NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

I documented dozens of shrines to people who’ve died in North Philly − here’s what they tell us about memory, grief and trauma

  • Written by Gordon Coonfield, Associate Professor of Communication, Villanova University
imageA memorial to "Bough" in Kensington in North Philly. Gordon Coonfield/Kensington Remembers, CC BY-NC-ND

I was walking through the Kensington neighborhood in North Philadelphia when I noticed a shrine made from scraps of lumber and old furniture. Empty liquor bottles were arranged inside. A menagerie of stuffed animals, their fur matted by rain and...

Read more: I documented dozens of shrines to people who’ve died in North Philly − here’s what they tell us...

More Articles ...

  1. Americans love nature but don’t feel empowered to protect it, new research shows
  2. Job supervisors with disabilities can boost productivity, new research shows
  3. When Paralympic athletes fake the extent of their disability
  4. What is an Atlantic Niña? How La Niña’s smaller cousin could affect hurricane season
  5. How a survey of over 2,000 women in the 1920s changed the way Americans thought about female sexuality
  6. Why people stay after local economies collapse − a story of home among the ghosts of shuttered steel mills
  7. Each Jewish couple’s story starts long before the wedding − and so does the celebration of their life together
  8. An unseen problem with the Electoral College – it tells bad guys where to target their efforts
  9. In a new era of campus upheaval, the 1970 Kent State shootings show the danger of deploying troops to crush legal protests
  10. Ancient viral genomes preserved in glaciers reveal the history of Earth’s climate – and how viruses adapt to climate change
  11. How US military planning has shifted away from fighting terrorism to readying for tensions and conflict with China and Russia
  12. What is mental imagery? Brain researchers explain the pictures in your mind and why they’re useful
  13. A third of the world’s population lacks internet connectivity − airborne communications stations could change that
  14. All politicians change their minds – and have been flip-flopping on positions for hundreds of years
  15. From Kursk to Kursk: Putin’s attempt to project an image as Russia’s ‘protector’ has been punctured throughout his 25 years in power
  16. Urban wildfires disrupt streams and their tiny inhabitants − losing these insects is a warning of bigger water problems
  17. In domestic violence cases, police are more likely to make arrests when pets are abused, too
  18. People with physical and mobility disabilities need to work out, but there are a lot of obstacles in their way
  19. South Sudan’s long-delayed election will be a landmark moment − but economic decline and political strife put vote at risk
  20. Kamala’s kicks, Tim’s lids, and the red ties that bind Trump and Vance – what’s behind the fashion choices of each candidate
  21. ‘Coconut farmers for Harris,’ influencers and vertical signs – Smithsonian curators’ encounters at the Democratic National Convention
  22. Polaris Dawn mission to Earth’s orbit will test SpaceX’s capabilities for a commercial space program
  23. 4 ways Wissahickon Valley Park makes Philly more resilient against climate change
  24. The Polaris Dawn mission to Earth’s orbit will test SpaceX’s capabilities for a commercial space program
  25. No, the world isn’t heading toward a new Cold War – it’s closer to the grinding world order collapse of the 1930s
  26. How organized labor shames its traitors − the story of the ‘scab’
  27. US is unlikely to stop giving military aid to Israel − because it benefits from it
  28. What links aging and disease? A growing body of research says it’s a faulty metabolism
  29. Gift card scams generate billions for fraudsters and industry as regulators fail to protect consumers − and how one 83-year-old fell into the ‘fear bubble’
  30. Why gift cards fall into a gap in the 2-tier banking regulation system − and a brief history of why that gap exists
  31. From thoughts to words: How AI deciphers neural signals to help a man with ALS speak
  32. ‘Time poverty’ can keep college students from graduating − especially if they have jobs or children to care for
  33. Italian teenager Carlo Acutis’ upcoming canonization reflects the Vatican’s desire to appeal to a new generation of Catholics
  34. Can a political party get any attention when its rival holds a national convention? Yes, but it’s not easy
  35. How debt and taxes conspired to rob Nairobi’s slum-dwelling youth of the promise of a better life
  36. Treating Nord Stream blasts as a whodunit misses the point – and plays into Russia’s plan to distract and divide
  37. Want to fight gender inequality? A review of data from 118 counties shows that development aid works
  38. Want to fight gender inequality? A review of data from 118 countries shows that development aid works
  39. As human population grows, people and wildlife will share more living spaces around the world
  40. Thwaites Glacier won’t collapse like dominoes as feared, study finds, but that doesn’t mean the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is stable
  41. Rural voters don’t necessarily love Walz, despite the camo hat and small-town upbringing
  42. Squid have tiny teeth in their suckers − scientists could use their unique properties to make self-healing materials
  43. Space missions are getting more complex − lessons from Amazon and FedEx can inform satellite and spacecraft management in orbit
  44. China leans into using AI − even as the US leads in developing it
  45. America’s Iran policy is a failure − piecemeal deterrence and sanctions can go only so far
  46. Democratic Party’s embrace of organized labor in 2024 elections has long roots that had started to wither
  47. Los Angeles is in a 4-year sprint to deliver a car-free 2028 Olympics
  48. Politicians step up attacks on the teaching of scientific theories in US schools
  49. Do Charli XCX’s and Kid Rock’s endorsements make a difference? 19% of young people admit they might
  50. AI pioneers want bots to replace human teachers – here’s why that’s unlikely