The Conversation

The 'inevitable sadness' of Kazuo Ishiguro's fiction

Written by Cynthia F. Wong, Professor of English, University of Colorado Denver

British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro listens to a question during a press conference at his home in London on Oct. 5, 2017.Alastair Grant/AP Photo

On a damp October day in 2006, I followed Kazuo Ishiguro and my 10-year-old daughter Grace to a back table at a bustling cafe in London for an interview. As Ishiguro answered my questions, he explained how he...

How Columbus, of all people, became a national symbol

Written by William Francis Keegan, Curator of Caribbean Archaeology, University of Florida

Agricultural Building at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois, circa 1893. University of Maryland Digital Collections

Christopher Columbus was a narcissist.

He believed he was personally chosen by God for a mission that no one else could achieve. After 1493, he signed his name “xpo ferens” – “the...

Why the Nobel Peace Prize brings little peace

Written by Ronald R. Krebs, Beverly and Richard Fink Professor in the Liberal Arts and Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, an advocacy group that has worked to draw attention to their “catastrophic humanitarian consequences.”

Every year, the winners of the Nobel Prizes are announced to great fanfare. And none receives more scrutiny than the Nobel Peace Prize...

Bundy trial embodies everything dividing America today

Written by Ann Eisenberg, Assistant Professor of Law, University of South Carolina

A supporter of Cliven Bundy protests in Nevada. AP Photo/John Locher

It’s that time of year again: The Bundys are going to trial.

This fall, brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy and their father, Cliven, will face charges over a standoff with federal officials in a dispute over federal lands in Nevada.

Many are wondering if they’ll be let off...

Are self-driving cars the future of mobility for disabled people?

Written by Srikanth Saripalli, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University

A self-driving shuttle at Texas A&M.Swaroopa Saripalli, CC BY-ND

Self-driving cars could revolutionize how disabled people get around their communities and even travel far from home. People who can’t see well or with physical or mental difficulties that prevent them from driving safely often rely on others – or local government or...

Urban noise pollution is worst in poor and minority neighborhoods and segregated cities

Written by Joan A. Casey, Postdoctoral scholar, University of California, Berkeley

Under the El tracks, downtown Chicago.Franck Michel, CC BY

Most Americans think of cities as noisy places – but some parts of U.S. cities are much louder than others. Nationwide, neighborhoods with higher poverty rates and proportions of black, Hispanic and Asian residents have higher noise levels than other neighborhoods. In addition, in...

Blade Runner's chillingly prescient vision of the future

Written by Marsha Gordon, Professor of Film Studies, North Carolina State University

Can corporations become so powerful that they dictate the way we feel? Can machines get mad – like, really mad – at their makers? Can people learn to love machines?

These are a few of the questions raised by Ridley Scott’s influential sci-fi neo-noir film “Blade Runner” (1982), which imagines a corporation whose...

Knowing the signs of Lewy body dementia may help speed diagnosis

Written by Melissa J. Armstrong, Assistant Professor, Neurology, University of Florida

Lewy body dementia and other illnesses of aging brains cause immeasurable suffering for patients and their families. sabthai/Shutterstock.com

Lewy body dementia reached the public eye in 2014 after reports that Robin Williams died with diffuse Lewy body disease.

But, despite the fact that Lewy body dementia is the second most common dementia, it...

Should Uncle Sam 'send in the Marines' after hurricanes?

Written by Julia Brooks, Researcher in international law and humanitarian response, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), Harvard University

When humanitarian emergencies flare up, what should prompt the U.S. government to “send in the Marines”?

Disasters like Hurricane Harvey’s floods in Houston and Hurricane Maria’s devastation of Puerto Rico’s roads and power grid can quickly overwhelm civilian authorities and emergency responders. Military support can...

Catalonia's referendum unmasks authoritarianism in Spain

Written by Monica Clua Losada, Associate Professor in Global Political Economy, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

I have long worried about the rise of authoritarianism in the European Union.

The Spanish government’s violent crackdown during the Catalonia referendum on Oct. 1 is the latest crisis to challenge EU institutions. Several member states are facing serious questions about territorial sovereignty. Just look to the Scottish referendum to leave...