The Conversation

From ‘Frankenstein’ to ‘Dracula,’ exploring the dark world of death and the undead offers a reminder of our mortality

Written by Molly Ryder Granatino, Teaching Assistant Professor, English department, University of Tennessee

Students consider their own mortality in a literature course on death and dying. iStock/Getty Images Plus

Spooky decorations of ghosts and skeletons will soon be returning to people’s doorsteps ahead of Halloween – but year-round, I am thinking about literary representations of death and dying.

I am not alone. For centuries, death has...

Cellphones in schools – more states are taking action to reduce student distraction without eliminating tech access

Written by Kui Xie, Dean of College of Education and Human Development, University of Missouri-Columbia

States including Michigan and Colorado are restricting the ways students can use digital devices in school.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Across the United States, more schools are implementing policies restricting cellphones as concerns about digital distraction, mental health and academic performance rise.

The scale of the issue is significant....

Censorship campaigns can have a way of backfiring – look no further than the fate of America’s most prolific censor

Written by Amy Werbel, Professor of the History of Art, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)

The vast majority of Americans support the right to free speech.Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images

In the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term in office, his administration has made many attempts to suppress speech it disfavors – at universities, on the airwaves, in public school classrooms, in museums, at protests an...

McCarthyism’s shadow looms over controversial firing of Texas professor who taught about gender identity

Written by Laura Gail Miller, Ed.D. Candidate in Educational Organizational Learning and Leadership, Seattle University

A Texas A&M free speech case raises questions about academic freedom that have featured before in American society and courts, including during the 1950s. Westend61

Texas A&M University announced the resignation of its president, Mark A. Welsh III, on Sept. 18, 2025, following a controversial decision earlier in the month to fire a...

‘Whisper networks’ don’t work as well online as off − here’s why women are better able to look out for each other in person

Written by Carrie Ann Johnson, Assistant Teaching Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, Iowa State University

Would you trust sensitive information from someone you know more than from an anonymous online poster?kali9/E+ via Getty Images

Whisper networks are informal channels that women use to warn each other about sexual harassment, abuse or assault. The reason they work isn’t because they are secret – they work because they are contextual.

The...

‘Warrior ethos’ mistakes military might for true security − and ignores the wisdom of Eisenhower

Written by Monica Duffy Toft, Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Hundreds of generals and admirals converged on Quantico, Virginia, on Sept. 30, 2025, after being summoned from across the globe by their boss, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, for a session that, as expected, covered what Hegseth often describes as the “warrior ethos.”

Listening quietly, they heard Hegseth promise to make the military &ldq...

Arab American students and parents see US schools very differently − political tensions are widening the gap

Written by Hind Haddad, PhD Student in Higher Education and Student Affairs, The Ohio State University

A mom in Ypsilanti, Mich., consoles her son after a defeat in basketball. Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Sixty-four percent of Arab American students say their parents don’t fully understand the U.S. school system.

That finding, from my recent nationwide survey of 411 Arab American students and parents – distributed...

Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pushed it away from ‘Mormon’ – a word that has courted controversy for 200 years

Written by Konden Smith Hansen, Senior Lecturer of Religious Studies, University of Arizona

Russell Nelson, center, sits during the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' biannual General Conference in Salt Lake City in 2019. George Frey/Getty Images

Russell M. Nelson, a former heart surgeon and longtime church leader, was 93 years old when he became president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2018. But anyone...

Why chromium is considered an essential nutrient, despite having no proven health benefits

Written by Neil Marsh, Professor of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan

You're more likely to get chromium from your cookware than from your food.Fausto Favetta Photoghrapher/Moment via Getty Images

You might best know chromium as a bright, shiny metal used in bathroom and kitchen fittings. But is it also essential for your health?

In a form known as trivalent chromium, this metal is included in multivitamin pills and...

Trump’s Gaza peace plan: A bit of the old, a bit of the new – and the same stumbling blocks

Written by Asher Kaufman, Professor of History and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive for a joint news conference at the White House on Sept. 29, 2025. Alex Wong/Getty Images

The latest U.S.-sponsored peace plan for the Middle East was unveiled at the White House on Sept. 29, 2025, and immediately accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The...