The Conversation

Colleges confront their links to slavery and wrestle with how to atone for past sins

Written by Calvin Schermerhorn, Professor of History, Arizona State University

Students at Georgetown University protest in 2019, demanding the school make amends for its history with reparations. Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Colleges and universities across the U.S. have been taking a hard look at their ties to slavery.

This isn’t an entirely new phenomenon. Back in 2006, Brown University...

As death approaches, our dreams offer comfort, reconciliation

Written by Carine Mardorossian, Professor of English, University at Buffalo

As death approaches, relationships can be resurrected, love revived and forgiveness achieved.DeAgostini/Getty Images

One of the most devastating elements of the coronavirus pandemic has been the inability to personally care for loved ones who have fallen ill.

Again and again, grieving relatives have testified to how much more devastating their...

What the mythical figure of Şahmeran in Turkey represents and why activists use it

Written by Christiane Gruber, Professor of Islamic Art, University of Michigan

A pro-LGBTQ poster at Bosphorus University in Turkey with the image of the mythical creature Şahmeran.Via Twitter

At the center of recent protests over civil liberties and religious sensibilities in Turkey looms a half-woman, half-snake figure known as Şahmeran.

The mythical creature was included in a pro-LGBTQ poster on display at a...

What's really driving coal power's demise?

Written by David Drake, Assistant Professor of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Operations Management, University of Colorado Boulder

The use of coal for electric power has been declining fast in the U.S.AP Photo/J. David Ake

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

People often point to plunging natural gas prices as the reason U.S. coal-fired power plants have been shutting down at a faster pace in recent years. However, new research shows...

6 COVID-19 treatments helping patients survive

Written by William G. Bain, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh

New treatments target different stages of COVID-19, including before patients become sick enough to need a hospital.Juan Monino via Getty Images

A year ago, when U.S. health authorities issued their first warning that COVID-19 would cause severe “disruption to everyday life,” doctors had no effective treatments to offer beyond...

Why do flowers smell?

Written by Richard L. Harkess, Professor of Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture, Mississippi State University

A floral scent can be enjoyable for a person, but it has an important job for the flower.Richard L. Harkess, CC BY-ND

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Why do flowers smell? – Henry E., Age 9, Somerville, Massachusetts

Imag...

What the Bible's approach to history can teach us about America's glory and shame

Written by Mark K. George, Professor of Bible and Ancient Systems of Thought, Iliff School of Theology

Trumpeting the past? The Bible has conflicting narratives over the conquest of CanaanWikimedia Commons

At a time when Americans are seemingly as polarized as ever over the present, the country’s past also appears to be up for debate.

The killing of George Floyd and the anti-racism protests it sparked and The New York Times’ 1619 Project,...

How Black people in the 19th century used photography as a tool for social change

Written by Samantha Hill, 2019 - 2021 Joyce Bock Fellow at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan and current graduate student at U-M School of Information, University of Michigan

Jubilee singers at Fisk University, in Nashville, Tennessee, pose for promotional photograph, circa 1871.William L. Clements Library

Frederick Douglass is perhaps best known as an abolitionist and intellectual. But he was also the most photographed American of the 19th century. And he encouraged the use of photography to promote social change for...

Ensuring the minimum wage keeps up with economic growth would be the best way to help workers and preserve FDR's legacy

Written by Felix Koenig, Assistant Professor of Economics, Carnegie Mellon University

It may seem like a lot, but it's not the most important change in the bill.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The US$1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that the House just passed includes a gradual increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. While its chances in the Senate appear slim, the proposal has brought national attention to the...

Polar bears have captivated artists' imaginations for centuries, but what they've symbolized has changed over time

Written by Anne Collins Goodyear, Co-Director of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Bowdoin College

The giant predators were a deadly danger to early European explorers of the Arctic.Chris Hellier/Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Polar bears have long held visual artists in their thrall. Over time, the mythologies around these extraordinary animals have evolved – and so have the ways artists have depicted them in their work.

Reflecting a...