The Conversation

How Taiwan uses Buddhist literature for environmental education

Written by Natasha Heller, Associate Professor of Religion, University of Virginia

Buddhist literature is used for teaching children about environmental issues in Taiwan.Photo credit should read SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges that the world faces. A United Nations report has cautioned that greenhouse gas emissions due to human activity are at a record high, “with no signs of...

Parler is bringing together mainstream conservatives, anti-Semites and white supremacists as the social media platform attracts millions of Trump supporters

Written by Alex Newhouse, Research Lead, Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

Parler is similar to Twitter but doesn't control or discourage hate speech or calls to violence.OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Image

Since the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Parler has caught on among right-wing politicians and “influencers” – people with large online followings – as a social media platform where they can...

57 años después del asesinato de Kennedy, las pistas en México se agotan

Written by Gonzalo Soltero, Professor of Narrative Analysis, School of Higher Studies, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

Esta es la supuesta foto de Lee Harvey Oswald que la estación de la CIA en la Ciudad de México envió tras el asesinato de JFK.

La mayoría de las teorías de conspiración que rodean el asesinato del expresidente estadounidense John F. Kennedy han sido refutadas. Kennedy no fue asesinado por un dispositivo de...

'Constructive arguing' can help keep the peace at your Thanksgiving table

Written by James M. Honeycutt, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies from Louisiana State University; Lecturer in Executive Education, University of Texas at Dallas

Those with different perspectives don’t have to butt heads.FluxFactory/E+ via Getty Images

Sex, income, religion and politics – these are some of the biggies on the list of taboo topics during polite discussion. Even a conciliatory tone doesn’t always protect you if the subjects are spicy. When singer Katy Perry tweeted...

This type of sexual harassment on campus often goes overlooked

Written by Sarah Ives, Instructor of Anthropology, City College of San Francisco

Teaching assistants often remain silent when sexual harassment comes from the students they teach.Hill Street Studios / Getty Images

When the #MeToo movement gained momentum in 2017, it exposed widespread sexual harassment in the workplace, and academia was no exception. Yet the COVID-19 pandemic has dimmed the spotlight on this issue in higher...

Homeless patients with COVID-19 often go back to life on the streets after hospital care, but there's a better way

Written by J. Robin Moon, Adjunct Associate Professor, City University of New York

Union Square in Manhattan, where many of New York City's homeless live. Noam Galai via Getty Images

In 2019, about 567,715 homeless people were living in the United States. While this number had been steadily decreasing since 2007, in the past two years it has started to increase. For New York City, even before COVID-19, 2020 was already turning...

Poland's anti-abortion push highlights pandemic risks to democracy

Written by Brian Grodsky, Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The push to tighten Poland's restrictive abortion laws has proved a lightning bolt moment for protesters. Wojtek Raadwanski/AFP via Getty Images

Hundreds of thousands of Poles have taken to the streets since late October, defying bans on mass gatherings and risks from the COVID-19 pandemic to protest the government.

An immediate concern for...

Will there be a monument to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Written by Emily Godbey, Associate Professor, Art and Visual Culture, Iowa State University

Editor’s Note: Dr. Emily Godbey is a professor of art and visual culture at Iowa State University. In this interview, she discusses how plague monuments were used to commemorate victims of past disease outbreaks, temporary memorials for COVID-19 and why plague memorials are not as prolific as war memorials.

A short history of plague monuments....

Janet Yellen and Kamala Harris keep shattering glass ceilings – but global elite boys club remains

Written by Kevin L. Young, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Yellen with a few of the boys. AP Photo/Annie Rice

Janet Yellen may soon become the first woman to lead the Treasury Department, about six years after shattering another glass ceiling at the top of the Federal Reserve.

She’s not alone in breaking down barriers in President-elect Joe Biden’s proposed new Cabinet. Michele Flournoy is the...

California vetoed ethnic studies requirements for public high school students, but the movement grows

Written by Wayne Au, Professor of Education, University of Washington, Bothell

A mural outside La Chiquita Grocery in Santa Ana, Calif. honors the military service of nearly 200 local Mexican Americans.Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom surprised many supporters in his state earlier this fall when he vetoed a bill that would have required public high school students to take ethnic...