The Conversation

Arming teachers – an effective security measure or a false sense of security?

Written by Aimee Huff, Associate Professor, Marketing, Oregon State University

Even trained police officers often miss their target during gunfights.RichLegg / Getty Images

In the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, some elected officials are making calls anew for teachers to be armed and trained to use firearms to protect the nation’s schools. To shine light on the matter, The...

The ordination of the first female rabbi 50 years ago has brought many changes – and some challenges

Written by Carole B. Balin, Professor Emerita of Jewish History, Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion

Sara Hurwitz, Amy Eilberg, Sandy Eisenberg Sasso and Sally J. Priesand, each of whom was the first female rabbi in her branch of Judaism.Courtesy of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives

Fifty years ago, on June 3, 1972, as Sally J. Priesand became the first woman ordained a rabbi by a Jewish seminary, her 35 male classmates...

The 'sonnenrad' used in shooters' manifestos: a spiritual symbol of hate

Written by Helen A. Berger, Affliate Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis University

A person visits a makeshift memorial near the scene of the fatal shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, on May 19, 2022.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Just before the supermarket shooting that killed 10 people on May 14, 2022 in Buffalo, New York, the suspected terrorist posted a manifesto online. The top is adorned with a “sonnenrad,”...

Students are often segregated within the same schools, not just by being sent to different ones

Written by Kari Dalane, Ph.D. Candidate in Public Administration and Policy, American University School of Public Affairs

Classmates in grades 3, 4 and 5 are more likely to come from diverse economic backgrounds than their schoolmates in grades 6, 7 and 8.Paul Bersebach, MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Children from low-income households are increasingly being...

Nasal COVID-19 vaccines help the body prepare for infection right where it starts – in your nose and throat

Written by Mayuresh Abhyankar, Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases and International Health, University of Virginia

Seven nasal vaccines for COVID-19 are currently in clinical trials around the world.VSargues/iStock via Getty Images

Imagine inhaling just a few drops of liquid or mist to get protected from COVID-19. That is the idea behind nasal COVID-19 vaccines, and they have been getting a lot of attention recently as a spray or liquid. These nasal vaccines...

Yes, Muslims are portrayed negatively in American media -- 2 political scientists reviewed over 250,000 articles to find conclusive evidence

Written by Erik Bleich, Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science, Middlebury

Students with the Muslim Consultative Network's summer youth program gather on the steps of New York's City Hall on Aug. 14, 2013, to speak out against Islamophobia.AP Photo/Richard Drew

The warm welcome Americans and Europeans have given Ukrainians in 2022 contrasts sharply with the uneven – and frequently hostile – policies toward...

Desegregating schools requires more than giving parents free choices – a scholar studies the choices parents of all races make

Written by Chantal Hailey, Assistant Professor of Sociology, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts

Racial bias may play a role both in the schools that families choose for their children and the experiences their children have.Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Chantal Hailey is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts.Her work focuses on the role of race and racism in how people...

Yes, Muslims are portrayed negatively in American media — 2 political scientists reviewed over 250,000 articles to find conclusive evidence

Written by Erik Bleich, Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science, Middlebury

Students with the Muslim Consultative Network's summer youth program gather on the steps of New York's City Hall on Aug. 14, 2013, to speak out against Islamophobia.AP Photo/Richard Drew

The warm welcome Americans and Europeans have given Ukrainians in 2022 contrasts sharply with the uneven — and frequently hostile — policies toward...

Mass shootings leave behind collective despair, anguish and trauma at many societal levels

Written by Arash Javanbakht, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University

The latest mass shooting, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, has plunged the country into yet another cycle of collective trauma.Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The deadly shooting of at least 19 children and two adults in Texas on May 24, 2022, is the latest in an ever-growing list of national tragedies, leaving...

6 charts shows key role firearms makers play in America’s gun culture

Written by Michael Siegel, Visiting Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University

Sales of handguns have exploded in recent years. AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Americans have blamed many culprits, from mental illness to inadequate security, for the tragic mass shootings that are occurring with increasing frequency in schools, offices and theaters across the U.S.

The latest, which occurred on May 24, 2022, at a Texas elementary school...