The Conversation

What is Ashura? How this Shiite Muslim holiday inspires millions

Written by Noorzehra Zaidi, Assistant Professor of HIstory, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Ashura in SyriaTasnim News Agency, CC BY-SA

Tens of millions of Shiite Muslims from around the world will visit Iraq on Sept. 10 this year to see the shrines of Hussain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, and his brother Abbas on the day of “Ashura.”

This annual pilgrimage marks the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic new...

'I'll have what she's having' – how and why we copy the choices of others

Written by Kelly L. Haws, Associate Professor of Marketing, Vanderbilt University

The choice of flavor may be up to you, but the number of scoops will depend on what your companion gets.Zamurovic Photography/Shutterstock.com

Imagine you’re dining out at a casual restaurant with some friends. After looking over the menu, you decide to order the steak. But then, after a dinner companion orders a salad for their main course,...

Are you mentally well enough for college?

Written by Nicholas Joyce, Psychologist, University of South Florida

College students are seeking mental health treatment on campus at record levels. Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com

Last spring an 18-year-old college freshman who got straight A’s in high school – but was now failing several courses – came to my office on the campus where I work as a psychologist.

The student was seeking a med...

Dr. Spock's timeless lessons in parenting

Written by Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University

Author and physician Dr. Benjamin Spock in NYC in 1974.AP Photo/Jerry Mosey

The book ignited a revolution, breaking free from conventional wisdom that said children required schedules, discipline and little affection. Instead, “The Common Sense Book of Baby and Childcare,” written by Dr. Benjamin Spock and published in 1946, encouraged...

New abortion laws contribute to sexist environments that harm everyone's health

Written by Patricia Homan, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Florida State University

Protesters in New York City on May 21, 2019 express their opposition to restrictive abortion laws.Mary Altaffer/AP Photo

Nine states have passed laws in 2019 alone that restrict abortion at the earliest stages of pregnancy. Those of us who study public health are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential for negative health consequences...

How climate change is driving emigration from Central America

Written by Miranda Cady Hallett, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Human Rights Center Research Fellow, University of Dayton

A farmer carries firewood during the dry season in Nicaragua, one of the Central American countries affected by a recent drought.Neil Palmer for CIAT/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Clouds of dust rose behind the wheels of the pickup truck as we hurtled over the back road in Palo Verde, El Salvador. When we got to the stone-paved part of the road, the driver...

I wrote a book about email – and found myself pining for the days of letter-writing

Written by Randy Malamud, Regents' Professor of English, Georgia State University

On paper, lives were lived, trysts arranged, manifestos mailed and wars waged.MCAD Library/flickr, CC BY

Email has become so prevalent in our lives that I felt compelled to write about it for a Bloomsbury series called “Object Lessons” that examines “the hidden lives of ordinary things.”

Perhaps I chose this topic because I...

How nine days underwater helps scientists understand what life on a Moon base will be like

Written by Csilla Ari D`Agostino, Research Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of South Florida

Csilla Ari D`Agostino and her teammate carry out experiments outside their undersea habitat.NASA

As NASA prepares to return to the Moon in the next couple of years and possibly even establish bases, it needs a better understanding of how the human body performs in such an inhospitable habitat.

To that end, two astronauts, two researchers (including...

Lessons from the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, 25 years after the genocide it failed to stop

Written by Samantha Lakin, PhD Candidate, Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies; Fulbright Scholar, Clark University

Family photos of the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, displayed at a 25th anniversary memorial in April 2019.AP Photo/Ben Curtis

The United Nations deployment to Rwanda seemed like a straightforward peacekeeping mission back in 1993.

A lightly armed force of approximately 2,500 peacekeepers would help implement the Arusha Agreement, a 1993...

How many Americans believe in climate change? Probably more than you think, research in Indiana suggests

Written by Matthew Houser, Assistant Research Scientist and Faculty Fellow, Indiana University

Concern about climate change is broader than many Hoosiers think. Katherine Welles/Shutterstock

Indiana certainly doesn’t look like a state that’s ready to confront climate change. Its former governor, Vice President Mike Pence, has questioned whether human actions affect the climate. In 2016 the majority of Indiana residents voted for...