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TheConversationUS

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A nonprofit news organization dedicated to sharing the knowledge of experts with the public, in accessible, trustworthy articles drawing on their research.

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TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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The song ‘Born in the USA’ has been used in iconic – and ironic – ways.

An example is in 1984, when Ronald Reagan used the song in his reelection and announced that Bruce Springsteen and him shared the same American dream. The Boss vehemently disagreed.

https://theconversation.com/born-in-the-usa-turns-40-and-still-remains-one-of-bruce-springsteens-most-misunderstood-songs-228348
@histodons

TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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70 years after the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board, one of its most significant side effects − the large-scale loss of Black teachers − continues to affect America’s schools.
Before Brown, Black teachers were 35% to 50% of the teacher workforce in segregated states.
Today, Black people account for just 6.7% of America’s public K-12 teachers.
https://theconversation.com/how-black-teachers-lost-when-civil-rights-won-in-brown-v-board-229687
@histodons @blackmastodon

TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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On this day in 1984, Bruce Springsteen released “Born in the USA” - a gruff patriotic ballad that was entirely misunderstood by President Ronald Reagan (but Donald Trump is no fan)
https://theconversation.com/born-in-the-usa-turns-40-and-still-remains-one-of-bruce-springsteens-most-misunderstood-songs-228348
@histodons

TheConversationUS , to blackmastodon group
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We want you to know the name Alice Ball. She was the first woman and first African American to earn a master’s degree in science from the College of Hawaii.

Ball remarkably developed a treatment for leprosy, but she passed away shortly after.

Arthur Dean, chair of the College of Hawaii’s chemistry department, took over the project, and renamed Ball’s method to the “Dean Method,” never crediting Ball for her work.

https://theconversation.com/a-young-black-scientist-discovered-a-pivotal-leprosy-treatment-in-the-1920s-but-an-older-colleague-took-the-credit-224922
@blackmastodon

TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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The idea that seeing or talking about LGBTQ+ themes in books poses a threat to children or society goes back to medieval times.

Records of queer people and their lives from the Middle Ages are more plentiful than many people realize, but writings about the history were censored by religious leaders.

https://theconversation.com/dont-say-gay-rules-and-book-bans-might-have-felt-familiar-in-medieval-europe-but-queer-themes-in-literature-survived-nonetheless-228974
@histodons

TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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At a time of rising authoritarianism, and when U.S. politics seem mired in chaos, it’s worth looking back at how societies centuries ago defined bad governance:
https://theconversation.com/medieval-europe-was-far-from-democratic-but-that-didnt-mean-tyrants-got-a-free-pass-227214
@histodons

TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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Today is the anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history – continuing to haunt Americans.

One of them is Gregory Fairchild, whose grandfather was caught up in it, and whose family history personally inspires his work.

From our archive: https://theconversation.com/100-years-after-the-tulsa-race-massacre-lessons-from-my-grandfather-161391

@blackmastodon @histodons

TheConversationUS , to blackmastodon group
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Beethoven is A great composer, but not THE great composer, according to a music professor who believes it’s time to reframe Beethoven’s greatness “within the context of historic ideals of whiteness and patriarchy.”

“If Americans could acknowledge that our music and music education are deeply rooted in these two ideologies, then we could realize that Beethoven, surely a good composer, was simply one of many.”

https://theconversation.com/was-beethoven-truly-the-greatest-229660
@blackmastodon

TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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The famous song is a send-off fit for a king! It was originally written for the coronation of King Edward VII in 1901, but evolved to be used during ceremonies for accomplished graduates.

The interesting :
https://theconversation.com/how-a-british-military-march-became-the-distinctive-sound-of-american-graduations-230060

@histodons

TheConversationUS , to AcademicChatter group
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A march by Edgar Elgar is the traditional soundtrack for American college commencements and high school graduations. It’s a stirring bit of music, but perhaps an odd choice, given its roots as a celebration of the British king.

Here’s a brief history of how it happened:
https://theconversation.com/how-a-british-military-march-became-the-distinctive-sound-of-american-graduations-230060
@academicchatter 🎓🎉

Seniors at Smith College’s commencement walk down the aisle to Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance played by a brass band

TheConversationUS OP ,
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@joelvanderwerf @academicchatter Oops, yes. Thank you!

TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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The Republican road from a deep faith in freedom given by God, to a candidate hawking $59.99 bibles

https://theconversation.com/reagans-great-america-shining-on-a-hill-twisted-into-trumps-dark-vision-of-christian-nationalism-226997
@histodons

TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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"Every so often, a cause ignites a sustained fury on college campuses across the nation. In 2020, it was Black Lives Matter. In 2011, it was Occupy Wall Street. In the 1980s, it was apartheid in South Africa.

