The Conversation

Are Islamic State recruits more street gang members than zealots?

Written by James L. Gelvin, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of California, Los Angeles

A makeshift memorial to the victims of the terrorist attack in Barcelona. Police killed five men August 18 believed to have been involved.AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

The recent terrorist attacks in Spain and Finland once again compel us to ask: Who joins the Islamic State, and why?

As a professor of modern Middle Eastern history, I have spent the...

How religion motivates people to give and serve

Written by David King, Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

What's the role of faith in service?European Commission DG ECHO, CC BY-NC-ND

Saturday, August 19 is World Humanitarian Day – a time to remember the tremendous humanitarian need around the world.

The stark reality is that the world is facing the greatest humanitarian crisis since 1945: Mass starvations are threatening millions of people in...

The Confederate statue debate: 3 essential reads

Written by Nick Lehr, Editor, Arts and Culture, The Conversation

Editor’s note: The following is a roundup of archival stories related to the debate over what to do with Confederate statues.

The impetus for the “Unite the Right” rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12 was a proposal to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from a city park.

In the wake of the violence...

Harvard study strengthens link between breast cancer risk and light exposure at night

Written by Richard G. "Bugs" Stevens, Professor, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut

Artificial light has transformed the night sky, a change researchers continue to link to health problems. Fabio Falchi et al , CC BY-ND

A new study from Harvard has found greater risk of breast cancer in women who live in neighborhoods that have higher levels of outdoor light during the night.

The findings are based on the Nurses’ Health Study...

More states are allowing guns on college campuses

Written by Neal H. Hutchens, Professor of Higher Education, University of Mississippi

Eleven states now have some sort of law permitting guns on college campuses.Lucio Eastman (Free State Project), CC BY-SA

A community college instructor in Texas recently started off the academic year by wearing a bulletproof vest and army helmet to class. He did this to protest a law that, starting this August, authorizes individuals to carry...

Making driverless cars safe for people on foot

Written by Michael Clamann, Senior Research Scientist, Humans and Autonomy Lab, Duke University

Is it safe to cross?Duke Humans and Anatomy Lab, CC BY-ND

Right now, there are two ways to be safe crossing a road: Wait until no cars are close by, so there’s enough time to make it to the other side of the street – or communicate with oncoming drivers. As the number of pedestrian deaths on U.S. roads climbs, up 25 percent since 2010...

Explaining polygamy and its history in the Mormon Church

Written by Joanna Brooks, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, San Diego State University

Polygamy advocate Brady Williams talks with his five wives during an interview at their home in a polygamous community outside Salt Lake City. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File

The arrest of polygamist leader Lyle Jeffs, evictions of polygamist families and new studies on crippling genetic disorders among small ultra-orthodox or...

Curbing climate change: Why it's so hard to act in time

Written by Timothy H. Dixon, Professor, Geology and Geophysics, Natural and human-caused hazards, sea level rise and climate change, University of South Florida

March for Science, Washington, D.C., April 29, 2017.Shutterstock.com

This summer I worked on the Greenland ice sheet, part of a scientific experiment to study surface melting and its contribution to Greenland’s accelerating ice losses. By virtue of its size, elevation and currently frozen state, Greenland has the potential to cause large and...

Is Ryan Kelly's iconic photograph an American 'Guernica'?

Written by Jennifer Wenzel, Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature and Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University

On August 12, Charlottesville Daily Progress photographer Ryan M. Kelly captured the exact moment that Nazi sympathizer James Alex Fields, Jr. drove his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of counterprotesters, injuring 19 and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. It’s probably the most enduring image to emerge from the weekend of “Unite the...

Charlottesville and the politics of fear

Written by David Alpher, Adjunct Professor at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University

Did Trump's rhetoric played a part in radicalizing the far-right protesters in Charlottesville?AP Photo/Steve Helber

I have spent nearly 16 years studying how the risk of violence grows in societies around the world and running programs designed to stem the tide. I have seen toxic rhetoric from political leaders result in violence in countries like...