The Conversation

I’m an artist using scientific data as an artistic medium − here’s how I make meaning

Written by Sarah Nance, Assistant Professor of Integrated Practice in Art and Design, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Sarah Nance at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, 2019.Courtesy of Sarah Nance

As an artist working across media, I’ve used everything from thread to my voice to poetically translate and express information. Recently, I’ve been working with another medium – geologic datasets.

While scientists use data visualization to show the...

The US is struggling to handle an immigration surge – here’s how Europe is dealing with its own influx

Written by Tara Sonenshine, Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice in Public Diplomacy, Tufts University

Workers from the Spanish nonprofit Open Waters rescue 178 migrants from different countries, off the coast of Italy in September 2023. Jose Colon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

As record-high numbers of undocumented migrants cross the United States-Mexico border illegally, one key question is how the U.S. got into this situation, and what lessons...

Latin America's colonial period was far less Catholic than it might seem − despite the Inquisition's attempts to police religion

Written by Diego Javier Luis, Assistant Professor of History, Tufts University

One of the most pervasive myths about colonial Latin American society is that it was Catholic, full stop.

It’s a familiar story: As history books tell it, the Europeans brought their religion to the New World, and none were as zealous in their attempts to convert Indigenous people as the Spaniards. Indeed, in the Spanish view, the quest to...

Students in this course learn the art of the apology

Written by Nancy E. Berg, Professor of comparative literature, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

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

Title of course:

Sorry: The art and literature of the apology

What prompted the idea for the course?

A number of years ago our students and faculty read Eula Biss’ book “Notes from No Man’s Land” for our...

Old forests are critically important for slowing climate change and merit immediate protection from logging

Written by Beverly Law, Professor Emeritus of Global Change Biology and Terrestrial Systems Science, Oregon State University

An old-growth forest of noble fir trees at Marys Peak in Oregon's Coast Range.Beverly Law, CC BY-ND

Forests are an essential part of Earth’s operating system. They reduce the buildup of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and land degradation by 30% each year. This slows global temperature...

Beijing may have brokered a fragile truce in northern Myanmar – but it can't mask China's inability to influence warring parties

Written by Tharaphi Than, Associate Professor of World Cultures and Languages, Northern Illinois University

Members of the rebel Ta'ang National Liberation Army standing guard in Shan state, Myanmar.STR/AFP via Getty Images

A shaky agreement to end fighting in northern Myanmar has served to highlight concerns in Beijing over the ongoing unrest – and the limits of China’s power to influence the ongoing civil war.

On Jan. 12, 2024, China...

Beijing may have brokered a fragile truce in northern Myanmar – but it can’t mask China’s inability to influence warring parties

Written by Tharaphi Than, Associate Professor of World Cultures and Languages, Northern Illinois University

Members of the rebel Ta'ang National Liberation Army standing guard in Shan state, Myanmar.STR/AFP via Getty Images

A shaky agreement to end fighting in northern Myanmar has served to highlight concerns in Beijing over the ongoing unrest – and the limits of China’s power to influence the ongoing civil war.

On Jan. 12, 2024, China...

Trump defends himself to the Supreme Court, saying he called ‘for peace, patriotism, respect for law and order’ on Jan. 6 and is not an insurrectionist

Written by Wayne Unger, Assistant Professor of Law, Quinnipiac University

The U.S Supreme Court will decide whether former President Donald Trump can be kept off the 2024 presidential ballot. AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib

Filing late in the day to meet the Jan. 18, 2024, deadline, former President Donald Trump submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court that asked the justices to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court’s...

Students do better and schools are more stable when teachers get mental health support

Written by Lee Ann Rawlins Williams, Clinical Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation and Human Services, University of North Dakota

Teachers report worse well-being than the general population. VectorFusionArt via Getty Images

When it comes to mental health at school, typically the focus is on helping students, especially as they emerge from the pandemic with heightened levels of anxiety, stress and emotional need. But as school officials seek to put resources toward student...

Why did Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 have a sealed-off emergency exit in the first place? The answer comes down to money

Written by Amy Fraher, Lecturer in Management, Yale University

The door plug area of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft awaits inspection on Jan. 10, 2024. Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo

The aviation industry is still in shock from a near disaster on Jan. 5, 2024, in which a 60-pound “door plug” blew out from a nearly new Boeing 737 MAX 9 in flight at 16,000 feet, leaving a gaping hole in the...