chomsky, recognized as the father of modern linguistics, has long argued that human language could not have gradually evolved from pre-linguistic systems in our primate ancestors, while renowned psychologist Steven Pinker vehemently argues just the opposite. Research in the field has brought primates like Kanzi the bonobo and Nim Chimpsky to international prominence, but has resolved few major disputes. Although scores of anthropologists, psychologists, linguists, and philosophers, among others, have wrestled with how language could have evolved and produced such tremendous variation in systems of verbal, gestural, and written communication, much remains contested and unanswered. Join the Philomathean Society and Dr. Robert Seyfarth (Psychology), Dr. Elisabeth Camp (Philosophy), and Dr. Charles Yang (Linguistics) as we explore recent empirical and theoretical work on the evolution of language and how it delves into the core of our understanding of culture and the mechanisms of the human mind.
This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.
Friday December 2nd, 4:00pm | 4th floor College Hall
Join Philo for tea this week with Dean Larry Jameson, the newly appointed head of the school of medicine as well as the executive vice president of the UPenn Health system!
Dr. Jameson’s research focus is molecular endocrinology, and has received numerous awards for his work in fields such as the role of endocrine genes in reproductive disorders.
So please join the Philomathean Society for tea and crumpets and perhaps other treats this Friday at 4:00.
Friday November 18th, 8:00pm | 4th floor College Hall
Join us for the penultimate meeting of the 521st session! LitEx, “Rachmaninov’s Updates: an analysis of his revisions and their reception”, by The James Kwak.
Thursday November 17th, 6:30pm | 4th floor College Hall
Prof. Andy Lamas (Urban Studies)
Prof. Ania Loomba (English)
Prof. Phil Nichols (Legal Studies)
The recent, rapid growth of the Occupy movement worldwide has directed attention to widespread discontent with social and economic inequality, “corporate greed,” and the influence of corporate lobbying in government. Among both those for and against the movement, opinions vary on the significance and importance of these protests. Occupiers of all creeds insist on their continued demonstration until political and economic change is realized, but bankers ignore them and politicians such as Mitt Romney accuse them of enacting “class warfare.” Yet at the core, these protests and the surrounding debate are prompted by very real questions about the division of wealth, social justice, the government’s rule in regulation, and the freedom of an individual to attain all that he or she can.
Join the Philomathean Society and Occupy Penn for an open discussion led by a faculty panel on the historical, legal, political, and ethical dimensions of the Occupy movement. Audience questions are encouraged. Refreshments will be provided.
The ubiquity of text in today’s world surpasses that of any other time in history. Are you interested in learning how fonts are designed? Join Philo and Mr. David Comberg at the Common Press to learn about digital, wood, and metal type and converse about typography, design and printing. Mr. Comberg will lead a hands-on demonstration in which those present will participate in setting a short text and printing a small keepsake. David Comberg teaches design and typography in the Fine Arts department. Please email secondcensor@philomathean.org if you are interested in attending.
The Common Press is the letterpress printing studio at the University of Pennsylvania, located in the basement of the Morgan Building, 205 South 34th Street, directly east of the Fine Arts Library.
On the 27th of January, the Philomathean Society will convene in the Second Meeting of 