Today, it’s the Israeli military campaign in Gaza."

Here are five books that shine light on a rich history of campus protests in the US that goes back to the 1960s – compiled by veteran journalist Steve Friess.

https://theconversation.com/5-books-to-help-you-better-understand-todays-campus-protests-229166

@histodons

TheConversationUS , to blackmastodon group
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Although companies have created detectors to help spot , studies have found that biases in the data used to train these tools can lead to certain demographic groups being unfairly targeted.

A team of researchers discovered new methods that improve both the fairness and the accuracy of these detection algorithms by teaching them about human diversity

https://theconversation.com/deepfake-detection-improves-when-using-algorithms-that-are-more-aware-of-demographic-diversity-226061
@blackmastodon

TheConversationUS , to blackmastodon group
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Black Lives Matter protests often pitted demonstrators against police in 2020 − but not in every city.

Protests in cities with police departments led by Black women tended to be peaceful.

https://theconversation.com/cities-with-black-women-police-chiefs-had-less-street-violence-during-2020s-black-lives-matter-protests-227440
@blackmastodon

TheConversationUS , to AcademicChatter group
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With some universities canceling or modifying commencement ceremonies over protests or fear of protests, an anthropologist reminds us that there’s a lot more at stake than just a line of seniors getting a fancy piece of paper.
https://theconversation.com/commencement-isnt-just-about-awarding-degrees-and-cancellations-leave-students-disconnected-and-disillusioned-229425
@academicchatter

TheConversationUS , to bookstodon group
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Young people are reading , but they’re rejecting the identity of ‘reader,’ which perhaps has more to do with community, wealth and gender than whether someone actually reads.
https://theconversation.com/gen-zers-and-millennials-are-still-big-fans-of-books-even-if-they-dont-call-themselves-readers-228569
@bookstodon

TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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It stands as the crowning achievement of Western classical music.

200 years ago today, Beethoven premiered his instantly beloved Symphony No. 9 in D minor.

Widely praised as a groundbreaking composition, the symphony has and continues to influence artists across the cultural spectrum, and to spark joy.

https://theconversation.com/beethovens-ninth-symphony-at-200-revolutionary-work-of-art-has-spawned-two-centuries-of-joy-goodwill-and-propaganda-221734
@histodons

TheConversationUS , to philosophy group
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To make the moon a graveyard goes against the beliefs of various human religions.

Here’s a look at what believers would say about this winter’s attempt to send a probe holding the remains of paying customers to the lunar surface

https://theconversation.com/why-having-human-remains-land-on-the-moon-poses-difficult-questions-for-members-of-several-religions-221399
@philosophy

TheConversationUS , to AcademicChatter group
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Many media outlets are paying a lot more attention to arrests than to the actual demands of protesters.

US media largely ignored campus protests until encampments (and police clearing of encampments) got going, fitting in with a general pattern, according to a researcher who studies how journalists cover protest movements:
https://theconversation.com/media-coverage-of-campus-protests-tends-to-focus-on-the-spectacle-rather-than-the-substance-229172
@academicchatter

TheConversationUS , to bookstodon group
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Once upon a time, romance novels from major U.S. publishers featured only heterosexual couples. Today, the 5 biggest publishers regularly release same-sex love stories
https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-astonishing-rise-in-lgbtq-romance-literature-223159
@bookstodon

TheConversationUS , to blackmastodon group
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There’s an important gap between “hope” and “optimism.”

Hope is not just about looking on the bright side. It plays the long game: enduring suffering with integrity.

It’s something Martin Luther King understood when he said “I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.” But hope makes us act, anyway.

https://theconversation.com/hope-is-not-the-same-as-optimism-a-psychologist-explains-just-look-at-mlks-example-226384
@blackmastodon

TheConversationUS , to AcademicChatter group
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At Columbia University and elsewhere, law enforcement is displaying a growing militarization when it's sent in against protesters, according to a criminal justice historian

https://theconversation.com/why-universities-turn-to-the-police-to-end-student-protests-and-why-that-can-spiral-out-of-control-229158
@academicchatter

TheConversationUS , to histodons group
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In 1942, Japanese Americans were rounded up and sent to internment camps because of hyped up fears of ‘disloyalty’.
In 1944, thousands of young Japanese American men were drafted out of those camps and sent to fight for democracy.
Despite this, they fought gallantly, earning more than 14,000 medals.
Then veterans faced more prejudice when they returned home
https://theconversation.com/japanese-american-soldiers-in-world-war-ii-fought-the-axis-abroad-and-racial-prejudice-at-home-158512
@histodons

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