Author: TheConversation

By Kelley Fanto Deetz, Lecturer in American Studies, University of Virginia Four hundred years after the event, the New York Times has published a special project focusing on the first Africans arriving in 1619 at Point Comfort, Virginia, and the legacy of slavery in the United States. “No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the years of slavery that followed,” the introduction said. While there has been much praise for the project’s recasting of American history, it has been given a chilly reception by others. These critics, including former top GOP legislator...

By Nicholas Diakopoulos, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Northwestern University Much as robots have transformed entire swaths of the manufacturing economy, artificial intelligence and automation are now changing information work, letting humans offload cognitive labor to computers. In journalism, for instance, data mining systems alert reporters to potential news stories, while newsbots offer new ways for audiences to explore information. Automated writing systems generate financial, sports and elections coverage. A common question as these intelligent technologies infiltrate various industries is how work and labor will be affected. In this case, who – or what – will do journalism in...

By C. Thi Nguyen, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Utah Valley University Pick any of the big topics of the day – Brexit, climate change or Trump’s immigration policies – and wander online. What one is likely to find is radical polarization – different groups of people living in different worlds, populated with utterly different facts. Many people want to blame the “social media bubble,” a belief that everybody sorts themselves into like-minded communities and hears only like-minded views. From my perspective as a philosopher who thinks about communities and trust, this fails to get at the heart of the...

By Andreas Hoffrichter, Executive Director of the Center for Railway Research and Education, Michigan State University Transportation represents about 29 percent of U.S. emissions, and the share has been rising in recent years. Rail proponents often argue that investment in trains and public transportation is a key part of making transportation cleaner, and indeed, the Green New Deal calls for greatly expanding high-speed rail. As a scholar of rail, it is clear to me that the quickest way to decrease greenhouse gases from transportation is to travel by train and move goods by rail instead of on the road...

By Miranda Cady Hallett, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Human Rights Center Research Fellow, University of Dayton Rising global temperatures, the spread of crop disease and extreme weather events have made coffee harvests unreliable in places like El Salvador. On top of that, market prices are unpredictable. Clouds of dust rose behind the wheels of the pickup truck as we hurtled over the back road in Palo Verde, El Salvador. When we got to the stone-paved part of the road, the driver slowed as the truck heaved up and down with the uneven terrain. Riding in the back bed...

By Robert Myers, Professor of Anthropology & Public Health, Alfred University In a manifesto posted online shortly before he went on to massacre 22 people at an El Paso Walmart, Patrick Crusius cited the “invasion” of Texas by Hispanics. In doing so, he echoed President Trump’s rhetoric of an illegal immigrant “invasion.” Think about what this word choice communicates: It signals an enemy that must be beaten back, repelled and vanquished. Yet this sort of language – what I call “warspeak” – has relentlessly crept into most aspects of American life and public discourse. After the Columbine shooting, I...