The Conversation

The veil in Iran has been an enduring symbol of patriarchal norms – but its use has changed depending on who is in power

Written by Amy Motlagh, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and Middle Eastern/South Asian Studies, University of California, Davis

In much of the media outside Iran, female protesters not wearing the headscarf have been highlighted as symbols of defiance.AP Photo/Middle East Images, File

In images of the uprising that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16, 2022, perhaps the most iconic ones, aside from that of Amini herself, are those of unveiled Iranian...

How much can public schools control what students wear?

Written by Brian Boggs, Assistant Professor of Policy and Educational Leadership, University of Michigan

Are some shirts too distracting for school?AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus

School dress codes can be harmful to LGBTQ students and students of color, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. These codes can lead school officials to punish these two groups for simply who they are or for expressing...

4 signs of progress at the UN climate change summit

Written by Rachel Kyte, Dean of the Fletcher School, Tufts University

Developing countries are calling for more funding and for changes at the World Bank.Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Leer in español

Something significant is happening in the desert in Egypt as countries meet at COP27, the United Nations summit on climate change.

Despite frustrating sclerosis in the negotiating halls, the pathway forward for ramping...

'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' continues the series' quest to recover and celebrate lost cultures

Written by Julian C. Chambliss, Professor of English, Michigan State University

Talokan is inspired by Mesoamerica, a vast area that encompasses Central America and parts of Mexico.Marvel Studios

As someone who teaches and writes about Afrofuturism, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” I’m particularly excited about the introduction of Namor and the hidden kingdom...

This course examines how images of veiled Muslim women are used to justify war

Written by Sara Rahnama, Assistant Professor of History, Morgan State University

Photographs capture images of women in war-torn regions of the world. SHAH MARAI/AFP via Getty Images

Unusual Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Course Title:

“Women and War”

What prompted the idea for the course?

When I was on a fellowship at the Library of...

How the energy crisis is pressuring countries' climate plans – while some race to renewables, others see wealth in natural gas, but drilling benefits may be short-lived

Written by Robert Brecha, Professor of Sustainability, University of Dayton

A pipeline in Tunisia supplies natural gas from Algeria to Italy. Fethi Belaid/AFP via Getty Images

Russia’s war on Ukraine has cast a shadow over this week’s meetings of world leaders at the G-20 summit in Bali and the United Nations climate change conference in Egypt.

The war has dramatically disrupted energy markets the world over,...

What is Mastodon? A social media expert explains how the 'federated' network works and why it won't be a new Twitter

Written by Brian C. Keegan, Assistant Professor of Information Science, University of Colorado Boulder

Twitter users who are fleeing to the social media platform Mastodon are finding it to be a different animal.Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

In the wake of Elon Musk’s noisy takeover of Twitter, people have been looking for alternatives to the increasingly toxic microblogging social media platform. Many of those fleeing...

How cancer cells can become immortal – new research finds a mutated gene that helps melanoma defeat the normal limits on repeated replication

Written by Pattra Chun-On, Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences

Melanoma is a particularly aggressive form of skin cancer.Dlumen/iStock via Getty Images Plus

A defining characteristic of cancer cells is their immortality. Usually, normal cells are limited in the number of times they can divide before they stop growing. Cancer cells, however, can overcome this limitation to form tumors and bypass...

The 'carpetbagger' label that Fetterman stuck on Oz may have been key in defeating him

Written by Charles R. Hunt, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Boise State University

John Fetterman, left, relentlessly ridiculed Mehmet Oz, right, with the label 'carpetbagger' during the U.S. Senate campaign, which Fetterman ultimately won.AP

Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz came to a close very early on the morning of Nov. 9, 2022, with Fetterman securing a crucial...

Remembering the veterans who marched on DC to demand bonuses during the Depression, only to be violently driven out by active-duty soldiers

Written by Shannon Bow O'Brien, Associate Professor of Instruction, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts

The Bonus Army protesting on the U.S. Capitol steps on Jan. 2,1932.Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The Bonus Army March is a forgotten footnote of American history.

It involved as many as 30,000 mostly unemployed veterans who converged on Washington, D.C. in the spring and summer of 1932 to demand an early cash...