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The Conversation

Colonialism
1918 flu pandemic killed 12 million Indians, and British overlords' indifference strengthened the anti-colonial movement

1918 flu pandemic killed 12 million Indians, and British overlords’ indifference strengthened the anti-colonial movement

The Conversation

By Maura Chhun | – In India, during the 1918 influenza pandemic, a staggering 12 to 13 million people died, the vast majority between the months of September and December. According to an eyewitness, “There was none to remove the dead bodies and the jackals made a feast.” At the time of the pandemic, India […]

Epidemics
The Wealthy also Cushioned themselves at Expense of Poor in Era of Black Death, as Boccaccio’s Decameron Shows

The Wealthy also Cushioned themselves at Expense of Poor in Era of Black Death, as Boccaccio’s Decameron Shows

The Conversation

By Kathryn McKinley | – The coronavirus can infect anyone, but recent reporting has shown your socioeconomic status can play a big role, with a combination of job security, access to health care and mobility widening the gap in infection and mortality rates between rich and poor. The wealthy work remotely and flee to resorts […]

Donald Trump
Trump Bankrupting WHO during Pandemic, Hurting Vaccine Coordination and Killing People in Global South

Trump Bankrupting WHO during Pandemic, Hurting Vaccine Coordination and Killing People in Global South

The Conversation

By Adam Kamradt-Scott | – US President Donald Trump has announced the US is cutting its funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO) – a decision that will have major implications for the global health response to the coronavirus pandemic. The US contributes more than US$400 million to the WHO per year, though it is […]

Climate Crisis
Killing off the Animals:  By Burning Fossil Fuels, we'll destroy 50% of their Habitat this Century

Killing off the Animals: By Burning Fossil Fuels, we’ll destroy 50% of their Habitat this Century

The Conversation

By Christopher Trisos and Alex Pigot | – The impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems are already evident. Poleward shifts in the geographic distributions of species, catastrophic forest fires and mass bleaching of coral reefs all bear the fingerprints of climate change. But what will the world’s biodiversity look like in the future? […]

Islam
Veiled Muslim Women abruptly Find Acceptance amid Coronavirus Face Masks: “Nobody is giving me Dirty Looks”

Veiled Muslim Women abruptly Find Acceptance amid Coronavirus Face Masks: “Nobody is giving me Dirty Looks”

The Conversation

By Anna Piela | – Americans began donning face masks this week after federal and local officials changed their position on whether face coverings protect against coronavirus. This is new terrain for many, who find themselves unable to recognize neighbors and are unsure how to engage socially without using facial expressions. But not for Muslim […]

Asian-Americans
From 'Yellow peril' to  'Chinese virus:' Why can't People remember that Asian Americans are Americans?

From ‘Yellow peril’ to ‘Chinese virus:’ Why can’t People remember that Asian Americans are Americans?

The Conversation

By Adrian De Leon | – In a recent Washington Post op-ed, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang called upon Asian Americans to become part of the solution against COVID-19. In the face of rising anti-Asian racist actions – now at about 100 reported cases per day – Yang implores Asian Americans to “wear red, […]

Culture
How the Plague Influenced Shakespeare

How the Plague Influenced Shakespeare

The Conversation

By Paul Yachnin | – Shakespeare lived his life in plague-time. He was born in April 1564, a few months before an outbreak of bubonic plague swept across England and killed a quarter of the people in his hometown. Death by plague was excruciating to suffer and ghastly to see. Ignorance about how disease spread […]

Climate Crisis
Sorry, Climate Change Denialists, but Coronavirus Makes Green Energy even More Urgent

Sorry, Climate Change Denialists, but Coronavirus Makes Green Energy even More Urgent

The Conversation

By John Hewson | Climate deniers have been hanging out for the United Nations’ next big summit to fail. In a sense, the coronavirus and its induced policy responses have more than satisfied their wildest dreams, precipitating a global recession that they no doubt hope has pushed the issue of the low-carbon transition well down […]

Climate Crisis
While we fixate on coronavirus, Earth is hurtling towards a catastrophe worse than the dinosaur extinction

While we fixate on coronavirus, Earth is hurtling towards a catastrophe worse than the dinosaur extinction

The Conversation

By Andrew Glikson | – At several points in the history of our planet, increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have caused extreme global warming, prompting the majority of species on Earth to die out. In the past, these events were triggered by a huge volcanic eruption or asteroid impact. Now, Earth is […]

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