The Conversation

'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...

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...

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...

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...

It's not just ABCs – preschool parents worry their kids are missing out on critical social skills during the pandemic

Written by Michele L. Stites, Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Preschool is an opportunity to develop important social skills like taking turns, working in groups and making friends. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

As COVID-19 cases once again spike across the country, parents in school districts like New York City and Detroit face another weeks long stretch of remote learning. This often...

Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is cheaper than Pfizer's and Moderna's and doesn't require supercold temperature

Written by Sanjay Mishra, Project Coordinator & Staff Scientist, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University

Now there is a third possible vaccine for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has released data on what is now the third promising vaccine candidate against COVID-19 – and it has several advantages over those of its competitors, Pfizer and Moderna.

On Monday,...

Testing sewage can give school districts, campuses and businesses a heads-up on the spread of COVID-19

Written by Charles Gerba, Professor of Virology, University of Arizona

There's valuable data on the spread of COVID-19 in this wastewater.Montgomery County Planning Commission, CC BY-SA

November has brought encouraging news about several COVID-19 vaccines. But members of the general public will probably not be vaccinated before the spring or summer of 2021 at the earliest. Americans will be living with this pandemic...