The Conversation

How COVID-19 is changing the English language

Written by: Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis

The coronavirus forced the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary to break with tradition.Illustration by Anurag Papolu/The Conversation; dictionary photo by Spauln via Getty Images and model of COVID-19 by fpm/iStock via Getty Images , CC BY-SA

In April, the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary did something unusual. For the previous 20...

Quarantine rule breakers in 17th-century Italy partied all night – and some clergy condemned the feasting

Written by: Hannah Marcus, Assistant Professor, Department of the History of Science, Harvard University

The 17th-century plague in Rome.Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts between religious freedom and public health regulations have been playing out in courts around the world.

Churches from California to Maine have flouted public health orders by convening in person, indoors, unmasked and...

Sacred violence is not yet ancient history – beating it will take human action, not divine intervention

Written by: Michael A. Vargas, Professor of History, State University of New York at New Paltz

Pope Urban II giving marching orders ahead of the First Crusade.Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

Along with their swastikas borrowed from Nazi Germany, white supremacists marching in the U.S. and elsewhere have in recent years displayed crosses embellished with the Latin phrase “Deus Vult” – “God wills it.”...

If Obamacare goes away, here are eight ways your life will be affected

Written by: Simon F. Haeder, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Pennsylvania State University

Open enrollment for health insurance in the healthcare.gov marketplaces begins Nov. 1. https://www.healthcare.gov, CC BY-SA

More than 10 years after its passage, the Affordable Care Act once more hangs in the balance. There have been plenty of near misses before, including previous Supreme Court appearances and Congressional votes. Yet in the wake...

Votes cast in November will shape Congress through 2030

Written by: Robin Best, Associate Professor of Political Science, Binghamton University, State University of New York

A small sliver of a congressional district in Pennsylvania crossed four counties, on a map that was ruled to be a partisan gerrymandering plan.AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

When voters cast their ballots in November, they won’t just decide who will be president in 2021 – they will also have a voice in determining the partisan makeup of...

Ancient microbial life used arsenic to thrive in a world without oxygen

Written by: Pieter Visscher, Professor of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut

Purple microbial mats offer clues to how ancient life functioned. Pieter Visscher, CC BY-ND

Billions of years ago, life on Earth was mostly just large slimy mats of microbes living in shallow water. Sometimes, these microbial communities made carbonate minerals that over many years cemented together to become layered limestone rocks called...

Teaching kids to read during the coronavirus pandemic: 5 questions answered

Written by: Keisha McIntosh Allen, Assistant Professor of Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Siblings, as well as parents, can help young learners become avid readers.Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Keisha Allen and Kindel Nash research how kids learn to read and prepare future teachers at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. They are also raising children of their own. Here, they answer five questions many families...

Video: How will society change as the US population ages?

Written by: Marcia G. Ory, Regents and Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health, Texas A&M University

Families are still the primary caregivers for older Americans.MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Editor’s note: Even as average life expectancy has started to trend downward in the U.S., Americans 65 and older are living longer. The change toward longer old age will have profound effects on health care needs, families and what it...

Homes are flooding outside FEMA's 100-year flood zones, and racial inequality is showing through

Written by: Kevin T. Smiley, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Louisiana State University

Hurricane Harvey showed the racial disparities in flood damage outside Houston's 100-year flood zones.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

When hurricanes and other extreme storms unleash downpours like Tropical Storm Beta has been doing in the South, the floodwater doesn’t always stay within the government’s flood risk zones.

New research suggests...

In death, as in life, Ruth Bader Ginsburg balanced being American and Jewish

Written by: Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University

No lengthy viewing of the body, but no quick burial either.Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images

As news of the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spread on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, a common question heard in discussions among American Jews was: “When will she be buried?”

As a longtime scholar of American Jewish life,...