The Conversation

Unthanksgiving Day: A celebration of Indigenous resistance to colonialism, held yearly at Alcatraz

Written by Shannon Toll, Associate Professor of Indigenous Literatures, University of Dayton

The Teo Kali, an Aztec cultural group, participates in a sunrise "Unthanksgiving Day" ceremony with Native Americans on Nov. 24, 2005, on Alcatraz Island. Kara Andrade/AFP via Getty Images

Each year on the fourth Thursday of November, when many people start to take stock of the marathon day of cooking ahead, Indigenous people from diverse tribes...

Gettysburg tells the story of more than a battle − the military park shows what national ‘reconciliation’ looked like for decades after the Civil War

Written by Katrina Stack, PhD Student, University of Tennessee

The North Carolina memorial stands in Gettysburg National Military Park on Aug. 10, 2020.Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to dedicate a cemetery at the site of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Four months before, about 50,000 soldiers had been...

5 marketing lessons from the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce romance

Written by Angeline Close Scheinbaum, Dan Duncan Endowed Professor of Sports Marketing.Associate Professor of Marketing, Clemson University

The stands at Kansas City Chiefs games look different than they used to.Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

What happens when you unite the biggest pop star in the world and a two-time Super Bowl champion? A whole lot of excitement, as the romance of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce has shown. But amid all the cheering, canoodling and Instagram...

Hamas isn't the first military group to hide behind civilians as a way to wage war

Written by Benjamin Jensen, Professor of Strategic Studies, Marine Corps University; Scholar-in-Residence, American University School of International Service

The exterior of Shifa hospital in Gaza City is seen on Nov. 10, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas near the facility. AFP via Getty Images

The Israeli military said on Nov. 15, 2023 that it had found weapons and a Hamas command center at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, after sending troops into the medical facility.

Shifa has become...

Fewer U.S. college students are studying a foreign language − and that spells trouble for national security

Written by Deborah Cohn, Provost Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Indiana University

Between 2009 and 2021, nearly 30% fewer college students enrolled in a foreign language course.FatCamera/E+ Collection/Getty Images

When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, on Oct. 4, 1957, it did more than spark fears about America’s ability to compete technologically. It also raised concerns that the U....

Colleges face gambling addiction among students as sports betting spreads

Written by Jason W. Osborne, Professor of Statistics, Miami University

Around 6% of college students have a gambling problem. John Rowley/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Three out of four college students have gambled in the past year, whether legally or illegally, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling.

An estimated 2% to 3% of U.S. adults have a gambling problem. The portion of college students with a...

Jury convictions of Bannon and Navarro for refusing congressional subpoena may energize lawmakers' ability to hold powerful people accountable

Written by Elise J. Bean, Director of the Washington Office of the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy, Wayne State University

At a January 2017 executive order signing, adviser Peter Navarro is third from left behind Trump and Steve Bannon is on the far right. Ron Sachs - Pool/Getty Images

On Jan. 25, 2024, Peter Navarro is scheduled to be sentenced – perhaps to prison – after his swift conviction by a jury on contempt of Congress charges. He has joined Steve...

Women's activism in Iran continues, despite street protests dying down in face of state repression

Written by Mona Tajali, Associate Professor of International Relations and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Agnes Scott College

An Iranian woman not wearing a mandatory headscarf walks past a group of young women who cover their hair in November 2023. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Large-scale protests that erupted in 2022 across Iran, centering on women’s rights, captured the world’s attention.

Iranians peacefully protested in the streets of...

No, you're not that good at detecting fake videos − 2 misinformation experts explain why and how you can develop the power to resist these deceptions

Written by Sam Wineburg, Professor of Education and (by courtesy) History, Stanford University

Are you sure you know what that emotionally jarring video clip really shows?F.J. Jimenez/Moment via Getty Images

Someone tracking the conflict raging in the Middle East could have seen the following two videos on social media. The first shows a little boy hovering over his father’s dead body, whimpering in Arabic, “Don’t leave...

FDA's latest warnings about eye drop contamination put consumers on edge − a team of infectious disease experts explain the risks

Written by Alexander Sundermann, Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh

This is the second FDA alert this year on contaminated eye drops.eternalcreative/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning in late October 2023 urging consumers to avoid purchasing and to immediately stop using 26 over-the-counter eye drop products because of risk of eye infection that could result in partial...