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Humanities students build bridges to strong communities
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign doctoral student Dale Mize is using storytelling to help raise awareness about food sourcing through summer research interviews on three area farms that use sustainable practices and regenerative land use systems. He is one of five students participating in the 2024 Humanities Without Walls Summer Bridge experience through the U. of. […]
Illinois scholar’s book examines how popular music connects to the past
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Popular music is associated with youth, newness and originality. Yet such music has a deep relationship with the past through sampling, covers and commemorative reissues of decades-old recordings, tours by artists from the 1960s and ‘70s, and performances by tribute bands. In his new book, “Same Old Song: The Enduring Past in […]
Illinois poet’s new book of poetry reflects on marriage, its constraints and its hopefulness
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Corey Van Landingham’s new book of poems, “Reader, I,” looks at marriage, the tension between being an individual and part of a couple, and how to operate within the constraints of marriage for the better. Van Landingham is an English professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and “Reader, I” is her […]
Book details how federal government used bribery to end relationships with Native American tribes
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Federal policy toward Native American tribal nations in the first half of the 20th century sought to end the government’s legal and political relationship with tribes. A new book by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor David Beck looks at one aspect of termination policy — bribery. “Bribed With Our Own Money: […]
Why is the reparations movement gaining momentum in the U.S.?
The call for reparations for people of African descent to compensate for slavery has a long history, but it has been discussed more broadly and gained support in recent years. Illinois, California and New York have established commissions to examine how to address the repercussions of slavery and racial discrimination, and several cities have done […]
How is the Russia-Ukraine war affecting non-allied countries’ interest in joining NATO?
Cynthia Buckley, a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, assesses threats to geopolitical stability along Russia’s periphery through the Central Eurasian State Capacity Initiative. Buckley spoke with research editor Sharita Forrest about the ongoing war in Ukraine. Sweden recently joined NATO, ending decades of neutrality. How significant is Sweden’s membership and will […]
How should voters feel about polls heading into the presidential election?
Brian Gaines is a professor of political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Honorable W. Russell Arrington Professor in State Politics at the U of I System’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Gaines, who studies elections and public opinion, spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the […]
Study: Americans struggle to distinguish factual claims from opinions amid partisan bias
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — How well do Americans succeed at distinguishing statements of fact from statements of opinion? The answer: Not very well at all, according to new research co-written by a team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign scholars. Americans struggle to tell the difference between statements of fact and statements of opinion – a troubling […]
Book: Children’s education included ‘mechanical literacy’ in the industrial age
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As Great Britain began to industrialize at the end of the 18th century, teaching children to read and write expanded to also include lessons about the material world and how things worked. In her new book, “The Education of Things,” University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign information sciences professor Elizabeth Hoiem examines how children’s […]
What does the death of Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny mean for the future of opposition movements in Russia?
Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny died Feb. 16 while serving time in a remote Arctic prison. Navalny was the main political opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin and an anticorruption activist who survived being poisoned in 2020, which many believe was a state-ordered assassination attempt. He was serving multiple prison sentences on what were widely […]
Where do we stand at the two-year mark of the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor Nicholas Grossman is the author of “Drones and Terrorism: Asymmetric Warfare and the Threat to Global Security” and specializes in international relations. Grossman spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the Russia-Ukraine conflict. At the two-year mark of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where […]
What should US policy be toward Venezuela?
University of Illinois political science professor Damarys Canache is a native of Venezuela and studies its politics. She spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the Biden administration’s decision to ease sanctions on Venezuela, the migration crisis and the upcoming 2024 Venezuelan presidential election. What is the backstory behind nearly two […]